"briannutter1" (briannutter1)
07/11/2014 at 09:54 • Filed to: None
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"briannutter1" (briannutter1)
07/11/2014 at 09:54 • Filed to: None | 0
| 11 |
My Volvo 850 wagon in at the Swedish Solution getting a new steering rack, tie rod ends, front tires, and brakes. In the interim, I'm driving a S4 sedan with 325k miles. It's a rolling cigarette butt now, but I remember when they were new. I looked at a beautiful blue S4 wagon in 2003, but went with an '03 bugeye wagon instead. The switch placement for EVERYTHING is a disaster, it's hard to see out of -like somehow having double the number of a/b/c pillars, the trans has goofy shift points, brakes are mushy, and this particular example has been lowered too much. As such, I wasn't having much fun with it until I got it up to speed last night and this morning. The brakes are have good capacity and the 0 toe alignment has been inviting me to throw it into corners. It's pretty good once up to speed. The engine/trans is fine past 3/4 throttle and winds out nicely....the only problem is I'm going waaay too fast when the engine is in it's happy place. I won't miss it when I turn it in this evening, but it's a nice change in perspective.
mr2gud2u
> briannutter1
07/11/2014 at 10:19 |
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I bought my maggy with the ideal for having a great road trip car, with great straight line speed, room for parts for work, and future kids. That being said. It does what I bought it to do. Its heart stopping fast in a straight line, its pretty fun around the autocross track, and its good road trip car, but driving around the city is a snooze aa
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briannutter1
> mr2gud2u
07/11/2014 at 10:31 |
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Just as you say. I'm not sure if I had different expectations, but it's a bit of fun for the moment at least.
MazdaMonkey
> briannutter1
07/11/2014 at 10:40 |
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Yeah a lot of high-end sports cars now require you do crazy illegal things every time you give it full throttle for more than a second or want to encounter something close to its handling limits. Say what you will about the Miata, but one nice thing is that you can drive that thing like a bat out of hell around town and still not attract the attention of the local LEOs (for the most part).
JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
> briannutter1
07/11/2014 at 10:40 |
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Cars that Get Better when you're doing 30%(or more) over the speed limit: I've had a notable member of this club...
1992 Alfa Romeo 164-S.
What? It's a heavy, mid-size FWD sedan with a 3.0l V6, sounds like it should be a Camry... it kinda is in traffic, the clutch is a little heavy, but the V6 is torque-y and smooth and despite the lumpy idle it burbles along in slow traffic with the A/C blowing cold and the leather Recaros coddling your butt like a good semi-luxury car should... the switch gear is fiddly and button heavy, and the brakes feel a little wooden... the shift action is nice, but that clutch is starting to be a little tiring...
Traffic clears...
hit the "Sport" button on the multi-mode suspension, mat the throttle and prepare for tire smoke.
That Busso V6 was under-rated for power. As the tach needle swings past 4000 RPM the power delivery stays linear and infinitely smooth, but the SOUND, oh GODS THE GLORIOUS SOUND!!! Snarling, shreddy, screaming Italian V6 music! struggling to hang onto the steering wheel, you bonk the rev limiter hard, the engine gave no indication, either in power delivery, or sound that you were getting close, so you grab second, hard, and light the fronts up again, there's almost no torque-steer due to the clever offset jack-shaft that means both axles are the same length despite the offset transmission output, but the front end is definitely struggling for traction... then it settles in and keeps pulling. Bump! damn rev limiter! 3rd! The shifter is like throwing the bolt on a very, very nicely tuned Mauser action, the clutch snaps back like a bear trap, the tires only chirp a little into third, but you're doing 60 now, so that's nothing to sneeze at... At this point the 164-S becomes a wedge-shaped, highly aerodynamic, speed-seeking cruise-missile, it hunkers down on it's tires and RUNS. When it was released, the 164-S was the fastest front-drive car you could buy. In Italian tradition top speed is not electronically limited, 150 MPH is easy. Too easy. MUCH TOO EASY. 160 is possible.
Stab the brakes and the heat created as you slow down from ludicrous (and highly illegal) speeds wakes up the system like throwing scalding water on a sleeping cat, suddenly it's alive. The pedal feels perfect, the progression of stopping force is perfectly linear... without air being crammed through the radiator at over 100MPH the temp gauge starts to swing up rather quickly... what's the solution? more speed.
All the speed.
All the time.
I have never driven a car before of since that was so willing, so comfortable, so demanding of being driven fast. I've driven things that got to 60 faster, I've driven things that theoretically had higher top speeds, I've driven things that handled better (though the 164-S is no slouch, really...), but nothing has continually taunted me to go as fast as that car did.
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briannutter1
> JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
07/11/2014 at 10:45 |
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What an excellent writeup. I was 16 when I first saw one of these in Nebraska of all places. 1988 ish so it must have been one of the first ones. I loved the futuristic styling.
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JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
> briannutter1
07/11/2014 at 11:02 |
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Not mine, but that's what it looked like, same colours (black over tan), same wheels..
Here's mine in B&W...
God I miss that car.
sm70- why not Duesenberg?
> briannutter1
07/11/2014 at 11:10 |
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so...32mph in a neighborhood is when they get fun?
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briannutter1
> JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
07/11/2014 at 11:39 |
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excellent. Not a lot of cars available today that impact me like that one did.
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briannutter1
> sm70- why not Duesenberg?
07/11/2014 at 11:41 |
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LOL. I'll say yes, but theoretically the car would be best going over the Shoreway bridge and over to Deadman's curve in Cleveland in the middle of the last night.
BarryDanger
> briannutter1
07/11/2014 at 12:10 |
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That's my 400hp will always be the sweet spot. I don't care about drag racing anyone but having nearly all my torque at 2000rpms is quite nice.
Source: 2006 GTO
Makoyouidiot
> JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t
07/11/2014 at 16:17 |
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And just like that I want my goddamn 164 back.