Thousand Dollar Supercar Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Didn't know where to post this, so I picked a forum I never read. =| We have some racers and some electronics / software types on here who may find this video interesting. The discussion panel cover a few of the new and upcoming developments in stability control systems and electronic handling enhancements, whether they exist for the right reasons from a racer / enthusiast perspective, where they're going next etc. The guy more in favour of the systems seems to own an early MR2 (as a track car?) and a WRX for ice racing.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhyscar Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 very interesting discussion/topic! you can definitely see how cars like the later model Evo's are far better performance cars for the average joe driver. The key to making that faster for fast drivers it to be able to tune the diff (much like an engine map) better drivers, different surfaces and people who really know what they are doing. Without this they are understeery pigs to drive and not any faster than a WRX with a driver that knows whats happening. The tuning of the diff is the main reason why any group N equivalent type rally series world wide has been dominated by Evo's in the past 10 years and there is only a handful of people around who know how to do it well.. Although personally I hate the feeling of stability or traction controls kicking in at any point. This has been made worse by the adaption of Fly-by-wire throttles in most modern cars as it is so easy for car manufacturers to integrate these systems fairly well (no harsh cut out etc). The reason I don't like them is I believe when driving, what the car is doing, how each tyre is reacting and how it reacts to power application and braking is the most important information in giving you the driving confidence to attack each corner as you can characterize the car, surface and the tyres behavior and know what will happen. In a car which numbs those senses (only in places as well) I don't have the confidence to push as hard as I could if I can feel everything. Parents have a 2013 wrx with stability control etc and I absolutely HATE it. First thing I do when I get into it is turn it off. They have 10km of private gravel road and I've driven it all over the country (they had a 2011 wrx previous to that) extremely hard. The way it reacts and handles changes in surfaces is fine for a driver who doesn't know what to expect but I find myself correcting steering and changing weigh transfers before it can pull itself back into line which instantly sends you heading directly into the opposite wall you were originally heading for! When everything is turned off its a good car, you can feel where it has massive amounts of mechanical grip and those places in the surface which cause a slight loss of traction and changes the slip angle or weight transfer characteristics of the car slightly (although still needs a much smarter/quicker centre diff). All this information helps me make a better assessment of whats coming up and how to get out of a situation if shit gets ugly.. Similarly, our company cars (hybrid camry) have a weird braking assist (might be linked into regenerative braking system) which gives a different feel depending on how quickly you apply the brakes annoys the crap out of me and makes me feel nervous every time I drive it.. I asked a co-worker how he thought it felt and didn't even notice it doing anything different. Essentially in summary, Electronics in new cars make it easy for manufacturers to deliver sporty characteristics with all the creature comforts of a daily driver with softer suspension, doesn't do big B-outs with the ga-gillion HP it has etc. Also makes it safer for average drivers. If people want to drive faster and look 'cool' just drive, then drive some more and then just drive again it's all about feel and what understeer/oversteer/scrubing speed and unloading each wheel feels like when behind the wheel. I like the idea of honing the skill of driving to go fast rather than just jumping in the newest technology and going fast without knowing whats actually happening. No one wants to be a poser!! All in all, very interesting discussion, electronic controls of the car (brakes, steering, throttle) scares the living shit out of me. Hence why I'm never buying a car that wasn't built in the 90's or earlier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Modern enhancements like these save lives. Even if it's only something like 0.000005% difference, that could be 1000 people who are pretty happy not to be dead! Another thing, is that some people go on about how a car without ABS can stop quicker with a good driver. Perhaps in ideal circumstances, but lets say you're turning into a corner while on the brakes and then there's a rough or slippery patch or whatever, and one wheel loses grip and locks up. You need to take your foot off the pedal and therefore all FOUR wheels brakes off to correct the problem. Unless you've got four feet running four brake pedals, then it's physically impossible to acheive what ABS can do, which is regulate the braking on just one corner if needed. There's no doubt in my mind that a sporty car with modern ABS vs non, over 100 different circumstances (Except for gravel I guess) the ABS comes out on top.In saying this, I definitely agree that lots of power, lots of mechanical grip, and lots of fasts do not necessarily mean a car is going to be fun to drive. A bog standard KP60 starlet is probably still the most grin inducing car I've yet to drive. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I think what roman is saying is get a F40 and die happy if it steps out mid corner? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 You dont need airbags in front of you, if you hit a tree backwards at 150kph 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rookie Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Roman, that rant gets a 2/10. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8Pete Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 I did like one second quicker quarter miles at drag day when I remembered to switch off traction control. Do I win? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Styles Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 As someone who has a lot of experience driving modern cars with stability control, abs, torque vectoring etc I have to say that I love that modern stuff. I used to think that it just made bad drivers look good, but in reality it means you can get more out of your car than you could do so on your own. Naturally gifted drivers probably don't need them, but I'm talking about the true pros out there that have 1000's of hours of seat time. For 99.99999% of people out there it's going to save your ass, and when you start to understand how it works you can really use it to your advantage. I will admit that it does get a bit screwy on the likes of gravel, but that's a pretty minor part of most people's driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.