Is it a stupid idea to have a performance car now days?

[Werd.]

I like my slow car, plenty of rev limiter, 2nd gear chirp, flat shifting and other stupid **** without breaking 60km/h. To have the same fun in the Falcon I'm doing twice the speed.

[EDManual]

It all sucks.
All most people are trying to do is get safely from a to b.

[Sprint]

I say performance car because one small tap of the throttle and you usually speeding, so its alot easier to do it in those cars.

What the use of having a performance car if you can only use 10% throttle?.

[Nikked]

Is it a stupid idea to have a performance car now days?

Hell no, its good to know that you have better brakes, suspention, safer handling etc. I'd rather be going down a highway in a GT rather then a, say, XT...6 pot brembos, grippier tires...

Its also good to know you can take performace cars out on some windy back roads for some (no speeding y'all!) fun...or a race track.


Now...i just need a proper performance car

[TC200six]

If anyone saw that review on the last season of Top Gear Australia, it looks as if they were implying that owning an FPV 335 GT is idiotic and you would be better off owning a Renault Clio. So even motoring shows are trying to change stereotypes around the other way.

[ED Classic]

Agree its not that easy to vote them out and if you do then the next ones dont go cutting back revenue. They say a tax once in place doesnt get removed, well i dont think this can stop now as they are so reliant on the revenue thats been getting bigger and bigger. There does need to be laws and enforcement for sure but I have no doubt its coming at a cost to regular policing these days. Years ago if i drove past any of my local Police stations there would be probably 4 divvy vans 5 or 6 sedans and maybe 2 v8 chasers. Today there is about 1 wagon, 1 territory, 2 van divvy style, 2 divvy vans commodore and about 10+ fuel sucking SS V8's.....not exagorating. Shows where there intentions lie and with an ex traffic cop as a chief commisioner in my state it is only getting worst. If you drive a performance car you just have to enjoy the ambience of the car and whilst not breaking the speed limit of course...pick your spot and know your area and whats around.
I still enjoy my performance cars simply by having them looking shmick and knowing that i could beat 99% of cars on the road if i needed to avoid getting boxed out etc etc

On a side not there was a big article on front page of Herald Sun a couple of months ago saying that if you were a driver that did not keep left on freeways unless overtaking that you would be dealt with. Well i travel 3 freeways to work and can say that i see radars every day for speeding either on the way to work or way home (every single day without fail) and on average a couple of times per week I see someone doing 10 or 20 kmh per hour less than the speed limit in the right holding dozens of cars up and have not seen 1 pulled over once. Speed is too easy for $

[seancampbell]

If it makes you feel good.....DO IT.


If it makes you happy.....DO IT.

[mik]

Originally Posted by seancampbell

If it makes you feel good.....DO IT.


If it makes you happy.....DO IT.

i`ll go along with that, if it makes you smile that`s gotta be good for your health as opposed to driving an unsatisfying dung box that depresses you every time you look or listen to it.

[Legit290]

It's never been a better time to own a performance car
It's always been a bad time to break the law

[Kesh]

Originally Posted by clarkey117

It's never been a better time to own a performance car
It's always been a bad time to break the law

Don't agree with the bold part haha.

I never think it's stupid to own a performance car, sure you can't spill all the power on the regular run, but as someone said prior, you can certainly take advantage of the balance of suspension and steering as well as the brakes on windy roads!

[blackf6]

Originally Posted by Sprint

I say performance car because one small tap of the throttle and you usually speeding, so its alot easier to do it in those cars.

What the use of having a performance car if you can only use 10% throttle?.

Well what's the point of being an enthusiast if you have to drive a slow buzz box. A bit of disciplined right foot movements and you can be an enthusiast with no problems with the law.

[J.C.]

Does it really matter what road going vehicle someone drives?
Whether it be a scooter or a Jap high powered road bike. A high performance European supercar or a Fiat 500, in the hand of a DH, they are all going to be a lethal weapon.

Like most parents, I tend to pick up my children from school from time to time. I drive through school zones at or below the reckoned speed. I get overtaken by P platers, "mums on a mission", trucks, even cyclist and it doesn't matter whether I'm driving one of my two V8's or the wifes dualcab diesel.
It just comes down to the individual behind the wheel and how much they have between the ears ..... on the day.

And if anyone here has never stepped outside the law while behind the wheel, I say "You lie!"

To answer the question at hand, nope. Buy what you want. Drive it within your limits and in a responsible manner and all shoud be sweet.
Take it to the track or the drags and unleash its and your angry there. Either that or somewhere nice and lonely where no one can see or hear you kill yourself if your limits or the cars are breached and all turns pearshaped.

[duaned]

Originally Posted by Belial

Either of my cars listed in my signature

A performance car also needs to go around corners!

[Belial]

Originally Posted by duaned

A performance car also needs to go around corners!

.... The FPV seems alright

[JG34JA]

Cleverly hide your performance car from society, I think it's called a 'sleeper'

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by J.C.

Does it really matter what road going vehicle someone drives?
Whether it be a scooter or a Jap high powered road bike. A high performance European supercar or a Fiat 500, in the hand of a DH, they are all going to be a lethal weapon.

That pritty much sums it up

A good car can make a bad driver look good
A good driver will make a bad car look good


We can buy bog stock granpa spec new cars thatll take on factory hotties from past,yet manufactures still make em, faster,more powerfull, handle better,than the previous model

[Nic85]

It's been redundant to drive a high powered sports car in this country for years. I learnt that with my Evo, which is half the reason I sold it. If you want to drive fast and have a fast car, it needs to be your second car for track days, quarter mile etc. Have a comfortable cruiser for the weekly grind.

Of course there are exceptions to this: Cars like the Renault Megane 265, VW Golf/Polo GTi etc. Comfortable day to day cars that handle like they're on rails, can perform at the track or strip, and use bugger all fuel for the daily commute.

[SSD-85]

Of course its not a stupid idea.

Traffic infringements are easily awarded in practically any car on the road.

It all comes down to the human behind the wheel.

And yes, enjoying performance vehicles can be done without contributing to your states budget surplus goals.

[Ben73]

I wouldn't say I own a performance car, but the V8 gets up and goes pretty quickly. 0 to no licence in seconds, but that doesn't mean I have to drive like that all the time. Sure I give it a squirt every now and then, but I don't break the speed limit by very much at all.

I find myself having to watch my speedo more often while in the work 4 cylinder diesel 4x4. It's such a boring and slow car. I think I subconsciously flog it just so I can get out of it ASAP.
In my V8 sedan I just cruise and don't mind taking a little longer.

[Hell Cat]

Originally Posted by hendrixhc

Funnily enough i have a citroen work van and at 100kph on the clock it is actually doing 92kph. I have taken it back to the dealer and they said it is within tolerance and wont repair it.

We have to other vans ( citroen) and they both read the same discrepancy.

So whats the issue? I am not speeding sure and "driving" slower than the recommended speed but if you have ever sat on the freeway in peak hour doing the correct speed on the clock the abuse you cop is phenomenal.

I set the cruise to 116kph and it sits on 110 on the gps. ( been checked with3 different GPS).

If there is a serious attempt to curb idiots on the road get out on the freeway at peak hour and pull over the gooses that believe tail gating and 130kph is the correct speed limit.

As for performance cars i learnt years ago when i had the latest model WRX that you dont even have to be a DH in it to be pulled over regularly. Whilst never booked for any offences i was pulled over at least 6 times for a range of excuses like reg and license check, tried to defect it 2 weeks after buying it, are you in a hurry mate ( doing the speed limit) etc.

It doesnt pay to have any car that sticks out in a crowd cause you a re just asking for trouble.

At the moment i am doing up an XE 351. I dont want it to be stock but i am hesitant to modify to much cause i dont want the HF's of constantly being pulled over.

I hope that's the case.

I have a current model diesel Citroen van, last week I drove past an unmarked speed camera (only realised as I was directly beside it) in a 60 zone, when I looked at my speedo I was smack bang on 65km 66 at the very most.... I've been checking the letterbox everyday & haven't gotten a ticket in the mail yet.


Unfortunately I've had 2 speeding tickets in the past 2.5 years, each time in my work van, the ticket said 66 km in a 60zone (both times going down hill on a main road)


I live in a narrow quite street & there are 2 particular cars (busted old Gemini & a Camry) that smash it each time they drive down the street.. It's annoying because there are always people out & about (people walking, kids playing) in my neighbourhood.



A guy from work (40) just got a 2004ish commodore ss & has been bragging about how he has been getting it sideways etc.


I guess I'm abit off topic.

[Ford_The_Win]

Originally Posted by Eagleheart

Of course its not a stupid idea.

Traffic infringements are easily awarded in practically any car on the road.

It all comes down to the human behind the wheel.

And yes, enjoying performance vehicles can be done without contributing to your states budget surplus goals.

That's my opinion on the subject, it's your attitude and the way you drive rather than what you drive. If you have a performance car, there's a time and a place for flexing it's muscles. I've never gotten a speeding fine (touch wood), but most 6 cylinder cars have more power than I'd ever use.

[J.C.]

Originally Posted by Hell Cat

A guy from work (40) just got a 2004ish commodore ss & has been bragging about how he has been getting it sideways etc.


.

The two texts in bold in your quote leads me to believe only one thing about your 40yr old buddy at work.

One + the other = knobhead!

[Nova 8]

Lesser punishment for lesser offenses. Makes sense to me. I like the new laws, lowering the cost of <10km offenses shows they aren't just after money. Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't <10km where most speeding fines are handed out. So that's less money for the government...

If you can't control your vehicle and think that the difference between 10km and 40km is easy to reach maybe driver aid classes are in order. As a dreaded P plater and the driver of a VE SSV I can notice and control the difference between 60-100 or 100-140

[pottery beige]

time and place.. its not that hard.. lonely dark back roads..

if you cant work that out.. hand in your man cards and buy a prius..

[Olbucko]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

time and place.. its not that hard.. lonely dark back roads..

if you cant work that out.. hand in your man cards and buy a prius..

Exactly, pick the right time and place, but never in suburbia or on main roads.

I have managed to stay fine and accident free for the last 26 years and well over a million kms by knowing were not to speed. I did get my share in the 60s and 70s though, I think that helped me learn how to avoid them.

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Have a look at the cars they confiscate during hoon crackdowns...the last one they proudly had in the Rocky paper showed the impound yard, and there was a ratty old Camry, a couple of old Falcons and Commodores (No VN's surprisingly enough... ), an older model Hilux, and a couple of other very vanilla cars...no highly modded WRX's, no Skylines, no Silvias or other stereotypically "hoonish" cars.

Hmm maybe because them highly modded WRX's, skylines, silvias will blow the socks off any SS highway patrol boat and vanish into some remote warehouse or garage (or wrap around a pole, depending on driver skill) before mr plod can call for backup.

[STINKY NINJA]

No, its a stupid idea getting caught using said performance car enthusiastically...
Secret squirrel all the way

[Franco Cozzo]

Its not about power for me, its about torque. Damn I love diesel engines, being able to pull up a hill easily at 1750 RPM and still be able to pick up speed with the slightest lean on the accelerator if I want to is freakin' awesome.

If I could drive a tractor that did 100km/h I probably would.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by malazn mafia

Hmm maybe because them highly modded WRX's, skylines, silvias will blow the socks off any SS highway patrol boat and vanish into some remote warehouse or garage (or wrap around a pole, depending on driver skill) before mr plod can call for backup.

You really do have to stop watching "Fast and the Furious".

VERY few outrun Police and those who do are almost always known, especially in a small city like Rockvegas.

Do not, for one second, underestimate the skill and passion of Highway Patrol officers. All they do all day every day is observe cars and drivers not because it is their job but because the love every minute of it.

They know far more about you and your car(s) than you realise and if you play up they will remember and sort it later. They also talk to each other a LOT on the radio which is how you get rolled for unlicensed or whatever even though you are in someone else's car and behaving.

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by Werd.

I like my slow car, plenty of rev limiter, 2nd gear chirp, flat shifting and other stupid **** without breaking 60km/h. To have the same fun in the Falcon I'm doing twice the speed.

The only stupid thing here, is not breaking the speed limit...Wonder why they bought in the hoon laws???