New Yorker

https://www.google.com/amp/www.autom...etter-one/amp/

Amen.

jorlanjm

usually a more powerful car is a bad thing...cause they are only powerful one one thing...going straight.

Balance is my thing LOL

gwilliams6

link not working for me. can you check it please.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

aka, "things people with slow cars say"

acroy

Hahaha
I go back and forth with my own toy car.
fast one, slow one, fast one.
Own an RX8 now.
want a fast car again..... it'll never end.

jorlanjm

What defines a slow car and a fast car?

if we are just talking about a fast car on straight line the everyone should just get a Tesla...

New Yorker

Link fixed.

gwilliams6

Thanks, good article !

New Yorker

Yeah, I liked it, too. Colin Chapman's philosophy clearly drives Mazda engineering (and obviously Lotus', too). I'll always favor the few automakers who subscribe to it.

Wikipedia:
"Chapman's design philosophy focused on cars with light weight and fine handling instead of bulking up on horsepower and spring rates, which he famously summarised as "Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."

UnknownJinX

The smoothness of the rotary is what really sold it for me. It's not a very fast car, but as long as it's faster than a Civic, I am fine. It just feels very refined. Runs very smooth, and accelerates very smoothly with a fairly flat torque curve and linear power curve. It's not like some high-pressure turbo engines that lag a lot and then smack you hard.

In terms of acceleration, Tesla is exactly like a cheetah that's really only good for drag strips, even more so than muscle cars. Take them on a track and oops, battery and wires overheat and the car has to take a break.

jorlanjm

Yup... And all you got to do is step on the gas LOL... I rather have a fast car when im actually driving it, not when im just pulling in straight on the freeway

strokercharged95gt

Was gonna say this exactly same thing. Nobody with a fast car has ever said it would be better if slower... I have never seen anymore ever intentionally mod their car to get less horsepower.

0-TO-100_Real_Quick

This is true, though the point I think the article was getting at is the Ol' Uncle Ben saying "With more power comes more responsibility." Just adding more HP requires tuning the engine, suspension, electronics, etc. in order for it to be useful, not detrimental.

Otherwise, Top Gear's track times would just correlate with the horsepower of the cars that have been on there.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Aren't all the top cars on that list high HP cars? I haven't watched it in a minute. Power to weight matter of course.

New Yorker

Are you serious? That's like saying "I have never known anyone to ever intentionally pour out some of their 7-11 "Double Gulp" Slurpee to have less beverage." If they didn't want an obscene amount of sugary crap to drink, they wouldn't have bought the Double Gulp Slurpee in the first place. So the very fact that they chose a car because of its horsepower tells you they don't agree with Colin Chapman's philosophy. If they did, they'd have purchased a more agile, lighter car.

Look, the author is merely making a very good, oft forgotten point: that faster cars are not always better. And he's right. He points out that today nearly any new car is plenty fast enough - which, unless you're dedicated to racing other cars in a straight line, stop light to stop light - is absolutely true, and that cars that are lighter, agile and better able to communicate to the driver are arguably "better". And I couldn't agree more. I choose Mazda's sports cars (I've owned four) specifically for that very reason. Is a Viper faster than an RX-8? Obviously. But would I prefer a Viper over an 8? Hell no. So unless you think faster cars are always better, you have no issue with the author's position. And besides, you're free to buy whatever car you want. If you want a new 460-hp Mustang GT, get one. Hey, I bet it even comes with extra-large cupholders to hold your 50-oz. Double Gulp Slurpee!

"Adding power makes you faster on the straights. Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere." — Colin Chapman

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

"Adding HP and subtracting weight makes you even faster everywhere" - 9KRPMRX8

UnknownJinX

Well if you just want a fast car, then you will never be satisfied unless you can buy a Bugatti Veyron/Chiron or something to that effect right now. There is always something faster out there.

And "better" is subjective. Do you define better as in "I can outrun anyone" or "It's fun and I like driving it"? If you want to outrun anyone then a faster car is better for you, if you want the latter, then faster is not necessarily better, it just depends on what you are looking for.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

That's like saying you should settle for a fat chick and be happy about it because there will always be hotter chicks out there. But yes, it is subjective. Some people like fat chicks and that is fine.

jorlanjm

I Personnally know some one who detuned his car so he can drive it harder in mountain roads and actually gave him faster time... He said on his higher HP setup he found himself braking more...

So it really depends sometimes where your driving you car to determine if its really fast 🤣

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Yep, it all depends on how you use it but I doubt he was making 160WHP also, .

UnknownJinX

If you are happy with it, then who's to say no? **** the haters. Some people just like plump women. Not me, but some people do.

Same arguments can be made about women, in fact. Hotter women are not always better.

I mean, why do you have an 8 if you seem that concerned with acceleration and HP?

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Because being turbocharged it's decently fast and because I have invested 50k in it and it's only worth about $10.00.

But with more HP it would be even better of course.

strokercharged95gt

Yay for less horsepower!

0-TO-100_Real_Quick

I'll give you $12, final offer.

UnknownJinX

Actually, I have seen a black RX-8 on Craigslist for $18k. It looks very clean like yours, and it's turboed.

As long as you are happy and it's a good car to you, that's all that matters.