Cars, cars, cars...

1…2829313334…100

Comments

  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 20,349
    edited March 2022
    I asked my chauffeur to take my other car out for a spin this morning, as it's nice weather.


    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,317
    edited March 2022
    Yeah right BT.
    Vintage cars do little for me, except the Bugatti Atlantic coupe and the E type... hang on... the E-type is monocoque construction , so technically not vintage.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 20,349
    pinno said:

    Yeah right BT.
    Vintage cars do little for me, except the Bugatti Atlantic coupe and the E type... hang on... the E-type is monocoque construction , so technically not vintage.


    Yes, I know it was a bit over the top, but I only had one inner tube to hand for my ride, and I wanted some back-up, just in case.

    Don't use the R-R much - last time I filled it up, petrol was 40p a gallon.
    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • masjer
    masjer Posts: 2,656
    edited March 2022
    briantrumpet said:

    pinno said:

    Yeah right BT.
    Vintage cars do little for me, except the Bugatti Atlantic coupe and the E type... hang on... the E-type is monocoque construction , so technically not vintage.

    Don't use the R-R much - last time I filled it up, petrol was 40p a gallon.
    Last time I filled my car, it doubled in value.
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 20,349
    Re Teslas, and our resident fan, this is a good read about self-driving cars. Seems that there are some problems solving that last 10% of situations when a human brain can cope, but a machine can't. It reminds me of a conversation I heard recently on R4 between Michael Rosen and a chap who is deep into machine translation: although machines can do a pretty impressive job of the regular stuff, machines are unlikely either to be able to handle poetry and its deliberate manipulation of metaphor, or real conversation, which humans are masters of, because of the way that our brains and language have co-evolved. The expert didn't expect that nut to be cracked in his lifetime, despite the revolution in technology.

    https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/mar/27/how-self-driving-cars-got-stuck-in-the-slow-lane

    And here's the Michael Rosen programme - well worth a listen: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014p8c
    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,317
    masjer said:

    briantrumpet said:

    pinno said:

    Yeah right BT.
    Vintage cars do little for me, except the Bugatti Atlantic coupe and the E type... hang on... the E-type is monocoque construction , so technically not vintage.

    Don't use the R-R much - last time I filled it up, petrol was 40p a gallon.
    Last time I filled my car, it doubled in value.
    I'm going to get a gas conversion like this:


    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • masjer
    masjer Posts: 2,656
    That looks like a great solution. Nice and discreet, too.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,317
    I'm going to try a diet of curried Brussel sprouts and baked beans to fuel this project.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • masjer
    masjer Posts: 2,656
    Bio gas. You'll have that filled in no time with that diet.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,317
    It would be of benefit if you could suggest other conducive dietary supplements such as Newcastle Brown Ale and Kebabs.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 8,151
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiYT3ftvsYI
    It's got a noise, no NA flat six or v10 though.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,317
    It ^ grates.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 8,151
    edited May 2022
    pinno said:

    It ^ grates.

    It certainly wouldn't add to the experience in that form and as for speed, how quick do you want to get, even on a track for normal folk?
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,317
    focuszing723 said:

    pinno said:

    It ^ grates.

    It certainly wouldn't add to the experience in that form and as for speed, how quick do you want to get, even on a track for normal folk?
    Sure but they are pushing the boundaries and at some point, GT racing will be electric. By pushing the boundaries, the technology filters down. Plus, Tesla has set the standard and has a growing market share.
    There are Hybrids in endurance racing right now but we are a bit off an electric car winning say Le Mans.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,327
    pinno said:

    It ^ grates.

    My first thought was that I am going to have to adapt to pretending I am in Tron in the future.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 8,151
    Yep, I agree with most of that.

    A brave new world.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,327
    It wasn't meant to be a good thing. Gaming never compares to a visceral experience.
    I don't doubt the performance but there's more to it unless racing.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 8,151
    pblakeney said:

    It wasn't meant to be a good thing. Gaming never compares to a visceral experience.
    I don't doubt the performance but there's more to it unless racing.

    Sorry, my fault, I should have quoted Pinno.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,327
    ^^^^ Fair. ^^^^
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • focuszing723
    focuszing723 Posts: 8,151
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pN2OFgg5kY
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,167
    Does anyone actually have enough time to watch this sort of thing?

    Btw, resto-mods don't introduce side airbags and crumple zones. I'm still not getting in one.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,104
    That 205 is interesting - makes you think too when they talk about ways in which it's more fun than modern cars.

    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,317
    DeVlaeminck said:

    That 205 is interesting - makes you think too when they talk about ways in which it's more fun than modern cars.

    Well yes.
    Modern cars are comfortable, quiet, reliable but you are cosseted; there's little 'engagement'. The basic, everyday a to b is as dull as ditch water. Audi's are a perfect example of that - you have to thrash them before they start to get interesting but you'll reach the legal speed limit before that happens and you can 'tick' along at 90 on the motorway and it feels like nothing.
    Also, you don't have to have power to have fun.

    My 997 is quick. So quick, the only real way to exploit that power is on a track (or of you can find a decent stretch of very bendy roads) but even then, you're limited by other road users, pedestrians, cyclists, old duffers in SUV's, caravans etc. However, it is still engaging doing the menial. Few modern cars are like that.
    My 944 is fun anywhere and putting your foot down isn't sending you into loss of license territory within seconds. You have to really drive it. You have to learn to exploit the free revving engine and tall gearbox. You have to learn when to brake, when to apply the power - there is so much thought required in order to drive it well. You will find it's limits and you play within that limit. Some modern cars handle so well that most just people point the thing and squeeze the juice (and they think they can drive).

    For example, I followed an M3 which passed me as I was sat at a T junction on a bypass at silly speed - easily 120mph.
    I surprisingly caught up with him through a very bendy stretch of road and I left him to it on a long straight before yet another bendy 4 miles. I caught up with him again and on the exit of an S, he spun the thing right in front of me and was pointing the wrong way on my side of the road. I went around him and carried on. He had a priceless look on his face.

    Cars have evolved into quiet, cushioned banality.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,317
    First.Aspect said:


    Btw, resto-mods don't introduce side airbags and crumple zones. I'm still not getting in one.

    So don't go cycling.
    Don't take risk.

    You don't have to thrash your 'resto mod'. They are fun without driving like a lunatic.
    Best thing is to judge the driver rather than the car.

    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Is yours a turbo, pinno?
  • Munsford0
    Munsford0 Posts: 678
    Few jobs ago a colleague had the original 205 GTI as a company car. Borrowed it on several occasions; proper hoot to drive. Compared to my recent Audis it felt like driving about in a turbocharged biscuit tin.
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,167
    edited May 2022
    pinno said:

    First.Aspect said:


    Btw, resto-mods don't introduce side airbags and crumple zones. I'm still not getting in one.

    So don't go cycling.
    Don't take risk.

    You don't have to thrash your 'resto mod'. They are fun without driving like a lunatic.
    Best thing is to judge the driver rather than the car.

    It's a negotiation with loved ones, for me.

    And it's other people's driving that concerns me,

    Besides, fear isn't always a rational numbers game. I have a fear of having my legs crushed in a piece of 1980s crappy engineering.

    It didn't happen driving but one shattered joint was bad enough.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,317
    shirley_basso said:

    Is yours a turbo, pinno?

    No. Neither of the Porkers are.
    Do not be seduced by the word 'turbo'.
    For anything built in the last 5 years, turbo's have become almost imperceptible in terms of lag (and that's not only lag under acceleration, that's lag as you brake into a corner or... just brake).
    Most 80's turbo charged cars including 924' and 944's suffer terrible lag. I am a puritan - you keep a classic as a classic as near to original condition as you can (the resto mod above is good because it retains 90% of what was good about the car in the first place) or: you completely track it.
    80's turbo's need modern chargers and that has implications for the engine, the engine management system, inlet manifolds etc etc and originality. It's not just a bolt on modification.

    There's a direct responsiveness with naturally aspirated that cannot be under-emphasised.

    The problem with the average joe is that they jump in a classic sporty car and think about new struts. shock absorbers, better brakes, engine upgrades but very rarely simply restore everything to it's original working functionality before decided to modify it.
    How do they know what it's supposed to feel, ride, handle, corner, accelerate without sorting 30+ year old parts, shocks, rubbers, injectors, engines. clutches, gearboxes, prop shafts, engine mounts (I could go on here) ?

    [Soz, went on a bit]
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Was more asking about the 997.
  • First.Aspect
    First.Aspect Posts: 17,167
    People called Norman can get quite puritanical about originality of classic cars. Quite often, it turns out, they were just plain terrible but nice to look at.

Categories