I agree. One magazine invited any tuners to bring their best to try to beat a new Z06. As you may have guessed, most couldn't get traction and subsequently, lost to the Z in the 1/4 and 0-60 contests. Regarding the STI and Evo, in stock form, you have to wind them out to 6000 rpm to get a decent launch. That's hell on the clutch.

 

I had some chump in an mr2 with his girlfriend mess with me at a light, I was behind him and we were both in the turn lane, I know he could hear my supercharger because it was screaming. As soon as the light changed he took off, this was around a corner I hit the gas and my tires slipped so he got ahead of me by like 2 car lengths. (I also forgot to turn traction control off.) I caught up to him very quickly, at the next light all he could do was say 4 seconds it took you 4 seconds to catch me. I was like yeah 4 seconds, ok lets run quarter mile ill catch you in 4 seconds and then run mid to low 11s while ur running low 14 or high 13's my car doesnt stop acclerating at a high rate yours does. I hate it soooooo much, yeah ur ricer might acclerate to 40 or 60 faster than my vette (this was around a corner too) but thats it. He thought he was a bad *** and I bet hes telling all his friends how his mr2 is faster than a 500 + hp vette.

 

To post about ricers not getting traction, I have a friend that has a civic with over 600 hp (at the crank not sure what he has at the wheels). His car is fwd and his tires can only be so wide or they will stick out of the car. Guess what he runs quarter mile....... 13's lol at 120 mph[sm=bangbang.gif]. He just smokes his tires off the line no traction what so ever. If he puts his slicks on he runs better; he could hang with my vette for sure. But if hes going to race me on the street he would have no chance. its sad all the money he has wasted on it. He could have one bad *** vette. But to each his own I guess.

 

Well, its not just ricers who can't get traction. My point above about 'vettes, and my hope the next gteneration has 4-wheel drive, is because vettes need more traction, and there is a limit to the width of tires you can run in them, too.

Tire width: I'm at the limit--I've tubbed the rear wheel wells on my car (the Lingenfelter kit) and run 345 drag radials - at 14 inches, the widest street tire made unless I want to go to M.T. street slicks, etc.

Traction: my car can break the tires loose on power alone (i.e., without dropping the clutch, just keep it in the same gear and floor it), in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd - 3rd is particularly disconcerting because you are really moving by the time you are in that gear.

As a result, my car really can't accelerate much faster with 603 RWHP than it was with 470, when it had the original engine and the Magnusen SC on it. 0-60 and even 0-80 take as long, or longer (because it is harder to drive it to get traction) now. It is only as I start pulling hard in the top of 3rd and into 4th gear that the difference is perceptable (and of course, it pulls like a demon in fifth now).

The car will get out of the shop this week with another 100 RWHP, which I know won't make any difference without slicks on the rear (which won't happen, it is a street car) - that, and another 40 coming later this summer (alcohol injection) are just for the hell of it. The car will be "faster" in some technical sense, but I bet it still won't be able to break into the 9s in the quarter without slicks, suspension mods, and abuse. It's stuck in the mid/low 10s on street tires -- even if I added 1000 HP.

And its not just me, look at the tests Car and Driver does of 1100 HP vipers and 950 Hp vettes in their annual shoot out-- no one gets into the 10s (they run real street tires, not drag radials).

Four-wheel drive would fix alll of that: if my vette had it it would weigh about 200-250 lbs more, a weight it would not notice, and gain a good 1/2 second in the 1/4 mile right there, maybe more.

Suburu and Mitsubishi , and Porsche with their Carrera 4, have the right idea. 4-wheel drive is costly and adds weight, but it allows you to put about 30-40%% more power down, and control it well. When you think about it, if you do it right, with that advantage, you just can't lose . . .

 

Lee, you make a good point. But now I'm confused. If the issue is about traction...why am I being told to disengage the traction control on my vette when I race somebody? Shouldn't I leave it on if I don't want my tires to slip? Please advise.

 

Well the problem you would have if you left the traction control on is that as soon as the car senses any wheel spin/slip it reduces engine power (no matter how hard you are pushing on the accelerator). With the traction control off you are in complete control over how much throttle/power you are attempting to put to the ground verses the computer holding you back by cutting the power to your wheels.

 

Yeh, this topic is a real barn burner, that's for sure. The other aspect of the import scene I cannot stand is the "rolling start" many of them like to take... that's the only way they can get some traction, by starting at well over 40mph..... that impresses me not. Like Lee said, I do respect people who are passionate about their hobby and can do some pretty cool technological things with these cars, but it ain't my bag of tea.

I don't care what anybody says, there is no way you can get the same torque and grunt outta a 4 cylinder that you can from a V8. Sure, at 25,000 rpm, their car might make the same power, but man... that's just not the same thing to me, at all.

 

Two points in reaction to above.

As was stated, the reason to turn off the traction control is that it over-reacts when you try to spin the wheels.

Second, I respect people who really work at getting a lot of power out of a small displacement engine, but the one thing you never get is torque, and I love torque, great big gobs of it, like you get from a big V8.

 

I used to have a really closed mind in this area of automotive enthusiasts... but, we got one of those speed shops next door last year, and I have hung out with the guys a bit... they are CAR nuts, not neccessarily import nuts... they really love and admire the North American V8... as a matter of fact, one of the owners is so pumped about our new 'Vette, he is starting to look to buy one, too. They keep trying to talk me into puttin' the car in the shop and doin' some stuff to it, but this car we are leaving stock.

Anyways, thanks to them, I have a new appreciation for this stuff, just as Lee states here.

But, yeh, you won't catch me dead in a Honda.

 

Horse power aside, I would be willing to say that any souped up import set beside my '04 LaMans Blue coupe, the majority of people will admire the CORVETTE. And in 5 years or 25 years the Vette will still be stylish and the import will be scrap!