Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too?

   / Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too? #211  
Stock top speed on a Dino was 130 ish, 150-160 on rthe Pantera, depending on whether it had the 310 or 330 h.p. engine. If you meant 200 km per hour I can see that.

Yeah...those are the speeds I knew they were capable of as well...
Maybe they just had overly optimistic speedometers.

I owned a Fiat Dino Coupe. It was one of the later ones with the stronger 2.4L engine. Not a bad car...but it would never see much above 130 MPH (unless you dropped it out of an aircraft from 30,000').
Even the Dino Ferrari was only good for about 140 or so.
BTW, this was when I was stationed in Naples, Italy.
 
   / Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too? #212  
Yeah...those are the speeds I knew they were capable of as well...
Maybe they just had overly optimistic speedometers.

I owned a Fiat Dino Coupe. It was one of the later ones with the stronger 2.4L engine. Not a bad car...but it would never see much above 130 MPH (unless you dropped it out of an aircraft from 30,000').
Even the Dino Ferrari was only good for about 140 or so.
BTW, this was when I was stationed in Naples, Italy.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Autobahn when I was in Germany... took a 6 cylinder MB SEL in 1985 to 230 km... about 140 mph...

Funny thing is the flow of traffic was often around 100 mph and I couldn't believe someone would be on my tail so close I couldn't even see the license plate of the car and then pass almost like I was standing still... mostly Porsche, Mercedes and BMW...
 
   / Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too? #213  
I've driven 4x4 trucks all of my life. In fact, up until recently I have never had anything, in 30 plus years of driving, but a 4x4 as my primary vehicle/ daily driver.

Well, a year or so ago I got my wife a used Infiniti G35x sedan (also 4wd :p). Compared to our previous average sedans or cross overs it was a real revelation in terms of performance and driving experience. So when my 17 year old daughter commandeered my 03 F150 I began looking for a daily driver and got a high mileage 06 Infiniti G35 coupe with the 6 speed manual and sport package. And while some might claim this isn't a true sports car, well, it is. It is too heavy but it has 300 bhp, 19" forged rims, large antisway bars, stiffer springs, rough ride and all that. It seems most happy at 5000 rpm (and it underneath it is the same as a 350Z with a few extra inches of wheel base). Anyway, I love it. I've made trips to the mountains to drive on twisty roads. I'm hoping, if I can ever find the time, to take it to the track for a weekend.

So do we have any other tractor and truck driving guys that are also into sports cars? (Not really talking muscle cars so much, but there's a lot of overlap these days.)

I'm not into sports cars because I think they are useless, especially the two wheel drive models! I would rather drive a sports SUV like the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 or Ceyanne Porche-I can do alot more with them. My current Jeep Hemi can do 0-60 in 6 seconds and thats pretty dang good for a 4600 pound vehicle. My wish list is the new 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.....


12_grandcherokee_srt8.jpg
 
   / Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too? #214  
Nope. Four wheels, mid engine, 1,965 pounds. On a road course, horse power isn't everything.

I disagree;
Horse power IS everything.
 
   / Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too? #215  
Horse power IS everything./QUOTE]

It surely is; that is as long as you don't have to turn, stop or traverse bumpy corners or have an enjoyable drive without the "Bathtub On Wheels feeling."

Think that statment comes from a fellow by the name of Tom McCahill from Popular Mechanics!
 
   / Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too? #216  
Horse power IS everything./QUOTE]

It surely is; that is as long as you don't have to turn, stop or traverse bumpy corners or have an enjoyable drive without the "Bathtub On Wheels feeling."

Think that statment comes from a fellow by the name of Tom McCahill from Popular Mechanics!

Jeesus, Egon...you are old!!!!!!!!!!!!
(yeah, I know who Tom McCahill was)
 
   / Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too? #217  
I rememeber Uncle Tom and his Mechanix Illustrated stories and tests. :thumbsup:
 
   / Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too? #218  
How bout tractor girls that like cars??84 vette.JPG
 
   / Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too? #219  
Horse power IS everything./QUOTE]

It surely is; that is as long as you don't have to turn, stop or traverse bumpy corners or have an enjoyable drive without the "Bathtub On Wheels feeling."

Think that statment comes from a fellow by the name of Tom McCahill from Popular Mechanics!

Those are the old days for sure, the new high horsepower V8's come with much better suspensions and stopping power. Take the new Jeep SRT8, ind. all around suspension and brembo brakes are standard. The suspension is coiled and it has superioror traction control utilizing the new Quarda Drive II system. The stop on a dime, corner waround a dime and take off on a dime too :)
 
   / Any Tractor Guys Into Sports Cars Too? #220  
toppop52 said:
On a really tight road course, maybe. Mid engine is a definite plus if the suspension, tires, etc... are matched up well. But because your horsepower to weight ratio isn't special so accelerating off the corners is not going to be your long suit, and anything resembling a straightaway is going to make you a sitting duck. The Z06 has 6.3 lbs per H.P., you have about 10.5, it's gonna take a really tight course or a really bad 'Vette driver to stay behind you, because they are not slouches handling, either.

That's all exactly right. The track I mostly frequent is 3.1 miles long with 16 turns. So one might say it falls into the "medium" range regarding its ratio of straights to turns. I can turn laps faster than most Z06s can, with the exception being another instructor with several years more experience than me. I can just barely keep up with him.

And yes, on the straights he flies away from me, but going into the turns I reel him back in during breaking, through the apex and out to turn-out. That's a pretty consistent description of what happens lap after lap as long as neither of us makes a mistake.

He runs slicks and I run DOT legal r-comps. His power to weight ratio is way better. He's a better driver than I am.

So I stand by my assertion that horse power isn't everything. On a straighter track he would pull away from me, and on a tighter track I from him probably.

The guy that walks away from both of us runs either a GT3 or a 430. Well, there are a few guys running real race cars that can outrun us, but I'm keeping this discussion within the realm of production vehicles.
 
 
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