Best Handling Cars You've Owned/Driven
01-28-2006, 06:18 PM
#17
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Originally Posted by Euromagination
Definitely my Evo VIII. I can do things with one finger on the wheel in this car that I would barely be able to pull off in the 964 with much more effort.
As soon as I drove it, my Audi A6 was history and I welcomed a new and much improved grocery getter to the family. My first Asian car too and I couldn't be more impressed with it. Not just with sunny dy driving, but I feel that the Evo's AWD system (with the active center diff, and the active yaw control) is even better than my last two Quattro's in the snow--though I haven't had too many chances to try it out this winter since there hasn't been much snow.
A few of the closed-minded people that I know hate it because it's "rice". Some people say it's ugly, that they hate the highly-fuctional carbon fiber wing, the roofline, or the taillights... but whether they like it or not, the car's entire form was built around function, not the other way around, so I appreciate. These same buddies of mine who dogged out my taillights also got really quiet once they started to fall behind during a drive through the Poconos twisties in their Passat W8's, S4's, and M3's.
I'm dead-set on making the VIII my track car once the warranty runs out. And since many of the internals of this particular 4G63 motor are already forged, it's going to be very easy to bring the power up. A simple ECU flash has already pushed HP to 305+, and many people are reliably getting 450-500hp out of these motors without swapping internal parts.
And a picture of it just a couple wks ago.
As soon as I drove it, my Audi A6 was history and I welcomed a new and much improved grocery getter to the family. My first Asian car too and I couldn't be more impressed with it. Not just with sunny dy driving, but I feel that the Evo's AWD system (with the active center diff, and the active yaw control) is even better than my last two Quattro's in the snow--though I haven't had too many chances to try it out this winter since there hasn't been much snow.
A few of the closed-minded people that I know hate it because it's "rice". Some people say it's ugly, that they hate the highly-fuctional carbon fiber wing, the roofline, or the taillights... but whether they like it or not, the car's entire form was built around function, not the other way around, so I appreciate. These same buddies of mine who dogged out my taillights also got really quiet once they started to fall behind during a drive through the Poconos twisties in their Passat W8's, S4's, and M3's.
I'm dead-set on making the VIII my track car once the warranty runs out. And since many of the internals of this particular 4G63 motor are already forged, it's going to be very easy to bring the power up. A simple ECU flash has already pushed HP to 305+, and many people are reliably getting 450-500hp out of these motors without swapping internal parts.
And a picture of it just a couple wks ago.
Great car, four up and boot space. Yours is a very good colour too. Nice
01-28-2006, 06:42 PM
#18
Burning Brakes
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Originally Posted by C4-JohnO
Been thinking about trading in for one over the last month or so, but my tax bill may have just put pay to that idea.
Great car, four up and boot space. Yours is a very good colour too. Nice
Great car, four up and boot space. Yours is a very good colour too. Nice
I probably sound like a salesman, but I'm just so pleased with the Evo that I "advertise" for it every chance I get. You should see what I say about my 964 on the Evo forums though...they're probably sick of hearing about it!
-Harry
01-28-2006, 07:44 PM
#19
The best handleing cars Ive owned are an 86 944Turbo (my autocrosser), and my current "family sedan" 04 Subaru WRX STI. Both of these cars have enough power to be able to steer with the throttle. The STI is brutally fast it will take your breath away, probably just like Harry's Evo.
I hope to make my 964 work as well as my STI, but it currently runs on the stock 71000 mile suspension. Ive got to crack open my piggy bank and go for shocks struts and alignment.
I hope to make my 964 work as well as my STI, but it currently runs on the stock 71000 mile suspension. Ive got to crack open my piggy bank and go for shocks struts and alignment.
01-28-2006, 08:55 PM
#21
Burning Brakes
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Craig,
I really like your STi! Black is definitely the color to get for the Scooby. Shows its lines and blistered fenders really well. Do you have the gold wheels?
You need a rear shot so we can compare spoiler heights. Ha! I wonder which spoiler is higher off the trunk lid... The VIII or the STi?
Wish you were closer so we could trade for a weekend!
Enjoy,
Harry
I really like your STi! Black is definitely the color to get for the Scooby. Shows its lines and blistered fenders really well. Do you have the gold wheels?
You need a rear shot so we can compare spoiler heights. Ha! I wonder which spoiler is higher off the trunk lid... The VIII or the STi?
Wish you were closer so we could trade for a weekend!
Enjoy,
Harry
01-28-2006, 10:13 PM
#22
Rennlist Member
My best handling car was a Hertz rental Crown Vic in a parking garage in Portland, Or. Those cork screw ramps going from top to bottom would push any car beyond it's limits, but not that Crown Vic......
01-28-2006, 11:13 PM
#23
Harry,
Ive got silver BBS wheels on my STI. The car is stock (300HP & 300ftlbs) except for front and rear strut tower braces. Im going to add whiteline steering rack bushings and a x brace for the front suspension, I may also add a larger front anti roll bar. Ive thought about lowering it but I actually us it to take trips and Im afraid to lose the ground clearance. The wing is pretty high. It pisses people off. Many people dont know what it is and I get challenged more than when Im in the 964. Ive left many Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs wondering what happened. Mainly because they always spin their rear tires. As you know the Evo and STI launch like they have been thrown by an aircraft carrier catapult with no wheelspin. Its a great car, I get 20mpg around town and about 24-26mpg when on a trip cruising at 80 to 90mph. To get this much performance in any other car I would have to spend substantially more money. I like the exhaust note also because the flat 4 has a Porsche-like note to it.
Ive also noticed that rental cars are much more prone to 4 wheel drifts and burnouts than my own personal cars!
Anybody watching the 24hrs of Daytona? Man does that look like fun when there are in car camera shots!
Craig
91 Porsche 964
04 Subaru WRX STI
98 Honda VTR 1000
Ive got silver BBS wheels on my STI. The car is stock (300HP & 300ftlbs) except for front and rear strut tower braces. Im going to add whiteline steering rack bushings and a x brace for the front suspension, I may also add a larger front anti roll bar. Ive thought about lowering it but I actually us it to take trips and Im afraid to lose the ground clearance. The wing is pretty high. It pisses people off. Many people dont know what it is and I get challenged more than when Im in the 964. Ive left many Corvettes, Camaros and Mustangs wondering what happened. Mainly because they always spin their rear tires. As you know the Evo and STI launch like they have been thrown by an aircraft carrier catapult with no wheelspin. Its a great car, I get 20mpg around town and about 24-26mpg when on a trip cruising at 80 to 90mph. To get this much performance in any other car I would have to spend substantially more money. I like the exhaust note also because the flat 4 has a Porsche-like note to it.
Ive also noticed that rental cars are much more prone to 4 wheel drifts and burnouts than my own personal cars!
Anybody watching the 24hrs of Daytona? Man does that look like fun when there are in car camera shots!
Craig
91 Porsche 964
04 Subaru WRX STI
98 Honda VTR 1000
01-29-2006, 12:58 AM
#25
Rennlist Member
Best handling bone-stock cars I've owned:
'94 968 Coupe (easy to drive fast in corners; makes the C4 seem nervous by comparison)
'99 Z3 2.8 (like driving a go cart, but a little too much understeer)
How 'bout the worst:
'70 VW Beetle (could swap ends, several times, before you could blink your eyes)
'94 968 Coupe (easy to drive fast in corners; makes the C4 seem nervous by comparison)
'99 Z3 2.8 (like driving a go cart, but a little too much understeer)
How 'bout the worst:
'70 VW Beetle (could swap ends, several times, before you could blink your eyes)
01-29-2006, 02:10 AM
#27
Burning Brakes
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Was it "the best handling car", driven, ridden or owned?
Driven,
Lamborgini Jualpa an awsome beast.
993,996 both great cars in their own way.
Ridden,
offroad.....Subaru WRX STI and I was very impressed!!
Porsche 944 Turbo Great car just not my style.
Lamborgini Countache a very awsome experience, by far the most awsome stock ride I've ever been in.
Owned,
92 Mustang GT SHO Coupe It was a State Trooper Intercepter, got it at auction.
964 I've had a couple other 911's but this one so far is the best.
Duncan
Driven,
Lamborgini Jualpa an awsome beast.
993,996 both great cars in their own way.
Ridden,
offroad.....Subaru WRX STI and I was very impressed!!
Porsche 944 Turbo Great car just not my style.
Lamborgini Countache a very awsome experience, by far the most awsome stock ride I've ever been in.
Owned,
92 Mustang GT SHO Coupe It was a State Trooper Intercepter, got it at auction.
964 I've had a couple other 911's but this one so far is the best.
Duncan
01-29-2006, 03:44 AM
#28
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally Posted by Bill Wagner
Out of curiousity, what are the best handling cars everyone out there has owned or driven? I consider my 964 to be the best I've had, but what else out there comes close? I'm thinking in terms of stock cars, not cars that have been modified.
Another member mentioned "The Miata", well this was mine... This was the most unbelievable Sports car that I’ve ever owned. Straight line top end speed my 911/964 is faster, but in the curves, chicanes, and from this block to the next, this Mazda Sport MX5 was the best, and I won’t even tell you how much this car cost me to run day to day..... ZERO!!!!! I never had one problem, never. Yes, of course I bought it new and modified it from north to south and east to west, but thanks to the availability of parts through the internet, all the work was done by me in my garage... No back up,.. (I had the body kit add-ons painted near by). Everything screws off and screws on, with over 700,000 MX5’s in the world, there’s a lot to buy and everything that I bought worked!!.. And talk about a fan club, world wide, like Porsche. Anyway I could go on and on, I have so many photographs, and won seven Trophies, but never have I had so much fun with, 4-WHEELS...
I bought my life long time dream car, a Porsche 911/964, because I was afraid that I was going to die after I was told that I may have a cancer several years ago and required colon surgery ASAP for the removal of two large polyps that were on the verge of perforating...
""BTW... ALL YOU GUYS IN THE 50’S GET A COLOSCOPY, I SAW A LOT GUYS NOT AS LUCKY AS ME!!.. I WON’T TELL YOU ABOUT VALVES ON YOUR P-CAR, BUT PLEASE GET YOUR COLON CHECKED!!..""
Anyway, I made it... and traded in the Madza MX5 to Honda for a run-around for my wife. I could not sell my Miata because it was OVER MODIFIED, they all thought I was a "Crazy American RICEY"...(I still laugh) So, I lost my shirt in the trade-in value, and I promised myself I would never do the same again, over modify, and today my 911/964 is my commitment to original spec and my wallet... Oh yeah, Honda sold my MX5 two days later to a 60 year old couple that wanted their last fling in a Sports car... What a funny road our cars take... Once in a while I see the "Green Shark" driving by... Brings tear to my eyes, sorry that’s the way I am... I loved that BRG MIATA!!..
That’s enough from me, I’m going to go into the Garage, and make another cup of coffee... My wife and son are asleep, it’s a cold and rainy Sunday...
Have a good Sunday my cyber space friends, if I may...
Marc.....
PS.....Thanks for a GREAT THREAD!!..
01-29-2006, 06:21 AM
#29
Pro
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In it's time - my 1964 Mini Cooper S! Sadly gone to the great scrap yard in the sky (I watched it dissolve into brown flakes). Virtually standard, just a set of Koni shock absorbers (remember them?) and an uprated cylinder head. Probably aided by being fearless (read young and foolish) but nobody could keep up with it through twisty lanes....
01-29-2006, 06:34 AM
#30
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Originally Posted by Euromagination
Thnx. If you need to know any details of it, let me know. Hopefully you put that tax bill to work for you and pick one up! As long as you can look past the rawness of it and the interior's simplicity doesn't bother you, you'll love it.
I probably sound like a salesman, but I'm just so pleased with the Evo that I "advertise" for it every chance I get. You should see what I say about my 964 on the Evo forums though...they're probably sick of hearing about it!
-Harry
I probably sound like a salesman, but I'm just so pleased with the Evo that I "advertise" for it every chance I get. You should see what I say about my 964 on the Evo forums though...they're probably sick of hearing about it!
-Harry
The STi is also lovely but they are like fire places, everybodys got one. They have become the ford cosworth of the decade.
In the Uk they are about a third cheaper then the Evo. I could swap in the 964 and come out with some cash.
The evo will cost me a bit but there are less of them around and I like that.