Super Saloon Compromises...

[Stuno1]

I love my f but there are compromises in terms of driver enjoyment IMO. While it is incredibly fast and handles very well you can't hide the fact it's a saloon. I appreciate we buy them as practical fast as snot cars but do you feel they lack the fun of a sports car?

I drove my dads 2.7 boxster again the other day and when inside it and driving it you want to drive it hard, you feel cacooned in the car and so low. It makes you feel like you want to race it. My f kills it on every stat going but since driving it I can't knock the feeling my f isn't as fun.

You guys have an opinion?

Stu

[JonP]

I agree Stu. The F is what it is, an uprated saloon car, not a mid engined sports car. I think smaller/lighter/less powerful cars can be more fun as it's easier to take advantage of their full performance on the road. In some ways I find the F not as agile as some of the cars I've driven however it only really comes into it's own when you push it, at which point it comes alive. The problem being that there are so few times/places you can really push the F in the UK as it is so capable. That said, i'm not going to be swapping mine for a boxster or equivalent any time soon....

[Stuno1]

Indeed. Ultimately it is a compromise to obtain practicality.

Just thinking about next cars and the carrera s is tempting in teme of getting some practicality and so diving experience.

Stu

[JonP]

i know what you mean. Though for me my car has to work as my daily driver and whilst a 911 would be nice I don't fancy leaving one in some of the hotels/multi storeys I visit for work. The F is suitably anonymous so thats not an issue with it.

[Stuno1]

True! I may take my f on track to play with it more :)

[Peter P18]

I think we should seriously consider doing a track day at Brands Hatch at some point.

We could club together and pay to have a proper racing driver do some coaching as well? Would help to find the true limits of these understated cars in my opinion.

May also highlight any areas of weakness that can be improved without losing the overall practicalities offered by these amazing cars?

I personally enjoy the F for what it is. When I had the Z4, all I wanted to do was drive it hard to exploit the true 2 seater sports car that is was. You really struggled to drive it sensibly, as the temptation was normally too great.

I find I can drive the F at steady speeds without the need to push it just as easily as I can drive it hard when I want to.

I do feel changing the suspension to a good set of coilovers will probably help give me more confidence through the twisties. I'm not saying the OEM setup is poor (far from it), but I do find it can get a bit lively when cornering at higher speeds.

A good friend of mine who races cars always told me that getting professional coaching was far more useful than throwing money at loads of bolt on bits to up the HP.

I'm sure we could all benefit from seeing what a professional makes of the F as an all-rounder.

Just my thoughts. :)

[goldtop]

Low polar moment of inertia (as LJKS used to bang on about). Can't beat it.

Get an Elise as a second car! :)

[Peter P18]

Or you could do a cheaper fix, and get the other half a Mazda MX-5 like I did! ;)

That thing is a go-kart! Lol.

Really fun to throw that through the twisties. :)

[JonP]

Peter, I think the idea of a paid for track day limited to us is a really interesting idea. On my list of things to do when I have some free time is to book a couple of hours with the Car Limits people that I think someone else on this forum originally mentioned. If we combined some training time with some general track periods it could work very well. I would certainly be interested.

[goldtop]

I'd definitely be interested if it was somewhere reachable for me. I definitely want some good instruction.

But I'd bring the 'weekend' car, not the Lexus (if you'd allow an interloper to join in!) :)

[Peter P18]

What's the weekend car Barry?! ;)

As long as it's not going to show up the ISF's, can't see it being an issue! :)

Not a fan of suped up Lotus Exige's, had one racing against us in Time Attack a few years back. ;)

Bloody thing was mega rapid round the corners, but was reeled in on the straights! ;)

[Stuno1]

Is be game for a track day with tuition at brands on the GP circuit. Anyone know where to start looking!

Have to say later xkr with improved interior, v8 superchathed engine, and better suspension is looking promising. Map and it's running 550bhp! Some time off yet but can't stop searching for cars! It's a disease!!!

[sofasurfer]

Is be game for a track day with tuition at brands on the GP circuit. Anyone know where to start looking!

Have to say later xkr with improved interior, v8 superchathed engine, and better suspension is looking promising. Map and it's running 550bhp! Some time off yet but can't stop searching for cars! It's a disease!!!

Count me in for a potential Brands Hatch day. I want to open mine up to see what it can really do when I'm not worried about breaking the law.

[goldtop]

What's the weekend car Barry?! ;)

As long as it's not going to show up the ISF's, can't see it being an issue! :)

It'll be a surprise (but not an Elise!) Of course, there's the small matter of finding a friendly MOT centre before it goes anywhere...

[lotusdave]

im doing brands gp in a couple of weeks as it happens, but in the lotus not this isf. The isf would be great fun but the weight would take its toll on the brakes and tyres. The Elise just laps it up, excuse the pun. I will most likely track the isf, probably Bedford autodrome as its got plenty of room for error and a long straight to really let it go. as for carlimits, do it, really good way to learn what the car does when you run out of ability. i must do it again soon...

[Stuno1]

im doing brands gp in a couple of weeks as it happens, but in the lotus not this isf. The isf would be great fun but the weight would take its toll on the brakes and tyres. The Elise just laps it up, excuse the pun. I will most likely track the isf, probably Bedford autodrome as its got plenty of room for error and a long straight to really let it go. as for carlimits, do it, really good way to learn what the car does when you run out of ability. i must do it again soon...

Bedford may be a good shout. Not been there yet.

[Valkirk]

I'm up for a Brand Hatch one :)