Random thoughts thread

Desertnate said:
..The fact you guys have tracked huge cars like S classes and autox`d a Town Car, shows a whole different level enthusiasm. I think it`s fantastic...
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Heh heh, uhm... Crown Vic, not a Town Car ;) Had I done OK in a Town Car that would`ve *really* been something!

And yeah, I hear you on the Big Sedans, when they get away from you you`re just along for the ride. It`s mainly just that I was trained in them, could`ve been the same with the Mustangs we drove at Bondurant had I been smarter back then. Every time I fire up the Crown Vic I mentally switch to "serious driver" mode.

My wife just learns the line, remembers it, and pushes things to her comfort point.. and magically outperforms most people, no testosterone-induced stupidity ;) She`ll admit that she`s rusty on her over-the-road skills though, takes her a few seconds IRL situations.
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh, uhm... Crown Vic, not a Town Car ;) Had I done OK in a Town Car that would`ve *really* been something!

And yeah, I hear you on the Big Sedans, when they get away from you you`re just along for the ride. It`s mainly just that I was trained in them, could`ve been the same with the Mustangs we drove at Bondurant had I been smarter back then. Every time I fire up the Crown Vic I mentally switch to "serious driver" mode.

My wife just learns the line, remembers it, and pushes things to her comfort point.. and magically outperforms most people, no testosterone-induced stupidity ;) She`ll admit that she`s rusty on her over-the-road skills though, takes her a few seconds IRL situations.
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That`s kinda funny on the wheel base thing. I find the long wheel base cars are easier to drive at the limit than a short wheel base. For me the shorter the wheel base, the faster the driver input needs to happen. It just seems less forgiving to me.
 
Coleroad said:
That`s kinda funny on the wheel base thing. I find the long wheel base cars are easier to drive at the limit than a short wheel base. For me the shorter the wheel base, the faster the driver input needs to happen. It just seems less forgiving to me.
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Interesting observation. I think it somes down to the road/track and what you`re used to driving.

On a tight, twisty backroad a long wheelbase car makes me feel like I`m driving a bus and I find it very difficult because of the slower rotation rates. When I`m in an environment when the turns are more open and sweeping, a longer wheelbase is far more stable and delivers a more planted feel as a shorter wheelbase serves no benifit other than to become disrupted more easily.
 
Coleroad- Ah, I agree completely! Even though it might not`ve sounded like it.

The diffs between the Crown Vic and the Towncar are related to other stuff. I *could* set up a TC the same way if I changed (a lot) more stuff, but they have "features" I don`t want anyhow on that particular vehicle. It`s kinda shocking just how good even a stock Police Interceptor is...like, "best 1970s sedan ever", which suits me pretty well.

Actually, my wife and I both like the "short-wheelbase versions of big cars", we can`t stand the "L" versions of our A8 (or of the Benzes we used to drive) but we love the shorter versions of the same.

The Tahoe has such a short wheelbase that my trainers (who know how I can handle the same thing in a Suburban) actually warned be about it lest my confidence bite me.
 
Desertnate said:
Interesting observation. I think it somes down to the road/track and what you`re used to driving..
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Yeah, agree completely!

"Horses for courses" on the road/track, and no way I could overstate how important it is for me to get dialed-in under stress in a controlled environment. (Which is a big part of why VDI`s program was perfect for me back when they used Crown Vics.) There`s no way I`ll ever attain the same familiarity with anything compared to the Crown Vics, good thing I like mine!
 
I prefer driving a small light car, but if I`m going to drive at the limit I think a long wheel base is easier. I have both ends of that, and one in the middle. The jag S-type is similar to the size of your crown Vic. The double wishbone up front helps both the Vic and the jag out. That camber gain it gives really helps that front tires too dig in. The BMW 1 series is that small toss-able car. The camaro is heavy like the jag , but a shorter wheel base.
DesertNate: your correct in tight slower corners that short wheel base helps. Fast sweeping corners are right in that long wheel base`s forte. The long wheel base does help drive off from those tight turns though. So while the entry may be slower,, you can get back into the gas quicker on exit.
 
Coleroad- Heh heh, park the S type beside a Crown Vic sometime and you`ll rethink that "similar to the size" ;) A pal of mine in the Jag Club has an S type and it`s tiny by comparison! It`s even smaller than the A8/S8, more like my `93. Yeah, actually that`s almost the same size, the `93 Audi V8 and the Jag S (which I always kinda liked).

Yeah, the 1 Series is still small and tossable, much like my e30 M3 was (and yeah I do still miss that for the exact reasons you can imagine).

Today`s Camaros, Mustangs, Challengers, and `vettes are all huge heavy things compared to the original ones. I`d probably like `em if I hadn`t grown up with the old ones.

Smallest, lightest thing I`ve ever had was almost certainly the `81 RX7 my Mother traded to me after remembering why she hadn`t driven a stick for a few decades (no, no..she *could* do it, dbl-clutch and all, but didn`t want to). That`s the car I learned to drive a manual in, at a sorta-advanced age IMO.
 
Anybody know where I can get rubber underwear? Tired of having to clean up after people scare the crap out of me on the road.
 
Accumulator: yeah those rx7`s are pretty little. The smallest car I`ve had was the 70 mgb. Darn it they just keep shrinking full size cars.
 
Coleroad said:
Anybody know where I can get rubber underwear? Tired of having to clean up after people scare the crap out of me on the road.
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Heh heh...get yourself some Adrenal Stress Conditioning as applied to Driving, then such incidents will result in a whole `nother automatic response, one that TCB faster/better than conscious thought ;)

Despite a whole lotta, uhm....experiences..., I can honestly say I`ve don`t experience fear behind the wheel. I just don`t process driving that way even when the vehicle I`m driving is being demolished around me.

Fear compromises driving performance. Reprogramming is possible.

Apologies if I took a light-hearted remark too seriously, this is yet another of those topics where I`m uhm...the way I am :o I put a *LOT* into the topic, changed my life.
 
PA DETAILER- Ah, what`s that from? What color is it?

If I *had* to buy a (non-LE) Charger I`d almost certainly want the ScatPack rather than a faster/slower one. (Actually, I`d want a ScatPack engine in a LE car, despite having to run the old 5A trans.)
 
Spent a little time under my truck yesterday and yeah it’s still dirty but it does have a new Hellwig Sway Bar. ;) I’ve run these bars on my last 4 trucks, they dramatically change (in a positive way) the way these heavy vehciles handle. Corners so flat when compared to the OE set up.

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Mi Hermano, El Granaje`-Cabeza` Numero Uno !
That looks very nice and black !! Perfect color for the entire axle, differential, and swaybar..
I remember Hellwig swaybars from the 70`s.. They worked great back then too ..
Thanks for the hard work and then the pics !
Dan F
 
Very cool @Gearhead_1

Guy at the audio shop has me considering new springs, brakes and such. Not for a while. The audio system cost a fortune!
 
Accumulator said:
PA DETAILER- Ah, what`s that from? What color is it?

If I *had* to buy a (non-LE) Charger I`d almost certainly want the ScatPack rather than a faster/slower one. (Actually, I`d want a ScatPack engine in a LE car, despite having to run the old 5A trans.)
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The ScatPack cars are true bargains in what you get for your $$.

Accumulator, you want the 8-spd. ZF. I`ve had both. Trust me on this one.
 
Older said:
The ScatPack cars are true bargains in what you get for your $$.
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And IMO the best "real world" level of power for use in...conditions I can envision.

Accumulator, you want the 8-spd. ZF. I`ve had both. Trust me on this one.
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I want that transmission but not the console mounted shifter that it requires. I won`t even have a full console in such a car (just a little one between the seats that leaves the whole "floor in front of the seats" area open. It`s a case of "horses for courses"; the Charger would be a Crown Vic replacement (which wouldn`t work as they`re too small inside and anyhow the rocker rust..) and the CV is my "serious use car" and those all run column-shifts; it`s what I`m trained with and what I`m wired to use right/fast under stress.

I`ve spent a *LOT* of time training with console setups and just can`t perform some stuff as well. Sometimes for the same reasons a manual wouldn`t work well. It`s a case of knowing from experience what I want to be able to do in a certain vehicle.

E.g., I cannot do a "disabled driver drill" successfully (even from the passenger seat, let alone the rear) in a car with a full center console even if it doesn`t have a shifter sticking up out of it. Period, and I`ve sure spent a lot of time trying. [Shoot], under stress I just automatically process "shifter on console", I sometimes start to reach for it before consciously knowing why.
 
Gearhead_1- Hey, great that you`ve mounted the Hellwig!

You do just the rear or the front too?

Gotta get my Hotchkiss ones on the Tahoe some day...
 
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