What do you consider a "fast" car?

[Donas64]

You just haven't made the right friends yet. If you're ever in the Knoxville area hit me up, I can make sure your definition of fast is changed, lol.

I just might take you up on that if I ever make it to Knoxville

i always look at it as a weight to horsepower ratio. take the curb weight and divide by the horsepower. basically tells you how many pounds of car each horse is pulling. anything below 13 or 14 is fast in my book.

Power to weight ratio. I guess thats an excellent way to look at it.

Actually, now that I think about it, the fastest car I've ever been in was an Ariel Atom (non supercharged) but it was on a wet track so it wasn't at full tilt boogie.

 

[cx7owner87]

i would start out saying that a fast car would be something along the lines of the nissan z's, gtr, etc, mazdaspeed3's ive seen around here are pretty quick, but i dont know how modded they may be/not be, or anything with a strong v6 and higher

 

[BadBandar]

There's different definitions of fast. Fast at what? A to B, Backroads, Road Course, Auto-X, Roll Racing, Drag Racing?

My car has beat lot's of cars that are faster in a straight line in different things. On backroads or on the auto-x, my MSP can be faster than 400-500hp cars. It's all relative.

Now if were talking about sheer power and forward motion. My buddy's 800-1000whp(relative to the pulley installed) foxbody is fast. Everything else is just quick, lol.

i always look at it as a weight to horsepower ratio. take the curb weight and divide by the horsepower. basically tells you how many pounds of car each horse is pulling. anything below 13 or 14 is fast in my book.

I agree with both of these guys. It really depends. Also, what kind of driver u r has a big impact on it.

 

[ghettoracingkid]

I go with it all depends on what the car was built for.

a miata in the 1/4 is a joke. stick it on a windy mountain road its up there with alot of cars.

I go with a case by case basis.

got to take into account:


HP to weight
why it was built (cruising, drag, restore, restore with upgrades, sunday cruiser, street racing, car shows etc.... )

comes down to...

slow: dissapointing when hit the trottle
peepy: surprising when you get on it
fast: snaps back your neck
ohh damn: makes your passengar or you s*** yourself.

 

[Evolved]

As for current cars.....

Fast: BMW M3/M5, Corvette Z06/ZR1, any AMG Mercedes, Porsche Carrera, 4S and Turbo, Lexus IS-F......pretty much anything that in stock form can go faster than 13 in the 1/4 mile.

Quick: Mazda MS3, BMW 335i, Subaru STI, Mitsubishi Evo X and Lancer, Mustang GT, Camaro, Cobalt SS......these cars are all sub-14 in the 1/4, but will require mods (for the most part) to go faster than 13.00.

 

[The ManLaw]

if we are talking about stock cars from the show room floor, there arent many that i would consider fast until you spend $40k+. Most cars i see you guys calling fast, i'd call quick. the MS3, MS6, S4, those are quick, like evolved said.

But if we go into modding potential for making a car fast, then it can be said that pretty much any vehicle can be fast. hell i had a 1982 volvo 240 BRICK running 13.5-13.8 in the quarter. stock the thing ran 18's.

 

[jred321]

for a daily driven car i would say anything high 12s/low 13s would be "fast." for project cars 11s or quicker.

 

[Donas64]

a miata in the 1/4 is a joke. stick it on a windy mountain road its up there with alot of cars.

I go with a case by case basis.

got to take into account:


HP to weight
why it was built (cruising, drag, restore, restore with upgrades, sunday cruiser, street racing, car shows etc.... )

comes down to...

slow: dissapointing when hit the trottle
peepy: surprising when you get on it
fast: snaps back your neck
ohh damn: makes your passengar or you s*** yourself.

I like your basic descriptions. I've always considered the Miata more of a Fun to drive car than even a quick car. I have a feeling that even with it's handling prowess, a Miata would be hard pressed to get away from an MS3 on a twisty road.

As for current cars.....

Fast: BMW M3/M5, Corvette Z06/ZR1, any AMG Mercedes, Porsche Carrera, 4S and Turbo, Lexus IS-F......pretty much anything that in stock form can go faster than 13 in the 1/4 mile.

Quick: Mazda MS3, BMW 335i, Subaru STI, Mitsubishi Evo X and Lancer, Mustang GT, Camaro, Cobalt SS......these cars are all sub-14 in the 1/4, but will require mods (for the most part) to go faster than 13.00.

See thats what confuses me a little, I'd consider the 335i (twin turbo) to be a fast car as well as the new Mustang GT 5.0 heck even the STi.

 

[not yellow]

See thats what confuses me a little, I'd consider the 335i (twin turbo) to be a fast car as well as the new Mustang GT 5.0 heck even the STi.

i test drove the 335i recently and it didn't feel much faster than my lightly modded MS3... definitely handled a lot worse. the thing weighs a million pounds.

 

[Russm]

Fast = 1 Turbocharged Street Legal motorcycle (550HP) on Street tires running 7.17 @ 203 MPH in the 1/4 mile, that is what HP/Weight ratio will do for Ya. FAST!

 

[Evolved]

i test drove the 335i recently and it didn't feel much faster than my lightly modded MS3... definitely handled a lot worse. the thing weighs a million pounds.

335i coupe weighs around 3580lbs and the MS3 is around 3200lbs. Not a HUGE difference. I'm sure the extra HP/TQ make up for the couple of hundred extra lbs. Not to mention that the BMW has 50/50 weight distribution and RWD, I would guess that the 335 would handle pretty damn well.

 

[ucMP3]

If you gotta ask, it ain't fast.

 

[not yellow]

335i coupe weighs around 3580lbs and the MS3 is around 3200lbs. Not a HUGE difference. I'm sure the extra HP/TQ make up for the couple of hundred extra lbs. Not to mention that the BMW has 50/50 weight distribution and RWD, I would guess that the 335 would handle pretty damn well.

i test drove an auto sedan(slightly heavier than the manual but same HP/TQ), and if you go strictly by the stock numbers the MS3 is slightly faster!

335i
3605 lbs, 300HP/300TQ
HP to weight ratio: 12
TQ to weight ratio: 12

MS3
3153 lbs, 263HP/280TQ
HP to weight ratio: 12
TQ to weight ratio: 11.3

 

[Evolved]

i test drove an auto sedan(slightly heavier than the manual but same HP/TQ), and if you go strictly by the stock numbers the MS3 is slightly faster!

335i
3605 lbs, 300HP/300TQ
HP to weight ratio: 12
TQ to weight ratio: 12

MS3
3153 lbs, 263HP/280TQ
HP to weight ratio: 12
TQ to weight ratio: 11.3

By those ratios, yeah. However, I think I would still take the 335i (I'm a BMW fanboy, so disregard (thumb) )

 

[not yellow]

^ no doubt the beamer is more pimpin'!

 

[Donas64]

i test drove the 335i recently and it didn't feel much faster than my lightly modded MS3... definitely handled a lot worse. the thing weighs a million pounds.

I would have never figured that at all. Thanks for all the responses. It's just interesting to me to hear different peoples different definitions of fast.

I truly hope to own what I consider a fast car (MS3 or MS6) for my next vehicle to replace my slow but oh so fun to drive P5.

 

[probin94]

I would have never figured that at all. Thanks for all the responses. It's just interesting to me to hear different peoples different definitions of fast.

I truly hope to own what I consider a fast car (MS3 or MS6) for my next vehicle to replace my slow but oh so fun to drive P5.

wait...the p5 isnt fast?

 

[Donas64]

wait...the p5 isnt fast?

Unless there's some secret button to retract the boat anchor I seem to be dragging around, nope it's not fast.

That fact was confirmed when I lost a highway merging battle against a modded Yaris.

It isn't street racing if you don't break the speed limit and you're merging onto a highway is it?

 

[probin94]

Unless there's some secret button to retract the boat anchor I seem to be dragging around, nope it's not fast.

That fact was confirmed when I lost a highway merging battle against a modded Yaris.

It isn't street racing if you don't break the speed limit and you're merging onto a highway is it?

lol. mine feels fast...now that i took the ms3 wheels off. but eventually ill come to realize its still a slow ass car.

 

[SeR_Cyclops]

I think for a street car high 13s is fast for a 4cyl. for a DD v8 im gonna say 11s or faster....

But quick as my general definition is 13s fast would be 12s or lower.