What is fast?

"Jayhawk Jake" (jayhawkjake)
10/11/2014 at 19:01 • Filed to: None

Fast. A word we use to describe a sensation of speed. How can we quantify fast?

In my opinion fast is anything under 5 seconds 0-60. 6 seconds is quick, but it's not really fast. Between 5 and 6 is getting there, but not quite. Under 5? That's fast.

I say this based on my experiences, but what do you say Oppo? What is fast?

DISCUSSION (7)

jkm7680 > Jayhawk Jake
10/11/2014 at 19:04

When you can get a speeding ticket on the highway.

So in Virginia, 57 and jail.

In all seriousness, I'm not really sure how to respond.

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > Jayhawk Jake
10/11/2014 at 19:06

I'd say fast is when you feel like you are gonna fly out of your seat. So in a VW Bug thats 50mph lol

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Jayhawk Jake
10/11/2014 at 19:09

It's sensation, not numbers that do it for me. Go karts are "fast" even if they top out at 30, but it's because they are little more than some tubing and wheels with a motor. Hot hatches are "fast" to me because it is hilarious that the little runaround cars people dismiss as being "shoe boxes" can often keep pace or beat larger cars in a straight line and then slice and dice mid and fullsized cars up in corners. Nothing quite like taking a 35 mph turn at 70 while the mid life crisis guy in his crown vic with flowmasters has to go hard on the left pedal.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > Jayhawk Jake
10/11/2014 at 19:11

Totally depends on drivivig feel factors, and power delivery relative to the range of acceleration. My car takes mid 5s to get to 60 but has enough off idle torque to snap my head back, whereas an older DOHC BMW feels fast by pinning you to your seat around 4k RPM at higher speeds. A 914/6 or 350 Chevelle probably feel plenty fast, too, even though they don't come close to those numbers.

DrScientist > Jayhawk Jake
10/11/2014 at 19:31

biologically speaking, there is no part of our nervous system that is able to sense speed per se. that is why when youre on an airplane, you can't "tell" youre traveling several hundred mph. We are able to use tactile sensory receptors in our skin to sense air moving past our faces, however, and this would be a reasonable surrogate for sensing speed.

what youre hinting at in your post is acceleration, which all of the physics and engineering folks on here will tell you is technically different than "speed." Our vestibular systems, with sensory receptors in the inner ear, are able to sense acceleration. the three semicircular canals are arranged in opposing 90 deg planes, and so we are able to therefore sense acceleration in each of the 3 spatial dimensions.

Your question was how: How can we quantify fast? And i think what youre asking is: can we determine objective acceleration cut offs above and below which we can use the subjective labels subjective "fast" or "quick" or "slow" or whatever.

others will chime in re acceleration at different starting speeds and how engine horsepower and torque specs should be considered in this, i'm sure.

EDIT: thinking about it, i suppose that tactile sensation in the skin IS able to sense speed. with higher order systems integrating the intensity of the touch over time to generate a perception of speed. this however requires your skin to be in contact with some reference matter, be it the air outside, or the pavement under your shoes, but this as you know can be inconvenient.

qbeezy > Jayhawk Jake
10/11/2014 at 20:42

Besides sensation s others have said. I base it on potential for fiery death and disintergration. Higher of the combo the "faster" I feel

George McNally > Jayhawk Jake
10/12/2014 at 16:44

Quick- The ride I got in a 8.99 Super Gas coupe a few years ago. 0-60 in less than 2 seconds.

Fast- 50 mph on a curvy back road with shitty pavement in 1977 in my breathed-on Beetle with my buddy in his Tran-Am trying (and failing) to keep up.