What makes a car fun?
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You are currently reading a thread in /o/ - Auto
You are currently reading a thread in /o/ - Auto
What makes a car fun?
The fun I have when driving it, working on it, looking at it, thinking about it.
>>14251160
A huge variety of different things, some quantifiable and some not. Broadly, though, any or all of
>performance
>handling
>feelz
If it does what you want it to do, and not what you don't want it to do.
Light weight
Direct steering with good weight/feel
Gearbox that feels like a rifle bolt
Good visibility
RWD or RWD biased AWD
That's all I need really.
Chassis, chassis, and chassis.
But fuck me, driving a slow car fast is so much more fun than driving a fast car at a moderate pace.
There is a reason the 86/FRS is such a good car. Anyone who complains about the power has no idea about how to car.
![Morris%20Minor%20Series%20II%201954%20%20frontg[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/2G9ZpMR.jpg "Morris%20Minor%20Series%20II%201954%20%20frontg[1].jpg")
>>14251318
So the only thing stopping the Morris Minor from being a bona fide driver's car is the gearbox?
>>14251318
>Good visibility
So you're removing the vast majority of sports and super cars, and removing anything made after the 90's?
Cool fucking standards.
good handling
Lap times
>>14251333
New ultimate drivingo machine confirmed.
>>14251362
This. I know a car is fun if it goes faster than some other cars which I'll never drive round a track I'm never going to visit.
>>14251410
That's the /o/ spirit!
>>14251160
>Low traction.
>High Torque.
>Handling.
>Balls.
For me it's fast acceleration and AWD because I love back roads.
The driver.
More specifically the driver that DRIVES the car on a drive that DRIVES the driver.
How fun a car is dependent on how much control the user feels they have over the car, how much feedback they get from it, and how fast it is. Let's say you're driving on the Touge. You're going down a short straight towards a turn, and you think to yourself "I'm going to let off of the throttle at this point, brake hard, then trail off the brakes while turning in hitting an apex here, then rolling onto the throttle straightening out".
In a fun car, you'll hit the brakes and the pedal will be firm with a reasonable level of travel, giving you good control over how much braking you are giving. The tires will bite, and the chassis and suspension being rigid enough will tell give you feedback on just how much the tires can take before locking, there is no "play" or "give" in your suspension that betrays your senses. You then trail off the brakes, and turn the steering wheel in towards the corner. There is no dead zone in the rack that is useless motion, and you have to turn the wheel the exact amount you intuitively feel should be to get the degree of turn you want, making you feel in control. Then the contours of the road and the amount of grip your tires are giving you is transferred through the steering rack, torquing the steering wheel and telling you what you need to do to keep the car on the path you want. The traction remains predictable, and even throughout the whole process, as you get enough feedback on your inputs to adjust the accordingly, the suspension is set up to absorb the road properly. Finally, your turn is complete and you roll on the throttle. You feel a large surge of force accelerating you forward, and if the car has so much power that you risk oversteer there is a sufficient amount of inherent balance in the suspension and weight distribution such that the car doesn't uncontrollably spin out as soon as the wheels break traction.
cont.
>>14252110
All of the fun is derived, ultimately, from the challenge. It is hard to drive fast through the corners, it is so busy and involving your brain is so stimulated. Being able to tackle such a challenge is what makes racing so fucking fun. What your brain needs is a car that can give you the feedback, does what you tell it to, and have the potential to go fast and give you that challenge you desire, where any mistake is only your fault, and not the car's. It lets you improve by being predictable, consistent and responsive.
This is why a 2200kg understeering 600 horsepower land rover might be fast, but is not fun in the slightest. You try and turn in, and it shudders in understeer, the brakes and steering are dead, there is nothing to learn from them, which is ultimately what makes driving so fun. The same reason why an old muscle car feels like shit to drive in the corners because of hte noodle chassis and the completely useless suspension cause you to lose grip and do unpredictable things in the corners.
This is the SAME reason why a 911 , an Elise, an Evo, whatever, are so brilliant. If you approach the corner at a high speed the brakes respond and you feel them, they turn in how you want and you can adjust, and feel them, and learn from them, and when you get on the power they pull.
A fun car lets you learn from it, gives you good feedback when you give it inputs, and it's fucking fast (driving slow is no challenge!).
>>14251160
perspective.
>>14251332
>There is a reason the 86/FRS is such a good car. Anyone who complains about the power has no idea about how to car.
I'm driving a 160hp and 240Hp cars now. Have always driven slow cars fast. I still think the 86/FRS is a shit. Its way too much money for what it is. I'll like them in 15 years when they have depreciated down to 4k, right now they are a terrible deal.
>>14251160
A good dance partner makes for a fun car.
>>14251160
A ferrari badge
>>14252196
The FRS is basically the same car that the 240SX (among other cheap Jap RWD coupes) was when it came out, in both price and performance. At least once you account for inflation.
>>14251160
Power, straight line, speed, track times.
- /o/
risk of death
>>14252396
>The FRS is basically the same car that the 240SX
And this is precisely why I hate it. It is a car released 25 years too late.
The thing is, what they tried to do with the 86/BRZ is improve upon the AE86. So what we ended up with is a 2013 S13/14. We have already been here, we have already progressed through this step.
The S-cars took the idea of the AE86 and did it better. Stiffer chassis, independent rear multi-link suspension, more power, more refinement.
The RX-8 raised the performance bar still higher. Double wishbone front suspension, multi-link rear, both inspired by the RX-7. More power, more refinement.
If anything the 86/BRZ should have picked up where the RX-8 dropped the ball. They should have added simplicity and lightness but retained everything good that had progressed in the breed. It should have double wishbone front suspension. The engine should be well behind the front wheels.
Instead we got the stillborn evolution of the AE86 released 25 years past when it would have been relevant. Its the car we expected Toyota to follow up the AE86 with in 1987 instead of the FWD AE92. As much as they wanted to complete unfinished business times have changed, and the RX-8 set the bar for 2+2 every day cheap sports cars. This is the car they needed to have beaten, and they didn't.
Any car can be fun, it's just depends on the person.
>>14251160
Is it that small that 255 rears looklike fatmeats? Is that a 355 or a 348?
Control and response.
You should be able to manually choose gear, steer, throttle, and brake without interference.
The car should let you feel what is going on between the road and the tires, the suspension and the body, the steering and the driver.
The latter is why a lot of newer cars aren't as 'fun' to drive, even if they come in manual and/or RWD - the lack of feedback is appalling, and the link between driver and car is tenuous most of the time.
I have more fun in my '91 turbo Pajero than I do in a Mazda6, and that old thing probably makes a third of the power while weighing more.
>>14251352
good reading comprehension
>>14252796
yeah too bad everything about the car is awesome except lmao factory tires and no engine options
I hope they introduce a flat-6 or terboh flat-4 at least.
https://youtu.be/HeGcasY5I24?t=7m8s
>>14251160
Rwd mostly
>>14251160
dragon dildo on the shifter
FEEDBACK.
>>14252385
Put your trip back on, Heartbreaker.
>>14251333
for its age that thing is beast as fuck
it could have been even better but got hit by budget cuts and lord nuffield going all henry ford on advances in design
og spec has torsion bar independent suspension all round
and a flat 4 upfront
>>14255587
>I hope they introduce a flat-6 or terboh flat-4 at least.
They never will because Subaru is paranoid about it hurting WRX sales. Also they will never release one with double wishbone front suspension because it's designed for that boxer piece of shit engine.
>>14251352
Brosifine pls go
>>14251318
>>14255605
how to spot the jalopnik kids
>>14251160
The driver
>2deep4u
>>14258200
how to spot the redditor
>>14251160
Responsiveness. Which itself is a function of
>handling
which itself is a function of
>weight, suspension design, steering feel
Good performance can make a car more fun but isn't strictly necessary to have fun. Good performance is a function of
>power to weight ratio, grip, suspension design
Some cars are fast but not fun because they don't handle well and are either scary or numb based on what's wrong with them.
>scary
Ruf CTR
Viper
>numb
Nissan GTR
>>14258738
>Responsiveness. Which itself is a function of
>>handling
Forgot to say that it is a function handling AND performance.
>>14258738
stop talking about cars you haven't driven or even read a review of
Long travel suspension, good ground clearance, stiff chassis, good power, tough, and enough room to fit comfortably
>>14258783
>this nigger thinks he'd have fun in a viper or a Ruf CTR
Like most people on here, you vastly overestimate your driving ability.
>this nigger things a fast computer on wheels is fun
So you overestimate your driving ability and you're a GTR fanboy. Double trouble.
>>14255670
I don't think I've ever implied Ferraris are particularly fun
>>14258849
>>14258937
So you guys have driven those cars?
>>14258957
there's lots of reviews saying the gtr isn't numb when you push it.
and the ctr and viper can't really be put in the same handling category.
>>14251160
No stability control, less electronics the better
>>14258888
>240
>good power
>>14258888
>Long travel suspension, good ground clearance, stiff chassis, good power, tough, and enough room to fit comfortably
Let's see. You posted a Volvo 240.
>Long travel suspension
check
>good ground clearance
check
>stiff chassis
Nope
>good power
Nope
>tough
check
>enough room to fit comfortably
check
>>14251160
At least post the correct picture.
