What's Fast to You?

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind)
08/26/2017 at 15:23 • Filed to: Perceptions

In terms of 0-60 mph, 1/4 mile time, and top speed. Me personally, regardless of vehicle type or age, sub-4 seconds 0-60 mph, sub-12 second quarter mile time, and a top speed over 180 mph are when I consider a street car to be “fast.” If it doesnt have all three then it’s some form of quick.

*I do adjust the numbers depending on downforce.

DISCUSSION (25)

HammerheadFistpunch > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 15:27

I consider any daily that gets to 60 in under 7 good, under 6 quick, under 5 high performance, under 4 FAST and under 3 unnatural.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 15:29

Anything that gets to 60 under 6 seconds is mind boggling to me.

sony1492 > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 15:30

0-60 in under 6 seconds, top speed in excess of 140, idk about quarter mile times, skid pad of .90g or more

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 15:31

If something does 0-60 in under 5 seconds and can do 155 it’s fast in my book

Birddog > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 15:36

Anything in the deep 13s or lower in the quarter is fast.

AestheticsInMotion > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 15:42

Yeah, under 4 is fast for me too. Under 5.5 is what I think of as good for a daily. Top speed... Probably 160. Don’t really use quarter mile times as a metric

dogisbadob > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 16:03

0-60:
over 10 seconds slow (must be that extra digit)
under 9 seconds pretty fast
under 8 seconds fast
under 7 seconds really fast
under 6 seconds really really fast
under 5 seconds extremely fast
under 4 seconds ridiculous
under 3 seconds ludicrous

top speed
under 100 slow
over 130 fast
over 150 really fast
over 170 really really fast
over 200 extreme

I have another burner, try to guess it! > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 17:57

Anything faster than the torqueless Honda’s I’ve owned :(

CRider > dogisbadob
08/26/2017 at 18:05

A HUMMER H2 could hit 60 in 7 seconds and could hit 110, you consider those fast?

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 18:19

A car that an accelerate though a turn instead of after it.

tromoly > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 18:51

On street cars? Who cares, doesn’t matter.

On race tracks? Pretty much this.

Kinja'd!!!

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
08/26/2017 at 20:12

Ding ding ding! Yep, that’s the only metric I use.

Not much feels faster than pulling into a corner and mashing the throttle.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Carbon Fiber Sasquatch
08/26/2017 at 20:32

It’s the biggest reason I love AWD on dirt.

Carbon Fiber Sasquatch > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 20:37

The Charger R/T I drove is supposedly a little over 5 seconds to 60mph and that felt damn fast but the 2nd generation Volt I drove felt quicker in day to day driving because of the electric torque.

The fastest I’ve ever felt though was pushing my friends 2009 Si down the twisty road to a friend’s house. Hitting those corners and pushing that chassis felt way faster than any other car I’ve ever driven.

OPPOsaurus WRX > HammerheadFistpunch
08/26/2017 at 21:06

My’14 WRX s nuts fast, especially only having owned explorers

crowmolly > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 21:06

0-60 sub 4

1/4 10's or better

Top speed 175+

Any one of these.

HammerheadFistpunch > OPPOsaurus WRX
08/26/2017 at 21:12

Yeah I miss the speed of my fxt... That thing with the short ratios was a rocket

dogisbadob > CRider
08/26/2017 at 22:01

Hell yeah that’s fast! Especially for an SUV, let alone a fucking brick like the H2, poor aero even by truck/SUV standards.

briannutter1 > Wobbles the Mind
08/26/2017 at 22:01

My C5z on rt-615k tires runs pretty repeatable 11.8 @ 123 mph. It has been a bit faster. Standing mile numbers are 176 min to 179 high with the old top-end package naturally aspirated. None of that matters though as every car I get into eludes my best efforts. Daily drivers are a ‘99 Civic along with ‘04 and ‘16 Acura models.

CRider > dogisbadob
08/26/2017 at 22:23

I think you need to change your frame of reference for what is ‘fast’. There aren’t many truly slow modern cars left, but that just means we have to move the bar. A 2017 GMC Denali 3500 crew cab, long bed truck WITH 4,200 lbs in the bed runs 10.5 seconds to 60. Is that the only way to get a slow modern car? An HD truck with a load? No, you just need to recalibrate your butt dyno.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > CRider
08/27/2017 at 05:17

Does it mean you need to recalibrate? Or does it mean that most modern cars are actually fast, it’s just people are numb to what fast actually is...

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Wobbles the Mind
08/27/2017 at 05:27

Hmmm, I find numbers (especially stuff like 0-60) don’t tend to be a particularly good job of describing what ‘fast’ is.

I suppose I use a benchmark. Anything that can keep up with an E46 M3 on a twisty road is fast. Anything that can keep up with a breathed-on NA MX-5 on a twisty road is quick. Anything that said E46 M3 can’t keep up with is very fast.

This tends to mean that most SUVs with monster engines and low 4s 0-60 are still pretty damn slow, just by dint of being boats in corners. However, it’s more than possible for them to be ‘quick’ if their monster power makes up for their lack of corner speed.

CRider > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
08/27/2017 at 05:54

Speed is relative. You have to judge if a car is fast by comparing it to its contemporaries, not cars built 20 years earlier. What is average (i.e. not fast ) today would have been fast 20 years ago, but that doesn’t mean a modern minivan, which could murder a classic sports car in a drag race, is going to win any street races today.

RT > Wobbles the Mind
09/03/2017 at 13:21

If you drove an original Mini flat out, it would feel ridiculously fast.

But that car has well under 100 horsepower.

What you really want is a car with the ‘Jinban ittai’ philosophy (basically the design brief of the NA MX-5)...

The car should be as compact and as light as possible while meeting global safety requirements.

The cockpit should comfortably accommodate two full-stature occupants with no wasted space.

The basic layout should be a front-midship rear-drive configuration with the engine positioned ahead of the driver but behind the front axle for 50:50 weight distribution.

All four wheels should be attached by wishbone or multi-link suspension systems to maximise tire performance, road grip, and dynamic stability.

And that a power-plant frame should provide a solid connection between the engine and rear-mounted differential to sharpen throttle response.

RPM esq. > HammerheadFistpunch
09/28/2017 at 02:49

My butt dyno agrees with this formula.