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Thanks for this thread, it's awesome!Muffinpox posted:I'll be watching you: 1959 Brunton Super Stalker pt 1 Muffinpox posted:Aero is what ruins everything for you. I rode in a 599XX and have not chased the dragon enough to replicate the experience of my brain struggling to comprehend that we weren't going into a wall at the end of a straight at 150mph even though it's like five feet away because the car can pull 2+g under braking. So yea. I drove this a while back (it has more and better aero since this photo):  Unnnng.... un-tuck shirt to cover front of pants. It's really indescribable. I used to run a shifter kart, and this is kind of like that, but bigger, and even stickier through the corners because of the aero.
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Aug 12, 2015 22:06
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Jesus.
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Aug 13, 2015 00:26
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Muffinpox posted:Yep, even with the terrible dampers it was still really quick, the only cars on street tires that were faster all had autocross tires and suspension. Yeah, BUT LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THESE BALLS!!! I scared the poo poo out of myself tonight with the blue car. Nothing on this earth movies like this car does, but I'm pretty sure without the Bilsteins instead of sliding sideways across 4 lanes on the power I'd have ended up in a tree. Sanity and this car simply have no relationship.
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Aug 13, 2015 08:06
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The Locator posted:Thanks for this thread, it's awesome! Well that certainly looks fun.
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Aug 13, 2015 08:59
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The Locator posted:So yea. I drove this a while back (it has more and better aero since this photo):  I really need to get back in a aero car at some point. I drove a Exige with some aero (less than that car) and it just stuck to the track and would go anywhere you wanted it to go.
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Aug 13, 2015 13:01
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drgitlin posted:What they're doing is overlapping the combustion and exhaust cycles slightly, so that some of the fuel gets burnt in the pipe on the way to the cat. It's a bit like a controlled misfire. Although the main reason is because there's something childlishly delightful about a car that goes BANG! every time you lift off at high revs or change gear, it also apparently helps emissions by burning off more nitrogen compounds in the exhaust. This. SRT has been doing it since the first SRT-4. They were so heavy handed with it that a lot of people that started doing custom fuel maps or things like Megasquirt in the early days of the SRT-4 they removed those little injector blips on decel. I couldn't ever do that though. Yes it's juvenile but it's just so unabashedly gear head.
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Aug 17, 2015 22:19
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Maker Of Shoes posted:Yes it's juvenile but it's just so unabashedly gear head. Like Muffinpox revving on and off outside my garage door (which is in a concrete tunnel) to let me know he's there.
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Aug 17, 2015 23:18
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kimbo305 posted:Like Muffinpox revving on and off outside my garage door (which is in a concrete tunnel) to let me know he's there. You live in a concrete tunnel?
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Aug 17, 2015 23:35
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Seat Safety Switch posted:You live in a concrete tunnel? Vaultec vault, hes getting ready for the next fallout game.
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Aug 18, 2015 02:31
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I will emerge and roam the wastes in real time once FO4 comes out. I will trade anything for gasoline.
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Aug 18, 2015 03:30
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Drove a FiST this weekend and a CSP Miata. I loved both of them. I then drove a base 2015 5.0 MT and was very disappointed by it. The gearing seemed tall. The toque wasn't what I expected and the power delivery wasn't as linear as I had hoped. It also felt really really numb.
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Aug 18, 2015 20:02
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drgitlin posted:What they're doing is overlapping the combustion and exhaust cycles slightly, so that some of the fuel gets burnt in the pipe on the way to the cat. It's a bit like a controlled misfire. Although the main reason is because there's something childlishly delightful about a car that goes BANG! every time you lift off at high revs or change gear, it also apparently helps emissions by burning off more nitrogen compounds in the exhaust. Hey, isn't this what Red Bull Racing was doing a few years back to keep exhaust going through various areo bits while the driver was off-throttle in the corners?
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Aug 18, 2015 20:09
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Sadi posted:Drove a FiST this weekend and a CSP Miata. I loved both of them. I then drove a base 2015 5.0 MT and was very disappointed by it. The gearing seemed tall. The toque wasn't what I expected and the power delivery wasn't as linear as I had hoped. It also felt really really numb.
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Aug 18, 2015 20:33
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Solkanar512 posted:Hey, isn't this what Red Bull Racing was doing a few years back to keep exhaust going through various areo bits while the driver was off-throttle in the corners? If I'm reading this right, then yes: http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/06/blown-diffusers-so-what-exactly-is-being-banned/ Muffinpox have you had a chance to try an R8 between the cones?
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Aug 19, 2015 00:46
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drgitlin posted:If I'm reading this right, then yes: http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2011/06/blown-diffusers-so-what-exactly-is-being-banned/ No, if you can find one I would take up the challenge though 
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Aug 19, 2015 16:58
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Muffinpox posted:No, if you can find one I would take up the challenge though drgitlin just drove one for a week, because Audi just sent him one for fun I guess? (  )
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Aug 19, 2015 22:13
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Psion posted:drgitlin just drove one for a week, because Audi just sent him one for fun I guess? ( He's an automotive journalist.
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Aug 19, 2015 22:28
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Raluek posted:He's an automotive journalist. I know, but if you read the article he didn't ask for it or anything, they practically dropped it off on his doorstep and said "so uh ... here you go" it's cool though, I like reading threads like this and reviews like that because it's fun to read about fast cars I'm thoroughly unqualified to drive.
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Aug 19, 2015 22:30
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I guess I sort of asked for it to drive to Watkins Glen a few weeks ago but they said no because that would have been 1000 miles round-trip, but yes, it was a bit of a surprise. Muffinpox - whereabouts are you based? Might be worth trying to see if something like that is possible.
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Aug 19, 2015 23:09
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The Locator posted:Thanks for this thread, it's awesome! Is that Fred Zust's Lotus? I think he wins everything every year, that car is insane.
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Aug 20, 2015 05:11
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Zoom Zoom, motherfuckers
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Pr0kjayhawk posted:Is that Fred Zust's Lotus? I think he wins everything every year, that car is insane. It is. He has won XP every year since 2008 except for 2012 (I think), where the car had some catastrophic mechanical failures at the Pro (which is only a couple days before Nats) and he still managed 2nd or 3rd that year (I'm too lazy to look it up). I don't remember what the failures were, but I remember thinking at the time that most people would have just put it back on the trailer and gone home. And yea, the car is insane, and it just keeps getting faster with better aero, better suspension, and more power on a pretty regular cycle.
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Aug 20, 2015 07:02
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This super stalker review is cursed. I lost the first draft and then my computer broke last night. I'll try rewriting it from memory today.Psion posted:I know, but if you read the article he didn't ask for it or anything, they practically dropped it off on his doorstep and said "so uh ... here you go" Whhaaaa, I need to sell this to as a column legit website or turn it into a carblog so I can get press credentials. drgitlin posted:I guess I sort of asked for it to drive to Watkins Glen a few weeks ago but they said no because that would have been 1000 miles round-trip, but yes, it was a bit of a surprise. Boston, that would be awesome! The Locator posted:It is. He has won XP every year since 2008 except for 2012 (I think), where the car had some catastrophic mechanical failures at the Pro (which is only a couple days before Nats) and he still managed 2nd or 3rd that year (I'm too lazy to look it up). I don't remember what the failures were, but I remember thinking at the time that most people would have just put it back on the trailer and gone home. For those of you who don't autocross, and wondering why we wear helmets in parking lots, they use a formula to normalize all cars so you can compare drivers and the time is called PAX. It can be used to figure out how fast most cars are in relation to eachother. With the same driver, that Elise is about 5-6 seconds faster than a C6 Z06 on slicks on a 60 second course. Since power isn't really a main factor in autocross, all that time is made up in transitioning so hard your head gets slammed into the door pillars with enough force to probably give you a mild concussion. Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 15:14 on Aug 20, 2015 |
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Aug 20, 2015 14:57
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I come back to AI after years away and see a pages of meh megathreads and then this masterpiece Awesome reviews mang
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Aug 21, 2015 07:43
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Brunton Super Stalker pt2: Ohh, beautiful baby, I was very lonely till I met you on Sunday Hello, how are you doing today? Yes, it is a lovely day isn't it. My name is Muffinpox and I'm here to ask you an important question, have you heard of our Lord and Saviour The Lotus Seven? Hey. HEY. DON'T YOU CLOSE THAT TAB, YOU'RE GONNA READ WHAT I HAVE TO SAY AND YOU'RE GONNA LIKE IT. I was once like you, you see. A sinner. I wanted performance, but I still indulged in the pleasures of the flesh. Rich leather interiors. Radios. Six disc CD changers in the dash. Heated and power seats. I wanted lots of horsepower and grip and I still wanted my backseats. I wanted power windows and power steering and power brakes and powered bolstering. Then I saw the light one day, The Brunton. This thing is a car in the way Toyotas Sprint car entry is a Camry. You don't open the door and sit, you climb over an exterior rollcage and plop down into a a piece of metal welded into the shape of a seat. Before I started the motor I thought I could hear Colin Chapman slightly sobbing at the fact there were cloth covers on the seat. That's like, half a pound. Radio? No. HVAC, AC? Nope. Windshield? Get out of here. Speedometer? Maybe, I couldn't see it. But there were shift lights. Roomy interior? The chassis tube is built like a pinebox coffin, which is rather fitting as this where your previous notion of a fast car is laid to rest. The amenities in this car involve a shifter boot and shift light. I roll out to the stop, the steering is unassisted but not as problematic as the NSX. The curbweight is approximately 1500lbs so the wheels actually point where you want them without much effort, even with a very short steering rack. I relish not looking like an idiot and plowing wide again, until I tried to brake and discover they are also unassisted. That takes a lot of pedal force. I keep pressing harder and harder until I come to an extremely abrupt stop. The other issue is that, being a coffin, there is almost no room in the pedal box. I can barely press the gas with my right foot and not catch the brake, left foot braking is out of the question. There's something weird about sitting in a car and being able to see the suspension and tires, especially when you're so low that you're practically the same height. I hear something behind my right shoulder, but it's just a rock being thrown into the fender liner. The front tires won't spook you like that though, they just throw the rocks and tire chunks straight into your face. Who needs a windshield when you have a visor? I get the go ahead and.... it's happened. Great. This car has a supercharged 3800 and produces ~300whp, putting the car in the 4-5lb/hp territory. It is mind bendingly fast acceleration. And I've become accustomed to that level because of that stupid Z06. Yep, that's right, I pressed the gas pedal and thought "gee is that all?" It also may be due to a much flatter power delivery but I would get the pedal all the way to the stop, the speedometer would start spinning like the foot altimeter in a plane doing a straight dive, the cone that was half a mile away a second ago was now here, but the novelty of the intense shove has worn off. For those of you who haven't had this curse placed on them, it's normally the real world version of the world warping as Paul walker slams it into 8th in the first fast and furious. But that's ok, because it's light. You know what seperates fast drivers and slow drivers? Muscle memory. Well lots of stuff, but let's simplify and call it muscle memory. On street tires I now find myself thinking about the suspension settings and what would be better at every single stage of driving because it's all muscle memory that is directing the car. You start paying attention to little things like cracks on the surface, where the rubber lines are, why is that entire corner shirtless, or if a cone is an inch off of its box marking. Not because you're superhuman, just because your brain has finally funneled out all the rest of the sensations so you can focus on dumb poo poo like what is the next chorus of the song I'm humming. It's like Tetris slowly ramping up the speed. The next stage is when you go to slicks, your brain will start to have a hard time comprehending how much quicker things happen and suddenly you find yourself slightly off. Then there's major aero where your brain just shuts off because that one Tetris block is eighty and something is stabbing you in the balls. With that being said, this car was a full 10 seconds faster than my miata, which worked out to ~15-20% faster. This is not the size of speed gap you jump in and tame the dragon on a first run, no matter how good you are. I could not mentally keep up with this car into the first slalom. There is a much smaller window for you to hit your mark, and by the time you think "I'm late" you're at your next mark and late for that too. Even if you miss the car will still go through insanely fast since it has almost no weight, and transitions like you wouldn't believe, but I don't think I got one slalom timed correctly. Then there's the brakes. I screwed up almost every braking zone since I was formerly driving a line where I was using left foot braking. Left foot braking means adjusting your braking zones much much deeper, and I would blow those marks and have to stay wide to scrub enough speed to make corners. Except the one where I went right into a cone wall because I didn't get enough pedal pressure in time, because non-assist brakes. I really hate non-assisted stuff. And then, for the astute, there's a big rear wing and no front wing. The nice thing about cars with mechanical grip is that their handling characteristics don't really change much in relation to speed. Aero cars are the opposite, meaning low speed handling can be vastly different from high speed handling. When you lack a front wing, the car starts understeering more the faster you go. This car went from not fast to going fast, very fast. There was one particular long sweeper where you could feed in power in other cars and everything was chill. In this car I suddenly found myself with diminishing front grip and a nose that was pushing terminally into a box of cones. The question wasn't so much if the car was going to understeer, but how much. This car wasn't as satisfying to drive as I thought it would be, mostly because of the lack of a front wing. But then I saw my time and thought about how much time I left out there and realized that my first, awful run out in the car was good enough for second fastest time of the day by a second. Fastest time was set by this car, and was another 3 seconds faster. And that is absurd. Just absolutely absurd. I heard Colin through the exhaust rumble "Lightweight baby" and I have to agree because my god. All of the speed. Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Aug 28, 2015 |
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Aug 28, 2015 17:13
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Muffinpox posted:Brunton Super Stalker pt2: Ohh, beautiful baby, I was very lonely till I met you on Sunday HHHHHHNNNNNNGGGGGGG 
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Aug 28, 2015 17:24
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So clearly the answer is a front wing. 
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Aug 28, 2015 17:43
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IOwnCalculus posted:So clearly the answer is a front wing. Dump the passenger seat, add a little to that roll cage, and it can be the DW12 replacement. Hell it's already #32, paint it up yellow and put a Harroun-style rear view mirror on it.
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Aug 28, 2015 19:24
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There, you've had your fun. Are you ruined for actual cars now?
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Aug 28, 2015 21:20
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Good thread OP. Could you rate the cars in a list, with #1 being the best car, and then add additional cars to your appropriate spot as you review them? I'd like to see how you rate them against each other.
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Aug 28, 2015 23:37
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Are you ruined for actual cars now? Speaking for myself obviously, and not the OP - When I sold my CP car* and switched to a street tired '95 M3, it wasn't so much 'less fun', as a different kind of fun. The XP car I pictured earlier, and the CP car were a kind of fun that, at least for a while, made it worth dealing with the hassle (and $$$$) of a truck & trailer to get them to events. Eventually though, I just didn't want to deal with it anymore, so I went to a 'street' car (it was still a dedicated autocross car, full suspension, race seats and no A/C). Now that I'm down to a single car (Focus ST) it's even more of a casual thing for me. I drive to the events on whatever street tires I have on the car, go out, drive and have fun, and drive home. So did those other cars 'ruin' it for me? Not really, but they changed my perception about the level of dedication needed to be competitive in the sport, and at some point I just decided I didn't care enough about the trophies to spend that kind of time and money. *CP car - 
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Aug 29, 2015 02:49
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IOwnCalculus posted:So clearly the answer is a front wing. It's getting one and they it will be a good 5s quicker which is just silly. Seat Safety Switch posted:There, you've had your fun. Nah, driving cars fast is always fun, it's just a different kind of fun when they're not that ballistically fast. Same with getting accustomed to that amount of power, doing pulls is still awesome but it just lacks the novelty. leica posted:Good thread OP. Could you rate the cars in a list, with #1 being the best car, and then add additional cars to your appropriate spot as you review them? I'd have to think about this for a while, it's pretty hard to do without an objective measuring stick. The civic is really high on my list but numbers wise it's a really lovely car. The Locator posted:Speaking for myself obviously, and not the OP - When I sold my CP car* and switched to a street tired '95 M3, it wasn't so much 'less fun', as a different kind of fun. The XP car I pictured earlier, and the CP car were a kind of fun that, at least for a while, made it worth dealing with the hassle (and $$$$) of a truck & trailer to get them to events. Eventually though, I just didn't want to deal with it anymore, so I went to a 'street' car (it was still a dedicated autocross car, full suspension, race seats and no A/C). Pretty much this, if someone says "do you want to drive the poo poo out of my car" no one is ever going to say no because it's all fun in its own way.
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Aug 29, 2015 19:45
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Muffinpox posted:but the novelty of the intense shove has worn off. For those of you who haven't had this curse placed on them, it's normally the real world version of the world warping as Paul walker slams it into 8th in the first fast and furious. It's really disconcerting when this happens. I wonder if it afflicts Tesla owners? Presumably. This year probably won't work but if you can get in touch early next year once you know your autocross schedule I can see about coming along with something fast and shiny from a press fleet. Boston might be like DC in that it's just far enough away from NYC to be a bit of a pain in the arse to arrange interesting cars since lots of manufacturers keep their fleets in NYC and LA, but with enough notice I think we might make something work.
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Aug 29, 2015 22:44
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Tomorrow I get to drive a boost buggy drgitlin posted:It's really disconcerting when this happens. I wonder if it afflicts Tesla owners? Presumably. They have autoxs at MetLife stadium and I've heard theyre as good as the airfield ones due to the parking lot size so Id be willing to pick up a car in NYC. I'm also dating someone in NYC so I'm down there basically every other weekend. The bigger pain in the rear end would be actually getting the car since I have no idea how parking in NYC works. Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Aug 30, 2015 |
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Aug 29, 2015 23:31
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I've been mulling over the subjective car list, it might be too hard. All the cars own in their own way. This was also done more as a "what is it like to drive" review rather than what is better. For instance, the viper isn't particularly fast at autox due to the suspension settings being meh, so it would rank pretty low objectively, but it's seriously one of the most hilariously batshit insane cars you can drive and it's wonderful because of that. Subaru BRZ, revisited  Cars are a lot like people. There is no perfect car, just a car that is perfect for someone. I'm only happy when it rains, the S2000 will live on in my memory as the best car I've ever had despite its psychotic tendencies. But cars and people can and do change, and Taylor swifts new single "Wildest Dreams" blares as I run into a car I previously drove. I remember that car sitting there in blue paint in the sunset. It wasn't the fast I wanted but it was fun, and it had the makings of something great underneath it all. I cherished that short fling. But something was different this time, the big "RIVAL" stamp on the sidewall was promising me it had changed for the better. Give it another chance. Let's burn bright for that one run and see if it will work. Sometimes change fixes old flaws but expose new ones that were previously hidden. But I had to know where this would go.  Inside it remains the same, same bathtub like interior, same old Subaruness, same rotary dials. It's like stepping back into an old pair of shoes. The clutch catches me off, the bite point is high and short, something that didn't immediately come to mind from the last memory of the car. I get the go ahead and in one, short summary: Yes. Yes, yes, yes. This car is so good. It is so goddamn good. I feared that the increase in grip would just destroy everything that made the car fun previously, the eagerness to play. It loses the low speed limits and the tail wagging but the driving dynamics are so solid it doesn't matter. It's taking the glasses off and letting the hair down on the nerdy girl, she's still a nerd but now she's all grown up. Not really grown up, just not wearing glasses. And her hair is down. What I'm saying is the chassis and suspension are killer. The old tires masked what is a very direct and easy to place front end. The turn in feels great and the front delivers a slight chuffing feeling through the front tires once you exceed the limit and understeer sets in. Since I could actually now set a good time, I didn't try to do my best tofu delivery run and drove the car cleanly. The power is easy to put down but gone is the easy throttle induced oversteer; RIP parking lot speed drifting. It could handle more power on stock tires and it can definitely handle more power now, but it's still great with just 200hp. It responds well to left foot braking and feels extremely stable and very confident in any situation. It communicates what it is capable of and how much grip is left through the chassis very well. The suspension also doesn't feel overwhelmed by the increase in grip, which can frequently become a problem. It's like being able to buy a prepped miata with a roof from the factory. The better tires do bring up some things I didn't notice before, mostly the brakes feel just kinda meh. I'm not sure if it's the brake setup or the pads, but there's lack of brake feel. I think I'd want some more aggressive pads in there. I was driving a 2.5RS with a 2004 STI drivetrain at that event and felt the same about those brakes. The brake placement is also very close to the throttle pedal in the BRZ, I was a bit thrown off on how I had to orient my feet to left foot brake well. We come back in. I know that the BRZ is what I want in my heart, maybe not right now, but someday. It's changed for the better and it's new flaws are only minor. It's practical, it's fun, and it's solid to the core. But I want to find myself, find what I like before really settling down like that. I want my fun, my stupid dumb cars. I want to try everything. A yellow STR prepped AP2 waits for me. I look at the BRZ and say "I will remember you" as I head back to take a run in the only model of car I've ever truly regretting letting go of. Muffinpox fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Sep 2, 2015 |
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Sep 2, 2015 20:57
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Subaru is generally dogshit at brake feel. In the Imprezas for awhile people would upgrade to the STI master cylinder or run a master cylinder brace but they always felt not good enough and that the owners were trying hard to justify the expense.
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Sep 2, 2015 21:06
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Someone autocrossed their Vantage, hunh.
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Sep 3, 2015 03:31
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Subaru is generally dogshit at brake feel. In the Imprezas for awhile people would upgrade to the STI master cylinder or run a master cylinder brace but they always felt not good enough and that the owners were trying hard to justify the expense. I was wondering about that, I didn't like the brakes for all three subarus I've driven at events. kimbo305 posted:Someone autocrossed their Vantage, hunh. He helps run one of the clubs, he had an evora he would do events with occasionally as well. Normally he drives a type 65 or cobra, I forget which.
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Sep 3, 2015 20:04
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Yea, the brake pedal leaves something to be desired. I'm still working on finding the appropriate pressure because it doesn't give a lot of feedback (and I'm bad.) This year I'm on the old rivals so it's not quite as fast as the bridgestones but obviously still a huge step up from the stock tires. I'm still working on getting more aggressive and going flat out more instead of wimping out and touching the brakes to settle the car. The BRZ is great for inspiring confidence and doesn't really do anything to scare you so it's been a great car to learn autocross in. As a side note, I drove the above-mentioned sti-swapped 2.5RS and hoo boy if the BRZ that kind of it'd be absurd in a good way.
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Sep 4, 2015 02:49
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bsamu posted:Yea, the brake pedal leaves something to be desired. I'm still working on finding the appropriate pressure because it doesn't give a lot of feedback (and I'm bad.) You're good, you just need to drive faster. Also:  I didn't drive it but hoo boy. Front end grip for days.
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Sep 5, 2015 21:49
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Having owned all three flavors of Mazda 6 (6i, 6S and speed6) I would be interested to get you take on a Speed6 or a Speed3 if you can get your hands on the wheel. I've never taken a Speed3 out, but the Speed6 was fun for what it was (although I was in constant fear of breaking it). That thing had the most unexplained tight turning radius I have ever experienced, especially for a car that is AWD. It was like the rear inside wheel would nearly be stopped if you were flipping a U-turn. I loved how tight it was.
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Sep 9, 2015 22:40
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