dollywobbler Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Ah, one of those drives home today that just makes you want to whoop with delight. I was in the Subaru, which makes a noise beyond 5000rpm that frankly does very odd things to my brain. Being only a two-litre, you can give it a damned good thrashing without getting up to naughty speeds - unlike my neighbour in his silly Impreza...Granted, it's not all good. Chucking it into bends is like throwing a frisbee. You can see where it's going, but you get no sensation at all. The steering is about the worst I've encountered in a modern car. Horribly over-assisted and with all the feel of a quadraplegic. But who cares? I'd got Annie Lennox (Diva album - on cassette of course - hissssss) blaring out of the stereo, a flat-four up front screaming away and barely another car in sight. Perfection!Just goes to show. Shite can be very, very good. Though I should replace the front wings before they rot away entirely... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 The Galant steering sounds like the opposite of the Subaru - in that you get utterly fantastic feedback, but not much to do with it. Successful cornering seems to be more based around predicting what the suspension will do and counteracting that - it can actually corner at incredible speed, there's just a knack to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Ah, one of those drives home today that just makes you want to whoop with delight. I was in the Subaru, which makes a noise beyond 5000rpm that frankly does very odd things to my brain. Being only a two-litre, you can give it a damned good thrashing without getting up to naughty speeds - unlike my neighbour in his silly Impreza...One of my friends had a modified C-reg Mini that was a fun drive in the same way. Lots of noise, sensation of speed, up thru the gears then look down at the speedo and it's doing about 40. In complete contrast to a souped-up Mitsubishi Evo that another friend has, almost completely impossible to put your foot down and stay legal beyond the second gearchange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 It's why I love my 2CV and the wife's Mini. Fun at stupidly low speeds. Modern stuff is just DULL at legal speeds - which is probably why so many people drive too fast. I have to say though, the Mini and 2CV pan the Subaru into oblivion when it comes to steering. Both are so precise and let you know exactly what's going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negative Creep Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 The Datsun is similar in that there's almost no feedback and the tiny tyres make for very little grip and high winds are a bit scary. Also - and this is something I've never experienced - as you start to lose grip the steering goes completely and utterly dead.Still love it though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Split_Pin Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I need new rear tyres on the Vectra, so you get 'feedback' when you least expect it at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-j Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Seems I need to get me some bland performance shite like an old Subaru.. they do appeal to me I will admit but the solution must be on this side of the shite threshold - Imprezas are not shite (yet) The CX is the only car I've ever driven that can do a 90DEG turn at urban speeds faster than anything else - it's all in the steering (full hydraulic: none of this PAS gayness it's power operated) there's no effort turning a right angle in a CX at this speed - the car's response equals your reflex response because the hydraulics do all the effort for you. It's amazing how non- 'performance' cars like the CX can 'perform' better than sports cars in ertain circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Amazon can corner quickly, but it's better at constant radius stuff where you don't have to change direction quickly - on the NSJC run across Calderdale I lifted an outside wheel because the shagged suspension couldn't respond fast enough.Still enough to annoy my mate's breadvan on the flat Amazon has a steering box, which is way better than the steering box on the Celeste - it's hideously vague - I wonder if there's some play in the track rod ends somewhere. I haven't pushed it for that exact reason.Piazza is a bit ambivalent. In the dry it's like a FWD car. You can do what you like short of kicking the clutch in 2nd and giving it full boost, it won't powerslide or oversteer. Unless you hit a kink mid corner and the suspension hits the bumpstops. Then you spin.In the wet you spin. You spin a lot. Granted, this was on 1987 tyres, so I don't know what it actually handles like. The rear axle doesn't seem to be brilliantly tied down at the moment.The C4 can carry batshit amounts of speed provided you wind it up.At Castle Combe I was getting past people on the corners just because I could pitch it in and hang on very hard with a dab of left foot brake. The only scary bit was at Quarry when I lifted off on the crest and had a bit of a tank slapper as the rear end went light.I was approached by an ex ARDS instructor in a race prepped XR2i who said I was completely insane on the bends - his mate was driving and couldn't get away from me, unless we had a straight, when everything bar an 850 Mini and a very sick Capri passed me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXrescuer Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I must admit I used to love chucking my old AX about. It was great fun but in the summer I was always wary that I might be hit by a stray insect which would surely result in the car's total demolition. Not saying that AXs are flimsy or anything but... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Ross Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 My old Disastra (now sold to greenvanman) was possibly the best stealth motor I ever had. It would trickle all day at the legal limit, and wasn't bad on juice either.....but I had tickled the suspension/brakes/wheel width etc, and it was SO chuckable, even laden (which it normally was) and acceleration after I had erm......"done" the pump, was bloody amazing for a high miles estate car.......I bet it still puts a grin on his face. I do miss that car. It used to leave a wee black stripe on the floor when cold, as you pulled into traffic. Fun......even better was the rolling 2nd gear start with the knobhead behind, trying to climb into your back seat style of driving in his company beemer, as you floored it, waited for boost, and left the dick in a thick cloud of soot! Amazing stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollywobbler Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 Cor. I've borrowed a Rover 100 CVT while my Rover 2000 is being sorted (gear linkage problems still). What a laugh!! It's obscenely quick for what it is. Stamp on the throttle at 20mph (admittedly in the wet) and it wants to light up the tyres!Very odd because the engine note hardly ever changes. It has three speeds - cruise, brisk and loopy fast.I think I might have to get one. Can you fit Metro City bumpers to a Rover 100?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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