"hethoughtofcars" (hethoughtofcars)
02/20/2014 at 11:26 • Filed to: Rant, Porsche, BMW, Oppositelock, Oppo
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"hethoughtofcars" (hethoughtofcars)
02/20/2014 at 11:26 • Filed to: Rant, Porsche, BMW, Oppositelock, Oppo | 2
| 11 |
Porsche is of course known for their ludicrous options and pricing. Did you want seat belts in "Racing Yellow" or "Yachting Blue" for your 911? Just $540. Your car key painted? Only $335! Headlight Cleaning System Covers in the same color as your car? A bargain at $295!
I see you sprung for the body colored headlight cleaning system covers on your six figure 911. Nice.
But there is another thing that bothers me about cars that attempt to be sportier versions of themselves...the weight savings is almost always so negligible to be pointless. You want a carbon fiber trunk lid to save a few pounds on your M5? If you carried enough cash to pay for it, that would be approximately the same weight savings. Porsche (of course) offers !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that can save you up to 22 lbs. Sound impressive? It'll offset the weight of my groceries from Whole Foods on the way home, I suppose.
Driving with a passenger: even a petite woman, child, or Llasa Apso is going to negate pretty much all that. You put on 10 lbs over the holiday? There goes the $1850 you paid for a carbon fiber spoiler. So please, let's not give into this madness. Save your money, give it to charity, buy a gym membership, or literally anything else. You'll feel better, your car will still be crazy fast, and you might even get a tax deduction for it.
JR1
> hethoughtofcars
02/20/2014 at 11:29 |
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So much for a lightweight sports car
Casper
> hethoughtofcars
02/20/2014 at 11:29 |
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I don't see your point. Weight is weight and the lighter you get the more it costs per pound to shed. Horsepower is the same, the higher you get, the more each horsepower costs. Weight reduction will always be a benefit.
Charities on average are a far bigger waste of resources than something giving a specifically measurable reduction or increase of performance. Many charities give you a less than 10% return on contribution, some as low as 2%. That's actually far worse ratio than an over priced Porsche specific option.
Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
> hethoughtofcars
02/20/2014 at 11:34 |
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No. Make it fatter, add giganto engine that produce enough torque to restart the earth, and call it a day.
McSchmalex
> hethoughtofcars
02/20/2014 at 11:46 |
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When in doubt, add lightness.
Because racecar.
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hethoughtofcars
> Casper
02/20/2014 at 11:53 |
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The point I was trying to get across was that it is crazy to spend all this money on lighter components when, in reality, we're not race car drivers and the weight savings promised mean virtually nothing in terms of real world acceleration. When I was in a high school auto shop we had an owner of a Corvette who didn't even realize he was down 75 hp due to a cylinder not firing! If someone can't tell they've lost 75 hp, how much difference is it going to make to your typical Porsche owner by spending thousands more on a slightly lighter battery or carbon fiber sill plates?
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Casper
> hethoughtofcars
02/20/2014 at 12:13 |
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You seem to miss the point though, it's still a relevant purchase. If they have the excess money to do it, it will make a measurable improvement. Even if they aren't setting a record at the 'ring or pacing in Indy, it's still a performance improvement to the vehicle. Even if the owner is off setting the weight of the 22lbs of battery saving with 22lbs of extra weight, it now means he can have the performance of a 911 that doesn't have the extra weight savings while also eating a few extra cheese burgers.
Under your logic why would anyone ever buy a car other than that which has the minimum power and mass to move what is needed from point A to point B?
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hethoughtofcars
> Casper
02/20/2014 at 12:31 |
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I don't know if this clarifies anything, but I absolutely believe in adding options that make an actual difference in 99% of driving. If I'm buying a 3 series it has to have the sport suspension and sport seats. Those I'm going to notice everyday and are going to improve the way my car drives. However, when you start getting into trying to shave pounds at the costs of thousands of dollars....pounds which you almost certainly won't notice are missing unless you are taking it to the track daily...it seems to me to be a waste of money along the lines of getting your car key painted.
The Compromiser
> JR1
02/20/2014 at 12:35 |
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HAHAHAHA! How'd did you get that picture of me?
alexotics
> hethoughtofcars
02/20/2014 at 13:10 |
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That has to be the most gorgeous 996TT with Aerokit in existence.
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Casper
> hethoughtofcars
02/20/2014 at 13:14 |
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The dollar amount is only relevant to your personal scale. Many people consider $6 a small amount of money and are willing to spend it every day on coffee where as someone else maybe able to live an entire day on only $6 of food. Likewise, many people consider $20,000 a small price for a car, where as someone else wouldn't bat an eye at paying $20,000 in just options for their car. It's all scale.
Running on incomes differing by even a single 0 can make a huge difference in what you consider reasonable to spend money on. That doesn't change the percentage of improvement, only your personal perspective on it's cost vs benefit. The benefit of shaving 22lbs doesn't change, but if I move the price down to $10 for the weight reduction, suddenly you would be first in line to check the box.
Aaron Short - PROUD OF LEYLAND
> Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW.
02/22/2014 at 20:50 |
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AMG has got this covered.