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Quick long term frs review It: keeps breaking, every two months for something pretty big on average. I’ve gotten annoyed enough at throwing money at the car (since it’s also a dd) that I stopped racing it and brought it back to stock. The bright sunshine and joy that lasted for a year turns into a rainy day when remembering the past. My enthusiasm was foolishness. I am not A.I. enough to own a heavily modified car as a daily driver. I will buy a 10th gen civic si as penance. 2016 F80 M3: Whats the word for German mullet?  My run in the car for reference I like blue cars. This one is a nice blue. I'm not even in the car and it's already a home run. It's Yas Marina blue. I love blue cars. It could sit in my driveway and never be driven and I'd point at it to people that came over to drink wine and eat cheese or whatever BMW high society people do. I would impress them with my nice BMW by saying "Isn't that a nice blue" and they would agree because it's blue. And an M3. But it's a really nice blue. The outside is typical BMW M car, a good looking sedan. Not overly boy racer but has the go fast look. The hood bulge has been toned down from the E90s David Bowie codpiece main billing actor to background character with a few lines. You see it and you know it's there but it doesn't dominate your vision. The 3 series seems to keep getting bigger, the E90s were large compared to the E46 and the F80 seems larger still. The interior of the car is nice. The seats are supportive, the cabin is trimmed with very nice carbon fiber. The steering wheel has CF accents and its a good thickness and diameter. There are some buttons I continually hit while turning with my palm but I don't think they did anything important, my passenger was not ejected, full stability did not turn on half way through the run, and no scat porn started blasting on the radio. Of course being a BMW, it’s trimmed in nice leather and everything is very functional and thoughtfully laid out. I didn't futz with any of the center console or infotainment controls, I drove this at a school so my job was to show my student what the car could do, not how well it could punt cones or put on my audition tape for a ring taxi driver by ripping the sickest drift this half of the northern hemisphere. The car was run with the most lenient stability control settings and steering set to comfort. I don't really know what the other modes felt like but it was fine in those two.There was a traction control button that lit up a TC off indicator which was clearly complete bullshit but I'm assured traction can be fully disabled so I'll give that a pass. There's also a bunch of car information screens, like tire temp and tire psi. I made sure all tires were within a 1.5psi range. If you don't get this reference then just be assured I didn't hit a curb, mostly because there are no curbs to hit. If you do get this reference, yes, the tire PSI readout shows tenth increments. I don't know how I would deal with someone claiming they can feel the difference within 1 psi of tire pressure but I'm assuming it's so I don't have to wait for them to tell me about the dealership their dad owns before knowing they're a clueless idiot. I get the point out, I'm pretty indifferent on the newer BMW clutch and shifters. It's short, you know where the shifter is going, and can feel the clutch bite point. It shifts the car. Its not cold and mechanical, its not snick snick, but it does its job and is easy to get used to. The throttle is also easy to get used to but it is sharp. It isn't e90 frantic pace where you QTE mash x to get the car into the next gear before the motor drops to idle, but it certainly has some poke to it. The boosted six also sounds amazing. There are no turbo boostie noises which is rather sad but the exhaust timber is great for a 6 cylinder. It drops the raspy noise of the NA sixes for a more guttural growl. I'm at the line. The sea of cones await, the E46 and E90 are tall shoulders to stand on at autocross. Not the E36. Did I ever mention I hate the E36? I think I have. gently caress that four point steering wheel. I'm sorry, I'm getting carried away. The starter drops their hand to give me the go like the e36 dropped my expectations for what a good M3 should be. Dial up the revs, let out the clutch, and a good little chuff followed by a phwapapapapappp as the tracition control slightly reigns in wheelspin as the car pulls off the line. It doesn't feel like a boosted motor, power is immediate and strong. It ramps up along the rev range and the car pulls harder as the revs climb. I hit top of first before the first left into the slalom and shift it into second. Roll off throttle and turn, and the car turns. So far so good M3, so far so good. Do you like dogs? I like dogs, and I like m3s because they are obedient. Turn and they turn. Brake and they brake, lift and they nicely tuck. M3s traditionally will do what you tell them without biting you, even if you tell them to do something stupid. Dial in more steering because you overcooked it and now you're trying to save it? An M3 will plow, but it wont snap. It won't make the best work of the corner but it will go where you're trying to it in a somewhat eager fashion. It will maintain a semblance of composure as long as you don't double down on your trip to plow town. And that's no different here. It's hard to upset the f80 M3 with steering or brake, the car is nicely balance with a mild push towards understeer that can be alleviated with lift or brake. Not hitting cones while putting in a solid and quite fast 8/10 run was 10/10 easy. Keep it smooth, keep your eyes up, and don't big dick swing late input through anything and you'll get a respectable time on whatever the stock tires are. My second run dropped 3 seconds off the first going for 10/10 without any crazy drama and I was able to put in a 3rd within .1. The car is predictable. So F80 is all business in the front, but what about that party in the back though? The E36 (gently caress you), E46, and E90 are little angels when it comes to throttle. You have to really piss the cars off to get them to try and kill you for doing anything dumb with your right foot. With TC on lenient mode, the F80 will try to maul your rear end as a standard operating procedure and it is absolutely goddamn wonderful. This car has all the torque all the time and wants to play. Without it, I have been in a F80 that has gone for a panoramic view of the course on the first corner on cold tires. The TC is rather intrusive in it's attempts to prevent you from sampling the sapling of the week but even then, the car will get some attitude of the yaw variety if you just mat it. This car has some serious power on tap throughout the rev range. The older M3s did their business, and they did it well. Even the E36 as much as it pains me to admit it. The F80 is not like the older M3s, the F80 is a hooligan car. It is the drunk investment banker with his tie half undone, undercut hairstyle going super saiyan mode, dancing in the middle of the bar. If you have good throttle control, which I don't mean to toot my own horn and I didn't because the horn is in the center of the steering wheel, the car will dance. It wont do the Charleston, it will do the dab or whatever the kids are doing nowadays. It is lively but not uncontrollable, there's a clam shell right hander into a chicago box left that requires braking into clamshell and lifting or slightly trailbraking through the chicago box. Accelerating out of the clamshell and probing front grip with a lift to flat throttle into the chicago box causes the car to have three to four different distinct timbers of brapapaapaa as it goes through throttle states and the nose follows where you point it. Rolling back into throttle provides and angrier PHRHBABBRAT as TC angrily limits the traction control in a very organic manner and the rear starts to get a little cock eyed. The car probably would have been faster with the TC off, it had distinctly more grunt when the wheel was straight versus when it was cornering. But I also might have spun the car or died or become the next Keiichi Tsuchiya, so I didnt find out. The turbo didn’t dilute the car, the weight didn’t dilute the car, and all the weird marketing dumb tech bullshit didn’t dilute the car either. BMW knows how to make a solid sports sedan and this one may be the most fun one yet. Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 02:54 on Oct 2, 2018 |
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Oct 2, 2018 02:12
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Nice writeup, looking forward to more of them. The M3 is definitely a great car and carries on from the E92 well.
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Oct 2, 2018 07:46
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These writeups are always amazing.
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Oct 2, 2018 13:55
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Yay, more of these! 
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Oct 2, 2018 14:49
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My favorite threads and gushing about my favorite cars!  I still want to see if you can get a hold of an E9X with the double clutch transmission. I feel like it would be a better driving experience.
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Oct 2, 2018 15:44
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Somewhat Heroic posted:My favorite threads and gushing about my favorite cars! I’ve been interested too but I haven’t seen many, much less ones I can randomly ask to drive. I did manage to get a drive in something people were very interested but I don’t want to spoil it.
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Oct 3, 2018 00:22
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Jesus has returned to us
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Oct 3, 2018 00:27
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I don’t need to post a photo but here’s me driving it like I’ve never seen a car before: https://youtu.be/_Suc3lkAsjg 2005 Lotus elise: An English man in a shed can do great things There are some cars I drive and I can’t wait to write the review. The viper review was fully formed the second I was looking at the start line after lifting in first and the flavor was there the first time I burned my leg on the exhaust through the door sill. So hold onto your butts because we’ve got a muse in the building and it is a drunk Englishman in a sheds doing. Do you know how long I’ve wanted to drive an Elise? Forever. Do you know how badly I wanted to own an Elise? So badly. I haven’t driven at an autox in two months so I will be absolute poo poo as I try to remember how to drive what are notoriously difficult cars. Do I care? Not at all. There are certain cars which nothing else is like, and nothing else will ever be like. They are instantly recognizable for their uniqueness in the world and nothing can replicate the magic they have. The viper was an unrelenting gently caress you to brute force speed where the lotus is an unrelenting gently caress you to light weight baby. I don’t think I really need to describe what a lotus looks like, but I do need to describe how little of a poo poo is given about anything besides being light. The rather complexly molded clamshell costs about a million dollars but is also made of tissue paper and dreams so breaking them is easy and that means there are a lot of salvaged lotuses. I was told I can cone with this car, but do not center punch anything with the front bumper. Easy task. The chassis is an aluminum tub. You sit almost centerline of the car. The sill for the tub is about a mile wide and getting in either means stepping into the car and sliding down on the seat or sitting rear end first in the seat and bringing your legs in. There is no graceful way to get in or out. Don’t touch the windshield hoop if you’re sliding down because it isn’t structural and you can break the windshield by putting your weight on it. Light. Weight. Baby. I hope you like your passengers because they also sit centerline. And you will have passengers because it is a lotus. Your boy muffinpox hit the gym with his best selling book getting jacked with jacks so my delts are all encompassing, but even without my dreamy physique that keeps nutcup up at night, you’re rubbing shoulders in the bad way. Interior? Brushed metal is in. There’s some dressings but bare metal is the flavor of the day. Interior trim adds weight. Buttons? Ah poo poo they need a headlight switch, gently caress it, slap it on the side as a toggle or something. Hvac? This car does actually have one and it’s probably because England is a gloomy poo poo hole weather wise and a heater core is less weight than five layers of jumpers and a rain coat. Cup holder? Hahaha. Ok. So, fit and finish: poo poo. Creature comforts? poo poo. Ergonomics? You can stop sitting on top of your friend at the pub. Getting in and out? This car wasn’t built for skirts, or kilts. Cup holder amount? Liquid is heavy. So is power steering fluid. You’ll be needing both hands. The steering is rather slow since it is unassisted, but it isn’t that heavy and the wheel is large enough to get good leverage. It’s not hard to turn when the car is sitting due to having 0 pounds on the front tires and tire widths that make economy sedans look like they on steam rollers. The horn button is also on the arms of the steering wheel. You will be honking during your runs. These are called speed honks and are a close relative to speed wipers. Your arms will also be getting a workout, so I hope you’ve been doing jack curls pioneered in getting jacked with jacks. I am absolutely giddy sitting in grid and I get the point out. The lotus shifter has a long arm but short throws. You can tell what gear your in but it’s also not super well defined. Overall not the best gearbox but probably light weight. The throttle is long and easy to modulate, and the clutch is also direct. So far so good. Very mechanical. Very easy to not stall. It also has a push button start on the left like the S2000 because race car. I pull up to the line and get the go ahead, this Elise is open diff so I don’t go full send tire fire, also it probably doesn’t have enough torque for it, but I give it a nice mid range rpm roll out. It only has 180hp but when you’re only lugging 1800lbs, that is a good amount and the car leaves the line rather briskly. It has good power and torque through the rev band but then the warble changes for a second and there’s a familiar feeling, but there’s a slalom almost immediately after the start so I lift and turn in. I go MR mode and start ramping up front turn in until the rear wont come along. We’re going. It’s so light, it’s so lithe. There’s so much grip! Lift for a left hander to bend the car around it and holy gently caress I’m side ways. I’m very sideways. I haven’t spun a car in years, this was the closest I’ve gotten and it happened like three elements in. I’ve been doing this long enough I can recognize my own mistakes on the fly and adjust during the run. Break down of what I did wrong: I didn’t think the engine braking was severe, but the car is soft. Like, really soft. And transfers weight very quickly. Turning in and lifting unloads the rear to give the front more grip, but also unloads the rear enough that it doesn’t want to stay put. Lift less, you’ll be ok. Hammer down and keep going. Go a bit easy and feel out the break away point. Second run I feel more comfortable and go a bit harder. That warble I heard was the not-vtec kicking in and I start getting into it. The cabin goes from noisy to angry four cylinder shouting at your ear. And the car goes from quick to plaid on cam. Real plaid. These things are fast. Lift a little for a turn, the engine braking also goes to plaid on cam and I cock eye the rear again. Ok. When it makes angry noises, lift a toe, not the foot. Third run, lifts are golden. Rear still wants to come play mid turn. Fourth run, gently caress it, stuff the front so the car is plowing and lift won’t upset it. Mat the throttle and get all the weight rearward immediately, it has an open diff so it will spin up the tire rather than looping. Even stuffing the front, lifting for elements causes the front to dart where you’re pointing it. The time is abysmal. What in the absolute gently caress. Not only that, I am eating cones and I have no idea where. I only had one clean run all day, over 10 cones, and only 3 were front bumper from the lift tuck. The lotus is not a big car, it is rather narrow. You sit almost dead center though, so the tire edge is at least a foot outside of where your head is. And you won’t hear the ones you clip with the back so you have no idea where it’s happening. This car is hard to drive super fast. I was ~1-2s off what the theoretical pace of the car was, and would have been on pace without mistakes but I could not get the car to behave for an entire run. It does not handle like other cars. The ap1 S2000 used to rule the roost of cars I thought were hard to manage at autox but the lotus is on another level at the limit. The S2000 is punishing but fair. Do something too aggressively and the car will spin without notice. Be smooth and it’s rather docile. I usually only need 3-4 runs to figure out what I’m doing completely wrong but I had 10 in the lotus and still could not figure out the driving style it liked. Lift aggressively, rear comes out. Turn aggressively, rear comes out. Turn not aggressively, rear comes out? Turning early, and being on throttle by apex seems to be the best way to go to keep the car from having a little wiggle mid corner at some points. My very last run I ended only driving at 8-9/10 and taking a much more circuitous route on elements I thought I was collecting the cones. The car seemed much more stable than trying to stay tight and wiggling, and the time seemed to agree was the correct answer, but I still have no idea. The brakes on the car also, to put it mildly, suck. This course in particular has a zone where the car can stay flat almost the entire way and trap 10-15mph faster through to the end with the amount of grip it has. This goes straight into a wall that sends you right. I tried braking where any normal car would be braking, except it turned out I should have been braking about a mile back because full pedal force is like trying to stop a sail boat by blowing into the sail. Or maybe like the RMS Titanic engaging full reverse since you’re just as likely to ram something. The lotus does in fact have ABS but but you’ll never engage it. There’s also the intensity of the car. It’s like a person screaming at you in cockney. Your brain is 100% dedicated to trying to interpret what is going on. There is nothing between you and the mechanicals. Sound deadening? In the walls of the shed they built it in. Bushings? They’re like 5 grams per piece mate. It is light weight baby. It is an event to drive. The car overwhelms the senses. Sitting in grid after setting the belt lock mechanism, every time I breathed in I could feel the chassis shaking through the seat only to subside as I breathed out. The intake screams in your ear, the metal seats and unpowered steering tell you everything. The 348 had a lot of feedback but it was more refined communication, the Elise is just an assault on the senses when driving it hard. I can’t drop time experimenting with different styles in the afternoon without picking up cones in unknown places and I don’t know how to feel about the lotus. On one hand it is everything you’re hoping it would be and super fun to drive. I could continue doing runs in it all day or for every event for the rest of the season. On the other hand it is immensely frustrating to drive. This car is classed in A street which limits the canoodling you can do to fix handling, and given the choice between an a street corvette or an a street Elise, I think I would take the corvette. I don’t want to say the Elise doesn’t handle, but it requires it’s own touch and it is not an easy touch. The Elise is special, but corvettes are just good. They’re no drama. Click seatbelt, push traction control button, melt face with speed. If you die it’s because you did something really dumb. I didn’t get a chance to drive this on the street or really acclimate myself to the car but I can also see myself not really wanting to ever push the car versus something more predictable. And it’s so impractical it’s not really surprising I never see them. And the clam. Don’t even loving look at my clam when parking. It sucks. It sucks gloriously. I want to suck gloriously in it. A man approaches, “Is this thing finally free? Can I hop in?” He is 1/10th the curb weight of the car. I’m sucking too much for that to actually matter. “Your ever been in a lotus before?” I ask. “No but I hear this thing is ripping” he says. “Sure, but don’t touch the windscreen” I reply as he tries to figure out how to open the door since it doesn’t have a handle. It’s a button. He slides into the seat. Our deltoids are the California fault line rubbing against each other. The quake is about to happen and his world is about to be shook. I look over, “Bro nice delts, you ever read getting jacked with jacks?” Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 01:22 on Oct 6, 2018 |
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Oct 6, 2018 00:27
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A post after my own heart, bro
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Oct 6, 2018 01:11
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That is the last post I needed to see when I've been seeing them pop up in good shape with a salvage title in the low 20s lately. Also, I laughed really hard when I saw your leg brace point in left hand corners is the shifter
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Oct 6, 2018 01:29
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Let me know when you want to come visit and drive something lighter, scarier and less comfortable than the Lotus. It is however way easier to drive fast. So glad to see this thread return
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Oct 6, 2018 09:39
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Muffinpox posted:“Bro nice delts, you ever read getting jacked with jacks?” Please post amazon link.
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Oct 6, 2018 12:44
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AdiaBOOtic posted:A post after my own heart, bro I did it for you bby. BlackMK4 posted:That is the last post I needed to see when I've been seeing them pop up in good shape with a salvage title in the low 20s lately. They basically don’t depreciate so it’s a win win win. NitroSpazzz posted:Let me know when you want to come visit and drive something lighter, scarier and less comfortable than the Lotus. It is however way easier to drive fast. Uhhh yes. Very yes. How long does your season go? Suburban Dad posted:Please post amazon link. There’s a free version on SA in some archived thread. It’s where I got my avatar from. Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 18:10 on Oct 6, 2018 |
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Oct 6, 2018 17:29
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You should Gopro the runs and voiceover your reviews. You'd be the only one making money on youtube.
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Oct 6, 2018 19:36
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EVERYWHERE 
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BlackMK4 posted:That is the last post I needed to see when I've been seeing them pop up in good shape with a salvage title in the low 20s lately. Have these really gotten that cheap?
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Oct 7, 2018 18:36
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They aren't real common at that price, but it seems to happen. There is one on eBay right now for $24k but it is an ugly color and another that needs a front clamshell (missing entirely) for in the mid teens asking price. https://www.ebay.com/itm/2005-Lotus...4.c100903.m5276 https://www.ebay.com/itm/Lotus-Elis...d7100%7Ciid%3A1 BlackMK4 fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Oct 7, 2018 |
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Oct 7, 2018 18:45
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BlackMK4 posted:They aren't real common at that price, but it seems to happen. Are salvage titles an issue with these? My understanding is that essentially any cosmetic damage is hilariously expensive and will total a car. I'd feel pretty comfortable buying one that was fixed well, more so than a car that had "real" damage.
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Oct 7, 2018 18:56
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Residency Evil posted:Are salvage titles an issue with these? My understanding is that essentially any cosmetic damage is hilariously expensive and will total a car. I'd feel pretty comfortable buying one that was fixed well, more so than a car that had "real" damage. Getting a salvage brand on a car with body and structural damage is a good way to claim the clamshell defense, which means you have to do your homework. The Lotus forum maintains that thread for others to report known damage against VINs.
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Oct 7, 2018 20:11
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Oh god, help, I'm looking at Elises now.
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Oct 7, 2018 20:12
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Muffinpox posted:Uhhh yes. Very yes. How long does your season go? Looks like our season is over but there is a local kart track that has open lapping every other weekend. I've been out once and plan to go out there in two weeks for the next one. It isn't anything fancy (big figure 8) but you can toss the car around and get a feel for it.
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Oct 7, 2018 21:32
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meatpimp posted:You should Gopro the runs and voiceover your reviews. You'd be the only one making money on youtube. I’ve thought about it, I might try it with one. I wouldn’t want to show back to back runs since the reviews are usually a distillation of impressions, it takes about 3 runs to really feel it out and the rest is trying to chop low hanging fruit time or trying out something dumb to see if it works. That requires some story boarding and the usual creative process is to write and rewrite these about five times and finally post a review after psomeone says something that kicks off the real creative process while I’m drunk a few weeks later. kimbo305 posted:Getting a salvage brand on a car with body and structural damage is a good way to claim the clamshell defense, which means you have to do your homework. Yea, high 20s/low 30s isn’t that crazy. They’re possibly one of the most impractical street cars I’ve been in, which seems to keep the price down even though they’re unique. NSXs aren’t super practical but I could DD one every day for 200k and it’d be fine. The one I drove is a salvage title car that had a clamshell write off. There was one before at about the same price he was looking at that had the rear wheel sheared off in an accident, but took some digging to find out that info. NitroSpazzz posted:Looks like our season is over but there is a local kart track that has open lapping every other weekend. I've been out once and plan to go out there in two weeks for the next one. It isn't anything fancy (big figure 8) but you can toss the car around and get a feel for it. Maybe at the beginning of next season then, figure 8/actual parking lot autocross (except MetLife) isn’t that appealing to me. Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Oct 8, 2018 |
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Oct 8, 2018 01:18
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ON THAT NOTE: 2017 Civic si: You’re gonna need to sit for this one, Soichiro-San Video of drive: https://youtu.be/an7YW_frPdM Detective Muffinpox is on the case again. A folder slides across my desk. The backwards cap and vape hanging off a necklace tell me this can be one of two things. “Speed holes” I say. “Yea bruh, my EK has em. It looks sick.” A Honda boy. Probably looking for his stolen car. I open the folder and see a 10th gen. “What is this?” I ask. “They call it an si but I think it’s a case of a mistaken identity. There’s no vtec.” I look to the mural of my AP1 on the wall. My days of 9000rpm hit me. A swell of emotion in my heart. This case is personal. Someone is saying there’s a factory Honda with a turbo. I pull up to the event in the borrowed stanced ek with crower cams, hot pink anodized rear subframe and control arms, bumper speed holes, and a tow hook that is named Ron Jeremy. Spoon emblazoned on the windshield banner. I see one. I begin my investigation. It’s not a bad looking car but also not great. The rear bumper is just kind of what, and it looks like someone used a straight ruler for a lot of the body and had a photo of Optimus prime as their inspiration. Then again civics never looked great, except that duck bill spoiler on the EK. Also then again the 10th gen sedan looks pretty amazing in Aegan blue with black rfp1 rims. I see the microusb exhaust in the rear bumper. I hear mugen spinning in his grave, on cam. I talk to the driver, “You like K24s bro? 250 wheeps and walk anything on the highway.” Let’s see if it still attracts the normal si crowd. He tells me he had an F22. A fellow S2000 boy. But an ap2 boy. The desire to ask him if he was too pussy to live with the hardcore nature of the AP1 rises. But I’m on the case for the 10th gen, not whether AP2s can be considered real S200s. Which they can’t. I ask him instead if I can look around, maybe take a little drive. I look inside. It’s spacious. It has si embroidered on the seats. Someone left an ipad on the dash. There is no volume button on the radio. Theres a push button start. A mile per gallon readout is prominent in the dash. My chest tightens. Marketing bullshit. It’s sunk it’s claws into the civic si. How am I going to put a drift charm on if it has an electronic parking brake. Jesus, Honda. You know what, it’s still a Honda inside at least. Good sound system, good seats, good ergonomics. Honda shifter. Honda controls. Daily driver. It even gets 40 em pee gees if you drive it carefully. At least they kept that part. But Sis have never been about the look, it’s about the drive. Steering? Pretty good. The rack is fast, if not super communicative. The steering wheel is nice too. The stability control can actually be fully defeated with a pedal dance, which although it isn’t a one click button like a real sports car, at least it can be shut off. The EK doesn’t have TC, just a right foot and years of togue tutelage. I don’t want to tip him off but I ask if I can wheel it for a run to see how it is. I get the go ahead and send it. It does have a diff and launches quite briskly. It does have torque now. Quite a bit of torque. My passenger is dicking around with moving the seat back with the manual controls when I launch and gets shoved all the way to the rear of the travel and starts flailing around. Normally this would happen when the loving vtec kicks in and breaks the seat mounts but no longer. There’s no scream of anger from the motor once the needle passes 5000 rpm and charges to redline. There’s no real exhaust noise, the car is fairly quiet and mundane inside. poo poo poo poo poo poo, has it been brainwashed? Is the si I know and love abducted by the cult of focus groups and turned into another mindless drone? The motor pulls nice and cleanly to some pedestrian rpm. It won’t shove you through your seat but then never really did. But the drama of it kept you coming back. First to second has a rpm drop delay, you have to wait a little to not overwhelm the tires. So far, so no loving good. “Talk to me Honda-Kun” I say as I push it, tears rolling down my eyes. “I know you’re in there.” I turn the wheel. There’s nothing left to investigate. The once gem of fun front wheel drive cars is gone. I lift a bit and immediately almost spin the car. I haven’t almost spun a fwd car ever. “Who are you?” I say. “What are you???” I turn the wheel for a sweeper, driving harder and harder. The front tires squeal their familiar answer, I am front wheel drive, watch as I understeer. But it doesn’t terminally plow. It holds its line. There’s something in there and I’m going to find it. We come into a braking zone, no drama. Just a good pedal and good grip. Back onto throttle and the diff keeps the wheels tamed, a strong shove pulls the car out and the nose gets tugged off line. I lighten on throttle and the line immediately tightens. It’s obeying all the commands. It’s hiding something. If there’s one thing that will make a car talk it is slaloms into a Chicago box. I drag the car lightly chuffing the entire way. This one isn’t giving it up easy. We come past the first cone, I lift slightly and turn. The mask slips. It’s a case of mistaken identity alright; the mask is civility, the car is an absolute monster. The front end grip and turn in are unreal for a street car through slaloms and it carries speed everywhere. There is nothing this side of an MR car or one of the higher prep classes that can pound through them like the civic. I get it in the Chicago box, lift for entry, turn. The car tracks straight, jam the wheel left and then right as fast and early as possible and it lithely glides through. My jaw hits the floor (seriously watch at :53 in the video) This car isn’t the young hot shoe trying to prove anything. It’s Bunta. It sits there serenely smoking a cigarette while terrorizing the courses without anyone being the wiser. It stays silent as I come in and make the realization of what I’m sitting in. This is a master class in fwd.This is not just a good fwd car, this is a good any car. The fundamentals in this car are extremely dialed in. The civic was within a hundredth of a second off raw timing a 987 Boxster S that has trophied at nationals during the day. They are very fast for what they are. The only downside to the car is front wheel drive. Fwd is good but there’s still something about a rwd car that it misses. In the S2000 and NSX there’s an almost zen like state when you nail a sweeper and the car starts rotating on throttle and steering is set, you’re in this little zone of the perfect feeling corner. The fizz. The turngasm. The si will still turn and burn in a way to make you laugh, but it’s not the same. I get back to the office. My EK bro has a Dunkin’ Donuts cup waiting. I asked how he knew to be here and he said he could hear car alarms setting off along my way. “I have some bad news buddy” I say as I load up a dealership website. The blood drains from his face. “Your integera type r god is dead.” Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Oct 8, 2018 |
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Oct 8, 2018 02:14
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Please, please, get ahold of a new Type R
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Oct 8, 2018 03:07
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Muffinpox posted:“Your integera type r god is dead.” 
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Oct 8, 2018 03:12
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Your run in the Elise it looked like it was pushing the front wheels a lot, but that civic? drat, that was smooth and fast. Nice write up!
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Oct 8, 2018 03:18
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BlackMK4 posted:Please, please, get ahold of a new Type R I’ll see what I can do, I haven’t seen many at autox. Beverly Cleavage posted:Your run in the Elise it looked like it was pushing the front wheels a lot, but that civic? drat, that was smooth and fast. Nice write up! Haha, that was the run I backed it off so I could have one clean run for the day. The car wasn’t pushing, I was just taking a very wide line and the steering is really slow. I’ll see if I can get one of the actual maximum effort runs with a real line.
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Oct 8, 2018 19:37
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gently caress, now I want a new Si even more 
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Oct 8, 2018 21:19
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Here’s my third (and fastest raw) run in the lotus using actual racing lines before I started trying to dick around to get the rear to stay put. https://youtu.be/00O604D0beU Seat Safety Switch posted:gently caress, now I want a new Si even more I’m not kidding when I say I’m going to make my penance by buying one, they’re awesome cars. Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 23:57 on Oct 8, 2018 |
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Oct 8, 2018 22:41
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e: nevermind
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Oct 8, 2018 22:43
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Muffinpox posted:Here’s my third (and fastest raw) run in the lotus using actual racing lines before I started trying to dick around to get the rear to stay put. I think you're earlier comment about the slower steering is a big pointer too. the tire noise with seeming slow response didn't help the impression that it was pushing the front a ton. Also, size of screen I watched that run linked in the review post probably didn't help either. Looks like so much fun.
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Oct 9, 2018 14:31
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So uhh... Yea.
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Oct 19, 2018 00:52
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I hope you have video of the huge tire smoke clouds
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Oct 19, 2018 00:59
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The event is Sunday. I don’t think I can write a better review than is planned for this thing.
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Oct 19, 2018 01:13
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Muffinpox posted:whether AP2s can be considered real S2000s. Which they can’t.
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Oct 19, 2018 17:20
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So the s65 review may be replaced a tutorial on how to diagnose hydraulic suspension leaks and a c5z.
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Oct 20, 2018 01:39
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S65 status: broke C5Z status: Possibly broke and only got 4 runs. Ended up being a loose lug nut making noise. Proof that you can have 5 people who all know exactly what that noise is from tire swapping constantly and still all space cadet on the simple things. Lotus redux: It has new adjustable shocks which tame the weight transfer and the car is insanely good now. Everything I said about the car being frustrating to drive is completely gone and now it has that magic handling feeling of just doing anything with good inputs. A while ago someone asked the best car I’ve driven at autocross and it is a 10/10 street car. I’ll see if I can find my run, but I was almost 2s on the class by my third run. I also didn’t notice it before, but I blew my 4th run without a passenger because the car was so much faster. I guess when another person is 10% of the curb weight that tends to happen. 2004 C5 Z06: The V8, it screams, Dale. There’s something about the LS motor that breeds camaraderie. Unlike the Ap1/Ap2 rift, I don’t know anyone they owns a car with an LS that will wholeheartedly poo poo on another car with an LS in it. Put them together and it’s talks of cams, kooks, and pulls. There are lots of LS cars at autocross and I hear the rumors. I hear the differences between the C6Z and the C5Z. Today, I finally get to find out. A familiar 0 hangs in my view. Know what happens when you rev an LS6 3 times fast? Look in the rear view mirror and wraparound shades appear with an intimidating mustache trailing below. It’s Dale Earnhardt. Look closer, it’s not Dale, it’s your sexy rear end. They sprout from your face. A #3 tattoo wills itself into existence. Intrinsic knowledge of all hair spray locations within a quarter mile floods your brain. The C5Z is not as terrible inside as I remember it. There’s leather, it’s pretty chintzy. The buttons and radio are straight 90s parts bin. The t-56 shifter looks like it came from a truck, because it probably did, and the shifts are long and the gearbox rather gravelly. The seats are the same bolster-less type as in the C6Z. They also have some weird hatred of being reclined back until they finally say gently caress you and fall backwards as far as allowed. In fact, the corvette heritage really shows through. The interior is a bunch of “what the gently caress?” where engineers clearly prioritized making the car go fast and slapped together the inside while watching NASCAR drunk. The C6Z was done slightly less drunk. I can’t even hate on the interior since at least it has a design aesthetic. Heater having a mind of its own and turning on the AC when you’re requesting 80 degrees? You do you. One note where they clearly learned a lesson: The C5Z cup holder is god awful and is an engineering marvel in the c6z, probably fueled by the most vitriolic American feedback ever put on paper. You think a bald eagle can’t hold a super gulp at 1g, rear end in a top hat? Not in my backyard. The C5, despite being not being a hatch design, has a ton of rear storage. The C5Z is a fantastic GT car I am told, and even turns up the radio the faster you go to make up for the fact it is noisy at speed due to lack of sound deadening and ok panel clearances. I get the point out and the clutch is fantastic. It’s hard to stall something with this much torque but it’s not a problem because the feedback is on point. I learned to start uphill in a C5 convertible stick for this very reason. I block the memories of crying at my inability to pick up stick and thoughts that I may be relegated to automatics forever, if I can do that, I can do this. The familiar 0 hangs in my sight line. But this time it isn’t praise or a warning, I’ve come so far since the last time I was a vette boy. This time it’s zero fucks given. “Send it” the car and starter say. Roll up the rpm and engage the clutch, time to find out what this car is all about. The C6Z by the numbers is a faster car. That 7 liter v8 churns out enough torque and horsepower than you reasonably ever need. The car shifting into its torque band in first and second still causes my g addled brain to momentarily need to recalibrate how absurdly fast the car picks up speed from just above 4k to redline. 62mph in first and above 80s in 2nd arrive in a blur. Most courses are not that fast at autocross, a C6Z can brute force tag second gear redline on most courses but will spend a majority of its time cornering around 40-50mph. The sheer ferocity of the LS7 power delivery almost always means it will turn better times in 2nd gear where it’s much easier to be smoother with the car. While it is still thumping out obscene torque to the ground, it’s just below powerband. The C5Z with it’s shorter gearing and cam profile is nearly always in its power band, and the difference between the two cars is near enough indistinguishable. The C5Z never has the torque swell, it is just touch pedal and go fast. It will bury you in the seat, anywhere. They also have the same brakes, which means they don’t end. I never hit ice mode in the C5, but it also has realish tires and pads that don’t attempt to do all the braking in the first inch of travel like the stock pads. They also have the same handling without inputs. Point noise, car goes. It doesn’t skitter, doesn’t bite, it’s actually rather tame for all the performance it has. It’s like a big miata. Then you add the throttle and the mustache appears in the HUD. Or maybe that was the rpm display. Anyways, it’s 40 degrees out and I’m driving a corvette on tires that won’t retain heat all day so we get to see how it really handles. The rears spin up immediately, back out of throttle to get traction and ramp up throttle til they start to scuffle again. And they do. Fast. This thing is way more throttle sensitive than the C6. I get into second and go into a slalom. Even at low throttle a bit too much starts inducing a little bit of yaw. A light appears at the end of the runway, the specter of Dave hill beckons, “send it my child”. I understand Dale. I understand Dave. 305mm of rear tire per side can’t let me down, the car wants to yaw. The car wants to be loose. You have a right foot rotation button and two hands for guidance. The C5Z and the C6Z are alike at max attack but don’t really handle the same. The C6 is frankly, rather boring comparatively to drive fast. It just does what you tell it, and does it well. It takes well to being driven like a momentum car, there's some movement but mostly you're guiding the car with the nose and getting ready to eat any straight the second they appeared with judicious throttle application. The C5Z is much more adjust the car with the throttle, and be careful with your throttle. Give a little throttle dab in the slalom, let the car rotate and load into maximum grip, then do it again for the next element. Bend it around, drive ahead of it. The car slithers through the course. We go right into a sweeper for the back runway, the nose pushes on exit, I roll into throttle for rotation and it rotates 360 degrees. Into the grass. Dave hill beckons from the other end “Cold tires, warm them up. Send it.” More slaloms, more slideyness. But now Chicago boxes and clamshells, the corvettes worst enemy. The C6Z is a wide car. In some respects, autocrossing one is closer to trying to move a full couch around a tight stairwell corner. Slaloms and sweepers are the easy bits, it’s trying to navigating something 75 inches wide through a 3 foot gap without either putting the car in reverse or circumnavigating the globe to find the right line that’s hard. The C5Z, while only ~2inches narrower, feels about ten feet narrower and a much smaller car overall. I say feels ten feet narrower because I collected at minimum 5 cones per run with the car. Where did I hit them? Only the rear tire knows. I only speak hard thunks now for remebering cone hits and the dull slap of a tire basing a cone is drowned out by the tortured screams of the front tires. If the C6 is playing jenga, the C5 is drunk jenga. The same rules apply and the same results can be had, but you have to work for the C5 a bit more.
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Oct 23, 2018 01:52
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You can drive a real S65 any time you want, just buy an e92 M3 in DCT and then review it on different roads in between beating people up on the autocross course. I'd subscribe to that magazine.
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Oct 23, 2018 07:44
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