I hate the VXR forums sometimes

InvaderGIR said:
Weight transfer is an annoyance with FWD, but only from a standing start, torque steer can impact on standing start and rolling.

I found high revs and sidestepping the clutch in the BMW to reault in nose up, arse down grip and go. In previous FWD cars I've had nose up, arse down, lack of grip, wheelspin, catch and go. :p

Rolling though, there was minimal difference between the two...whilst their is weight transfer it's not like the front lost grip or the rear gained anything noticeable.
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None of this stuff, not torque steer, not traction, not weight transfer, bla bla matters in the context of road driving. Sure it's nice to know driving around you've got the car underneath you for any given situation. But it doesn't really matter. Having said that I do like the feeling of RWD hunkering down on the rear when pulling away sharply. It just feels "right" to me. In FWD you get this depressing sense of the front of the car just lifting up higher, all the weight going onto the rear wheels which have no purpose other than making up the numbers and if there happens to be any small stones etc on the junction you're pulling away from then you *will* get some wheel spin and the car just goes nowhere for second or so. Wheel spin whilst daily driving on the roads is depressing.

The problem comes when you start comparing Car A to Car B. That's when this stuff starts mattering. Unfortunately that is what happened in this thread.
 
I dunno, for driving in damp conditions i'd say knowing about weight transfer / traction / torque steer on the roads can be a huge advantage.
 
NathanE said:
But then you started spouting all this rubbish about the Corsa being a technically superior car to something like a GT4 or whatever. That's when people started having a real issue with your comments.
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No he said it was faster over a 1/2 mile.

http://www.torquestats.com/index.php?car_id=62

0-60mph 6.8s
0-100mph 17.8s
60-100mph 11s
1/4 Mile 15.03s
Terminal Speed 94mph
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http://www.torquestats.com/index.php?car_id=62

0-60mph 5.9s
0-100mph 15.4s
60-100mph 9.5s
1/4 Mile 14.2s
Terminal Speed 97mph
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I will let you guess which is which. ;)

I promise I will drop it now. :p
 
Firestar_3x said:
I dunno, for driving in damp conditions i'd say knowing about weight transfer / traction / torque steer on the roads can be a huge advantage.
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Would you like that as a complicated 10 page mathematical derivation, or just the simple "this is what happens, roughly"? :D
 
Kenai said:
Well he never denied its existance, just that it didn't cause him/the car to 'suffer' whilst driving - thus making it nothing more than a minor inconvenience rather than a debilitating problem that makes the car undriveable.

I think the last 150 posts have been more a conflict of terms and people looking to take a dig anywhere possible rather than any real total disagreement.

edit - his original comment:



He made it quite clear right then he was just saying that the car doesn't have a problem with it that makes it problem to drive.
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Got to say chaps, I agree with this. I don't think Mr VXR is making to many bold claims really, I think people are getting bogged down in interpretation as it's clear he is not denying understeer is present, just that it's not too difficult to drive around, which having driven one I can agree with, its not that bad, much like the Golf GTi really, it's there but not badly and its not too hard to dial it out with your right foot. The Astra is a lot worse as an example, that becomes a pain from what I am told by someone who races both and tunes both. Don't agree with some of the other points he makes about it's ability to best a well sorted GT4 or RWD traction in the main but actually think he's not being that unreasonable really.
 
Ive driven the Corsa VXR and it behaved much better from launch than the Clio 172.
Still not my cup of tea though the VXR, to in your face.
 
cymatty said:
No he said it was faster over a 1/2 mile.

I will let you guess which is which. ;)

I promise I will drop it now. :p
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Yeah, **** real world experience, lets go with the generic online calculator that knows nothing of gear ratios, transmission losses, rotational and unsprung mass, tyre compounds, road surfaces, driver skill or the hundreds of other factors that can alter that outcome.
 
MikeHiow said:
Yeah, **** real world experience, lets go with the generic online calculator that knows nothing of gear ratios, transmission losses, rotational and unsprung mass, tyre compounds, road surfaces, driver skill or the hundreds of other factors that can alter that outcome.
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Yes in the real world there can be a few factors that can change the outcome, one could be where the dirver of the GT4 could not dirve for squat and you are a driving God, that proves nothing as you would be faster in the GT4 if you swapped drivers.

The only way to get an honest and trustworthy outcome is to put the same driver in both cars in the same conditions on similar tyres, as that did not happen the only thing we have to go off is "theoretical" performance figures.

Not that VXR's bother me now that I am over 300bhp. ;)
 
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cymatty said:
Yes in the real world there can be a few factors that can change the outcome, one could be where the dirver of the GT4 could not dirve for squat and you are a driving God, that proves nothing as you would be faster in the GT4 if you swapped drivers.

The only way to get an honest and trustworthy outcome is to put the same driver in both cars in the same conditions on similar tyres, as that did not happen the only thing we have to go off is "theoretical" performance figures.

Not that VXR's bother me now that I am over 300bhp. ;)
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To be honest, now I now the power figures the ST205 puts out (I always assumed the 205 was indicative of 205BHP, if I'm honest), I'm almost certain that the difference was down to the driver, as I know for certain that I understand 100% how to get the best out of my car, especially in a straight line :p
 
MikeHiow said:
To be honest, now I now the power figures the ST205 puts out (I always assumed the 205 was indicative of 205BHP, if I'm honest), I'm almost certain that the difference was down to the driver, as I know for certain that I understand 100% how to get the best out of my car, especially in a straight line :p
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You must be thinking of the 185 which is that power hence why our lines were crossed.

I agrre a 185 would have a tough time against a Corsa VXR but the 50bhp extra that the 205 has would make a difference. :)
 
Well yes, kind of, I guess someone has told me in the past that the GT4 is 205BHP, and as a result, I had always assumed the 185 was 185bhp, and the 205 was 205bhp.

Learn something every day.

cymatty said:
Not that VXR's bother me now that I am over 300bhp.
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You may still have a few to worry about, there are about five or six running between 300 and 330BHP, whilst you have the traction advantage, they have a good 200KG+ weight advantage, as well as possibly gearing (being six speed) - Now that would be an interesting one to see.
 
cymatty said:
You must be thinking of the 185 which is that power hence why our lines were crossed.

I agrre a 185 would have a tough time against a Corsa VXR but the 50bhp extra that the 205 has would make a difference. :)
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Um depends on the 185 market.
JDM ST185 was 220ish bhp compared to UK getting 200bhp.
205 was 250bhp in all markets I think.
 
MikeHiow said:
You may still have a few to worry about, there are about five or six running between 300 and 330BHP, whilst you have the traction advantage, they have a good 200KG+ weight advantage, as well as possibly gearing (being six speed) - Now that would be an interesting one to see.
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Yeah I have seen some of the builds over on the forums, seem very impressive.

I would not like to meet a 300bhp Corsa VXR, I think it would have my number. :D
 
rypt said:
Um depends on the 185 market.
JDM ST185 was 220ish bhp compared to UK getting 200bhp.
205 was 250bhp in all markets I think.
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ST205 had 236bhp UK and 255bhp JDM due to the RON rating of the fuel it was designed to run with. :)
 
Erm, I don't believe it is?

UK cars, even if under knock control, need to be able to run on 95RON without going bang - that said, even the manual for my VXR says I should be running 98RON minimum (I use T99, simply because its the cheapest here).

The Japs have 100RON, standard, and good stuff at that, none of this Methanol induced 99RON crap we have the pleasure of paying a premium for.

Our fuel is terrible.
 
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