480hp on four 125 width space savers...

destrux

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May 19, 2010
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That's it... I'm buying a set of 195/55-16 for the stock rims.

[video=youtube;HPh90yNX-mY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HPh90yNX-mY#![/video]
 

destrux

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May 19, 2010
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Yeah it's not something that you would use to win a race, but it looks like fun. Kind of like those "slick track" go kart tracks.

He's right about the newer cars having such high limits that they're less fun on the street though. Sure, you can go faster than an older car, but learning car control is harder when you never reach the absurdly high limits of the car.
 

Supracentral

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Mar 30, 2005
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destrux;1796276 said:
learning car control is harder when you never reach the absurdly high limits of the car.

This is why drving schools start you out in relatively mundane cars. Skip Barber starts you out in a Mazda Miata or RX-8 before you ever get near something like a BMW M3. This lets you learn advanced driving and allows you to make mistakes at speeds that are not a certain death sentence if you screw up.

Yea, the video is dumb, but it illustrates a great point. You can have a lot of fun at relatively low speeds with something that doesn't stick like glue. For example, you take a car like my MKIV with road race coilovers and R-Compound rubber and you can push it very hard. In order to get beyond the limits of the car, you have to be going very, very fast. Mistakes at those speeds tend to end in tears...

A track day in the MKIV will cost me a $1000 set of tires, will eat up some very expensive brakes and will drink race fuel like a college student drinks beer on the weekend before finals week. And that's if everything goes well. Even worse, if I do wreck it, I'll never find another one like her. But the Mazda? They are a dime a dozen and tires/brakes for those things are dirt cheap and they run on the cheapest shit unleaded you can buy.

I'm actually considering picking up an MX-5 just to use just as a track car for Road Atlanta. It's cheap, fun as hell to drive and economical.
 

te72

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Mar 26, 2006
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Mike, I would never tell someone not to get a Miata. In fact, I think they should be used as a part of driver education... would teach people a LOT, because they do not hide driving errors, not even a bit. You screw up in a Miata, you know it sooner than later.
 

mecevans

Supramania Contributor
Jan 18, 2009
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Its stupid, but i learned allot from driving the supra when it had bald tires. Drove it like that for 6 months until i could afford new ones. Learned how to counter steer, carry speed, transfer weight and maximize grip. I dare not to do this now on my new tires on the street.
 

te72

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Mar 26, 2006
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Cars without grip always FEEL faster, and faster is more fun, right? All part of the fun... Good way to learn how to handle low grip driving in such conditions as rain (for you Cali/Southwest people), and snow for the rest of us. :)