Walter Rohl "The Ring is ruining cars"
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This point really rings loud...
I drove the GTR here and said it from the beginning that the suspension was hard and it felt like the car would be a rattle box in no time flat. (Remember the roads over here are not like in the US)
I know I am going to get the " GTR hater " label again from all those obsessed one thing performace ,or should I say obsessed with the GTR. Like I have said all alone there is more to a car than what numbers it can put down.
I drove the GTR here and said it from the beginning that the suspension was hard and it felt like the car would be a rattle box in no time flat. (Remember the roads over here are not like in the US)
I know I am going to get the " GTR hater " label again from all those obsessed one thing performace ,or should I say obsessed with the GTR. Like I have said all alone there is more to a car than what numbers it can put down.
Walter Rohrl would be one of the first to tell you that a cars suspension is of no use whatsoever if the tires are not in contact with the road. A stiff suspension is far too easily upset by the road surfaces we have to contend with in the real world. But then you get Larry, Moe, and Curly on Top Gear doing their supposed testing on a runway and make all sorts of wonderful proclamations about the handling, almost always coupled with their desire to impress the bejeezus out of you by demonstrating their ability to turn tires into smoke. Burn up your tires on the beginning of a lap on the old Nurburgring and you had a long time to think about how stupid you are. Been there, done that.
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BMW used to be magical in their ability to combine ride and handling but whether it is the Ring or not, they have gotten progressively more harsh.
Walter Rohrl would be one of the first to tell you that a cars suspension is of no use whatsoever if the tires are not in contact with the road. A stiff suspension is far too easily upset by the road surfaces we have to contend with in the real world. But then you get Larry, Moe, and Curly on Top Gear doing their supposed testing on a runway and make all sorts of wonderful proclamations about the handling, almost always coupled with their desire to impress the bejeezus out of you by demonstrating their ability to turn tires into smoke. Burn up your tires on the beginning of a lap on the old Nurburgring and you had a long time to think about how stupid you are. Been there, done that.
Walter Rohrl would be one of the first to tell you that a cars suspension is of no use whatsoever if the tires are not in contact with the road. A stiff suspension is far too easily upset by the road surfaces we have to contend with in the real world. But then you get Larry, Moe, and Curly on Top Gear doing their supposed testing on a runway and make all sorts of wonderful proclamations about the handling, almost always coupled with their desire to impress the bejeezus out of you by demonstrating their ability to turn tires into smoke. Burn up your tires on the beginning of a lap on the old Nurburgring and you had a long time to think about how stupid you are. Been there, done that.
BMW is STILL, though, at least in my book, the world's best automaker for steering feel and chassis engineering, though I thought the Mercedes E63 AMG I reviewed was close. As you note, BMW can combine ride, steering, and handling like no other. Yes, some of their vehicles, like the X3 and M3, have fairly stiff rides, but their handling level MORE than compensates for the stiffness. If you have ever driven a Mitsubishi Evo, for instance (I have), sure, it handles great, but an Evo suspension is SO stiff and noisy over bumps it will make even an M3 feel like a Town Car in comparison. Same with the new Lexus IS-F....good handling, but an excessively stiff ride as the trade-off. BMW, through superb chassis design, manages to avoid much of the traditional ride/handling trade-offs.
Last edited by mmarshall; 05-21-08 at 08:06 PM.
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"the entire life of a vehicle can be simulated by just a few weeks on the ring"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTBDnvTQH6U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTBDnvTQH6U
#20
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You think America is bad, you should see some of the goat paths here, only the toll ways are a little bit decent.
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Very true, and I will emphasise that I don't know how they are marketing over there. But I found that their only selling point is how fast it goes, which is fine if that is all you are looking for, but as the OP said a lot of cars are suffering due this competion just so they can say "we have the best figures for this class", incedently which was driven by a pro that handles a car like it was a part of his body.
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I disagree completely. If the car performs well on a track or on the ring in this case it should perform well on the street. If the car has a working AC, sound dampening so the noise doesn't kill you, passes modern day emissions, has a radio and navigation, it is more than a street car too me.
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