New Nurburgring FWD record

rlw

TTony said:

rlw said:

Totally and utterly pointless waste of time.

But at least it wasted the time very quickly.

I think it's impossible to waste time at any rate other than the rate at which time itself flows, so no matter how little time it takes to get around the track, less time is wasted rather than it being wasted at a faster pace.

:-)

Hoof

Emp_Fab said:

Sorry to go all devil's advocaat on the thread, but... what's the point ?  Inventing all these hyper-fast rockets for what ?  What's the market for these cars ?  Public roads obviously - where there are speed limits everywhere, where we are continually told that speed kills etc.

I wonder how many admirers of these things are also happy to get on their high horse when it comes to speeders ?

The outright speed of that individual model isn't always the point. Faster cars are safer cars, ironically. They have shorter braking distances, better corning adhesion and better manners in extreme situations which should help you not crash when a motorway pile-up happens a few yards up the road or a deer runs onto a country lane. These extreme models like the Type R or the Ford RS etc have tech that trickles down to standard models in the future.

Racing improves the breed and all that.

menamestom

Emp_Fab said:

Sorry to go all devil's advocaat on the thread, but... what's the point ?  Inventing all these hyper-fast rockets for what ?  What's the market for these cars ?  Public roads obviously - where there are speed limits everywhere, where we are continually told that speed kills etc.

I wonder how many admirers of these things are also happy to get on their high horse when it comes to speeders ?

So kill all chavs, then ban fast cars because they could kill somebody (presumably non chavs), then talk about high horses?  I think you took the whole stable 
 

In the grand scheme, they are not hyper fast.  Supercars are much faster, Caterhams are, even modest sports bikes are.  It's about squeezing every ounce of engineering out of a particular platform.   Yes they are fast but you can easily break the speed limit in any car.   These are built with mainly the road in mind but have track settings, which is because many people actually go round tracks with them.  You can go round a track in Wigan for £20, 10 laps.  It's fun and plenty of people do it.

randella

menamestom said:

To be fair the testing they do at this circuit probably helps develop the adaptive suspension on these cars.  Cheaper hatches like the Fiesta ST just have passive stiff suspension but some of the more advanced systems have harder modes specifically for the track and comfort setting for everyday driving.  Nurburgring is especially challenging due to how bumpy it is and camber changes so the goal of faster times pushes the development.  

But in all honesty there are plenty of cars with soft easy rides built for comfort.  Nobody needs to buy a car with stiff suspension if they don't want to.  Just test drive cars before you buy them and ignore things that don't interest you.

Don't get me wrong, I'm interested in the tech and the competition - I follow this stuff on Pistonheads most days. 

I just get a bit fed up with the fashion for stiffer and stiffer everyday cars. No matter how many I test drive (and I've driven plenty), there's still always a compromise. 

If I went for comfort, I'd have a big old ex-fleet barge.  Mrs R. doesn't really want to be cranking about in a Volvo S80, so we meet in the middle.

We're due a change of motor soon and the current thinking is a Leon. Stiff suspension but clever damping means the ones I've driven seem to mop up the potholes pretty well which brings us full circle I guess. 

Either that or a 2CV. 

cruxiform

menamestom said:

cruxiform said:

Cars? Pfft. Everybody knows you need a 12 year old Honda Fireblade to get around the Nordschleife quickly.

Is that you?  Nice.  My dad has been round there many times in a Fireblade ;-)

It is, in 2012. It's terrifying on there!