How fast is fast enough?

olv · 10 Jul 2006 at 14:46

On saturday night i had the privaledge of having a passenger ride in family friends nice car. An Aston Martin DB9 Volante. And what a gorgeous car it is. Looked stunning in dark blue. The interior is just right, lovely materials, very solidly built.

Unfortunately it was raining slightly so the roof stayed up, but the windows were down for the noise, and oh my god, what a noise. The sound of the V12 building up to 8000rpm was frankly awesome.

And the speed, this thing is seriously quick. The sheer amount of torque is fantastic, like riding a tidal wave, it just forces you onwards. On paper this is a sub 5 second car, 450bhp, V12, certainly impressive. However, I can't help feeling that it wasn't fast enough. Not that it wasn't fast enough, the amount of grip available and the speed of the thing means that it's well beyond the limits of any public roads. But for me it felt too civilised, which is probably a good thing as it's designed as a gt cruiser, and no doubt it would eat up a cross country jaunt with ease.

It left me thinking, if that didn't feel fast enough, what will? I have to say i had much more Fun™ in the passenger seat of an S2 Elise, and that was certainly no where near as fast as the db9. I guess ultimately it depends on the car but i thought i would raise the discussion:

How fast is fast enough?

Firestar_3x · 10 Jul 2006 at 14:49

Sub 6 seconds and lots of grip, anything with 200bhp per ton will be more than fast enough for me.

Went out in my mates Evo FQ320 and that was silly quick both in a straight line but down a back lane, i would say that was about the right sort of speed.

Mr_Sukebe · 10 Jul 2006 at 14:51

olv said:
How fast is fast enough?

Easy answer, when it's fun.
That's why Smart roadsters can bring a smile to your face at 40mph, kart racers at 25mph etc.
The key point is either:
- Have a normal car and a "fun" car if you have the funds (which not that many of us do)
- Find an acceptable compromise somewhere between liveable and fun. For me the Elise is too raw, a Mondeo to yawn inducing, though I'm sure that balance will change as I get older.

William · 10 Jul 2006 at 14:51

When it is too fast to stick to the road, i.e so fast it's dangerous.

eidolon · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:05

Fast in a straight line is boring, fast in the twisties is much more fun hence why I now own an Elise

stig · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:09

1) 300bhp +
2) less then 1.6T
3) sub 6 seconds to 60
4) more grip then you can shake a monkey at
5) driving OMGWTFSKILLZ!!11
6) A hawt girl in the passenger seat

*s

Clarkey · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:14

If it can spin up the tyres in 3rd in a straight line, it is powerful enough

This only counts in RWD's with fat tyres in the dry, though.

Scrutinize · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:16

Quickest I have driven is a PPP STI Impreza and that was deifinately fast enough. Its not the 0-60 its the 0-100 that defines the car then the 100---.

Sub 5 sec 0-60 sub 15 sec 0-100 imo

GSXRMovistar · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:17

eidolon said:
Fast in a straight line is boring

I dunno about that, lauching the bike from 0-to-naughty speeds in a few seconds always makes me grin.

Muncher · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:20

Needs to be about 350bhp per tonne, in the Elise that's about what's considered "fast enough".

D4VE · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:20

The Aston is too big and heavy to be fun.

olv · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:24

Muncher said:
Needs to be about 350bhp per tonne, in the Elise that's about what's considered "fast enough".

about 280bhp then?

what lumps aside from vxt, supercharged type-r and audi do that?

iCraig · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:26

I've been in a go-kart at 40mph around tight corners, battling for position with other karts.

That was fast enough for fun.

You don't need speed to enjoy a car.

Glaucus · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:31

olv said:
How fast is fast enough?

Nothing really. However fast a car goes, you'll get used to it and wont more. There must be a physical limit with cars though. When you start needing G-suits to stop from passing out around a corner. Then thats too fast.

Muncher · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:31

olv said:
about 280bhp then?

what lumps aside from vxt, supercharged type-r and audi do that?

Pretty much it, soon to be throttle bodied 2.2 VX lump also.

There's a nice Audi S1 at 316bhp, that's about 420bhp/ton, that's the kind of power I'd be looking for.

stig · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:46

fast enough is when your face goes from

to

on forza motorsport i have a VX220 which is tuned to 480bhp and does 0-60 in 2.6 seconds! that always brings a smile to my face

James_N · 10 Jul 2006 at 15:46

My CTR was more than fast enough for me personally

eidolon · 10 Jul 2006 at 16:19

GSXRMovistar said:
I dunno about that, lauching the bike from 0-to-naughty speeds in a few seconds always makes me grin.

But that still gets boring after a while as a straight line is always a straight line whereas a corner, well there's loads of em and they're all slightly different hence why they interest me more nowadays.

Trojan · 10 Jul 2006 at 16:20

For me, I can't ever see one of my cars being fast enough. Prolonged exposure to a car gets you used to the power, and I think you'll always want more a few months down the line.

When I went from my 1.1 Fiesta to a Saxo VTR, I couldn't believe how quick it was. After a few months however, I wanted more power, more acceleration etc.

I now own a Clio 172, and when I first bought that, it felt extremely fast. 6 months down the line however, and I'd love something with more power, as it now feels fairly mundane.

So yeah, how fast is fast enough? There isn't such a thing

Zip · 10 Jul 2006 at 16:27

If you want the feeling of fast then get a car that can get to about 80-100kph and just throw it around a narrow dirt road

It seriously feels like you are doing much faster then what you are

How fast is fast enough?

Man of Honour