Which new car to lease?

[DuckThor Evil]

Try driving that FWD car on the edge of traction limits in corners and experience the understeer, thats when you learn that FWD cars are rubbish for anything but getting from point A to B.

Funny how straigth line acceleration was the most important in that other thread, now we should suddendly care about "on the edge" traction limits of our every day cars... I don't usually drive on the edge when I'm driving around, I do push the pedal to the metal quite often though and my FWD car gives my happy moments when doing so despite it's paltry 1500kg/290hp power to weight ratio.

 

[Frank]

Funny how straigth line acceleration was the most important in that other thread, now we should suddendly care about "on the edge" traction limits of our every day cars... I don't usually drive on the edge when I'm driving around, I do push the pedal to the metal quite often though and my FWD car gives my happy moments when doing so despite it's paltry 1500kg/290hp power to weight ratio.

I think it's mostly that you cannot really accelerate off the track anywhere. Not even on the German highways most of the time, because the majority of the cars there drives around 120 km/h.

Then again, it's fun to chase around those slow drivers with some of the other powerful cars if traffic is light. And my current car is powerful and fast enough to do so.

Also, if you have AWD and a strong clutch, you can beat most FWD cars at the traffic light if you want to. But it's not a good idea to just let the clutch go when you're revving over 4000 rpm, as it will break sooner rather than later if you do that often. Rather, just let it go slowly and keep the engine running at over 3000 rpm. You'll get launched faster than in a car with FWD and twice the hp or more.

If you go off-road, on gravel or on a large slab of tarmac, to have some fun, you can take a single corner spectaculary in a FWD car, and skid to a stop. RWD is great to throw that car around and keep on turning, but if you want to do it fast and controlled, so you can take the next one the same way, you really need AWD. And not the kind where wheel spin is controlled by ABS.


As to if you would want or need to do so: boys and their toys. It's fun, and when you are old enough to be able to afford those toys, why not use them? And by that time you probably have the common sense to do it more safely than when you're 16.

Commuting is rather boring in general, so if you can take advantage of that time you have to spend in that car instead, all the better. And it makes it fun to go for a drive in your spare time.


Edit: and, of course, AWD is great when the weather is bad. Which it is quite often around here. It keeps you in control.

 

[Mize]

Try driving that FWD car on the edge of traction limits in corners and experience the understeer, thats when you learn that FWD cars are rubbish for anything but getting from point A to B.

As I said, that's what the RWD Miata is for and it throws its backend around as well as most any car if you disable the stability stuff. Most of my driving is A-to-B (work, dinner, etc.) so that's the A3/CX-9 depending upon cargo, people and weather (CX-9 is AWD). When it's fun driving time that's the Miata. The 4Runner is strictly for trips with the K9s.

Nonetheless, in moderate traffic on an airport run to Dayton (~45 miles) the A3 is the best because with that turbo and S-geared tranny I can dodge and weave and blow past most folks at will making much better time than I ever could in either of the Mazdas.

 

[Frank]

Btw, the biggest risks when going fast or weaving trough traffic at a fast clip are other drivers and blown tires. If one of your tires blow when you're doing 200 km/h, you have a major problem. And mostly because your primary reaction will be to brake hard.

Which has about the same effect as braking when cornering fast.

 

[Mize]

Btw, the biggest risks when going fast or weaving trough traffic at a fast clip are other drivers and blown tires. If one of your tires blow when you're doing 200 km/h, you have a major problem. And mostly because your primary reaction will be to brake hard.

Which has about the same effect as braking when cornering fast.

While I'll do like 200+ km/h driving I save that for my trips to Germany. I don't go much above 165 km/h on the Dayton run or in traffic. On a wide-open road I might do close to 200 here in the US, but that's typically $100+ if you're caught so it's rare.

 

[Frank]

While I'll do like 200+ km/h driving I save that for my trips to Germany. I don't go much above 165 km/h on the Dayton run or in traffic. On a wide-open road I might do close to 200 here in the US, but that's typically $100+ if you're caught so it's rare.

I had a tire blow on me two times so far, and I'm still surprised I got away without anything more than a crushed car the second time.

The first time I was driving an old car (a loaner), and the metal plating above and in front of the right wheel at the back was rusted as much that it came loose and punctured the tire and blocked the wheel while I was doing 120 km/h. Fortunately, there was no other traffic (early on a sunday) and the highway was very wide, but it freaked me out big time. I went all ways and covered the width of the highway multiple times doing so.

The second time was in high congestion, the cars in front of me all braked hard, so I did the same. At that moment, my left tire at the back blew.

I still have no idea how I managed to survive that, or how I only hit the sides of the road multiple times and not all the other cars close around me, while going all around, left and right. But I did. PHEW!!!! But the car was totalled.


I'm quite certain I only survived both those (and some other near-fatalies) because I learned how to drive in the army (while trying out the stupid, juveline things), and did some emergency-driving courses afterwards.


All those freaking-me-out, near-death accidents happened while I was commuting on auto-pilot. And while I like going to the edge, I'm completely focussed on driving when I do. It seems easy, and all goes well when I do it like that.

 

[Sxotty]

While I'll do like 200+ km/h driving I save that for my trips to Germany. I don't go much above 165 km/h on the Dayton run or in traffic. On a wide-open road I might do close to 200 here in the US, but that's typically $100+ if you're caught so it's rare.

That is pretty dang fast, 185km/h was my fastest with the cruise set on 169 thru Nevada.

 

[Frank]

While I'll do like 200+ km/h driving I save that for my trips to Germany. I don't go much above 165 km/h on the Dayton run or in traffic. On a wide-open road I might do close to 200 here in the US, but that's typically $100+ if you're caught so it's rare.

If you get caught going over 30 km/h faster than allowed over here, you can kiss your drivers license goodbye. So it makes sense to go to Germany for that. It's around the corner, after all.

 

[Frank]

Btw, I stepped out of the car without a scratch every time so far.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

30? isnt it 50 on the highway? and 30 on the smaller roads? (I always get mixed up between highways, motorways etc, damn english should just give it one clear name)

 

[Arwin]

Not only fast starts, but corners as well. But it's fine for overtaking.

I think that FF can be really good in corners, but it's a matter of driving skill - FF driving is a completely different technique. I love it though - even in Gran Turismo, I love driving cars like the Integra Type R, etc. In real life, I remember that the Alfa 159 had a very, very good score in cornering, higher even than the BMW 3 series, which is RWD.

 

[ShaidarHaran]

I think that FF can be really good in corners, but it's a matter of driving skill - FF driving is a completely different technique. I love it though - even in Gran Turismo, I love driving cars like the Integra Type R, etc. In real life, I remember that the Alfa 159 had a very, very good score in cornering, higher even than the BMW 3 series, which is RWD.

I agree. I had tons of fun in my "lowly" 145HP 154lb/ft FF 5sp 2700 lb Saturn Ion with a new suspension and Bridgestone G019's all around. That chassis was the stiffest I'd ever felt in a stock FF vehicle. Sway bars will do that

 

[Sonic]

There's a lot to be done to make FF cars better handling. LSD's, anti-roll and anti-sway bars, upgraded suspension, better tires upgraded together will make an FF car handle remarkably well. These are things that help one get around the inherent inferiority of FWD cars (in handling) and makes them compete better. However, do these things with an AWD or RWD car and the results are pretty much the same...improvements across the board and again the FWD cars will be left in the dust.

That said, I had an old VW Rabbit with an upgraded suspension and that things did wonders in corners. I was 16 at the time and it was lovely, and a 5 speed manual to boot....or maybe 4.

 

[Mize]

Except for ice/snow traction. Even R&T found better cornering on hardpack and ice on FWD (dynamic CoF on all four wheels made them drift more whereas FWD could track). RWD on ice is a disaster.

 

[Sonic]

Except for ice/snow traction. Even R&T found better cornering on hardpack and ice on FWD (dynamic CoF on all four wheels made them drift more whereas FWD could track). RWD on ice is a disaster.

Totally agree with this right here. AWD is preferred for snow and ice, but FWD can do far better than RWD pretty much at all times in those weather conditions. Driving RWD on ice is a bitch. In high school I was in someone's jeep in the winter time with lots of snow all over the ground. We thought it would be fun to go 4 wheelin int he snow. The only problem was he forgot to put it in 4WD mode so it was RWD and we did so many 180's in the school parking lot. It was a riot.

 

[_xxx_]

Frank, forget the Honda Civic, the rear seats can't be moved because the battery sits there. No room for anything in the trunk. And it's as lame as prius as far as the power goes.

 

[Bludd]

What about a Ford Mondeo? Top Gear are always on about how good it is.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

While I'll do like 200+ km/h driving I save that for my trips to Germany. I don't go much above 165 km/h on the Dayton run or in traffic. On a wide-open road I might do close to 200 here in the US, but that's typically $100+ if you're caught so it's rare.

A $100 fine for doing 200km\h?

Is that a typo??

Holy crap. Over here you get a $800 fine for hitting a red light, doing 200km\h will most likely land you some prison time and atleast $2000 fine.

 

[Mize]

A $100 fine for doing 200km\h?

Is that a typo??

Holy crap. Over here you get a $800 fine for hitting a red light, doing 200km\h will most likely land you some prison time and atleast $2000 fine.

it depends upon where actually. I once got a ticket in New Mexico for doing 162 km/h (90 mph) in a 55 mph zone and it was $28. I think in Ohio if you're within 10 mph it's okay, then $100 from 11-20 mph over so that would put you at 85 mph = $100. After that it goes up - along with the points against your license - quickly. Some states are 75 mph on the highways so you'd have to be at about 90+ to get any substantial fine. There are some states that are notoriously expensive, however, like PA which is more like the fines you're mentioning.

 

[Sxotty]

it depends upon where actually. I once got a ticket in New Mexico for doing 162 km/h (90 mph) in a 55 mph zone and it was $28. I think in Ohio if you're within 10 mph it's okay, then $100 from 11-20 mph over so that would put you at 85 mph = $100. After that it goes up - along with the points against your license - quickly. Some states are 75 mph on the highways so you'd have to be at about 90+ to get any substantial fine. There are some states that are notoriously expensive, however, like PA which is more like the fines you're mentioning.

It depends on the time frame mize.

Texas quadrupled their fines recently and did a stacking thing so you can have fines that increase nonlinearly if you don't use a blinker while speeding or something. A whole bunch of states did this sort of thing b/c of budget shortfalls.

Totally agree with this right here. AWD is preferred for snow and ice, but FWD can do far better than RWD pretty much at all times in those weather conditions. Driving RWD on ice is a bitch. In high school I was in someone's jeep in the winter time with lots of snow all over the ground. We thought it would be fun to go 4 wheelin int he snow. The only problem was he forgot to put it in 4WD mode so it was RWD and we did so many 180's in the school parking lot. It was a riot.

The first time I drove in the snow I thought (incorrectly) to keep the vehicle in 2wd to see what the traction limits were so I could get an idea of how slow to go to be safe b4 putting it in 4wd. I was driving up a mountain pass going 50mph when a truck going the other way blew me a tidge to the right and my wheels caught in the deeper soft snow on the side of the road. Needless to say things became exciting quite quickly. I did a 180 into the other side of the road and was then travelling roughly 40mph backward into oncoming traffic. This was somewhat frightening b/c an onlooker would think I was driving forward and rear end me with our combined speeds. Luckily I was able to slow down relatively quickly and do another 180 so I was traveling forward in my lane. I quickly put it in 4wd after that