Most important car spec

[bk4uyeah]

What do you think is the most important spec to measure a cars performance?

personally i find the slalom course to also able dictate how much fun driving the car will be as well as performance (i.e. a MINI Cooper S isnt the world's fasted car, but has porsche-like slalom speeds and is great on back country roads)

[Matra et Alpine]

It depends on what the car is for.

If it's for travelling on the motorway then fuel consumption and high drive ratio.

For blasting the lights, weight and power. Balanced to give 0-60

Trackdays, it's suspension, weight and balance. I'm not a great fan of a fixed slalom course as much as lap time on a tight circuit.

OVeral, lap time for me. Now if only I can get Ferrari to give me an Enzo to decide whether it's good enough for me

EDIT: Oh and forgot the MOST important....... price .... no use any of the other stuff if I can't afford it

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

no one stat is gonna affect a car greatly, 300 horsepower while you weigh 2 tons aint gonna push u very fast. 0-60 in 2 seconds while ur top speed is 60 mph isnt that good, slalom is ok but I'm a firm believer that driver ability is the single large factor which will affect the fun factor and performance.

with that outta the way, my opinion on the single most spec is ... price

[SilverG35SportC]

Hmm...probably how fast a car can pull from 0-60mph and say 0-100mhp. Also I find the top speed hlps out. And of course as as been sid before, price

[Egg Nog]

Definately 0-60... it's one of the most "practical" aspects of performance, especially on the road. Top speed means little to nothing to me... not that I wouldn't care if a car could only do 50km/h, but I mean, if a car goes from 0 to 60 in under 5 seconds, it's not going to be slow in the top end. On the street, top speed is impractical and/or immoral, if you actually dare to come close to it.

It's really a shame that there's no definite practical way of measureing a car's handling. Even skidpad specs (usually the common rebuttal to my point) aren't a sure measure. Hell, there are FWD sedans that can pull better 200ft skidpad figures than the McLaren F1, but they definately couldn't "out-handle" it...

[GT500]

0-60mph or 1/4 mile time. It shows whether this is a car that'll get you somewhere happily or not happily. Price is also important as you could be comparing a Corvette to a Ferrari somehow.

[bk4uyeah]

Originally Posted by Egg Nog

It's really a shame that there's no definite practical way of measureing a car's handling. Even skidpad specs (usually the common rebuttal to my point) aren't a sure measure. Hell, there are FWD sedans that can pull better 200ft skidpad figures than the McLaren F1, but they definately couldn't "out-handle" it...

That was my reasoning for picking the slalom - while 0-60 and such is important, I find you will be able to tell the cars true potential by measuring speed through turns.

[henk4]

intermediate accelaration, from 80-120 in top gear or so, it defines the driveability of a car on motorways, and torque is the main determining factor rather than top end power. (no surprise that I am a diesel fan)

[NoOne]

Straight line acceleration is my choice, as Egg Nog pointed out it is the most practical performance aspect. There is nothing like the exhilarating feeling of being planted deep into your seat ... tho Matra has told me on several occasions that a light, well handling car may come close.

Enough acceleration can even compensate for a poor handling car .... a brake, point, shoot type scenario.

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by NoOne

Enough acceleration can even compensate for a poor handling car .... a brake, point, shoot type scenario.

affectionately known in the rally community as a vomit-rocket

There are lots of drivers who even with a well handling car can only make it fast(ish) using this technique.
They usually have navs for only a couple of events before moving on

[Coventrysucks]

I don't agree that the 0-60 times are relevant.

60mph limit roads very rarely have suitable places for you to stop, and most places where you are going to be able to go from a standing start are on 30 limits (in the UK at least)

Handling is subjective, and different people favour different handling characteristics.

Therefore, I think the most useable performance figures are in-gear acceleration times.

[VtecMini]

I rather like Nordschleife lap times. Although they're not necessarily perfectly indicative of the cars ability, it gives a good indication and makes for great pub banter ammunition .

I reckon all new cars should be lapped on the Top Gear test track by an independant driver. i.e. Stiggy!

That would be brilliant! Ever since the Rover lapped fastest on the £100 car challenge I've taken far less flak for driving an old man's car. Hoorah.

Imagine it though!

Man in pub #1 "Just picked up my Vauxhall Monaro¹ you know, very limited edition in this country."

Man in pub #2 "Really? What on earth made you buy on of those contraptions?"

Man in pub #1 "0-60 in less than 6 seconds... Top speed in excess of 160mph² *smug grin*"

Man in pub #2 "Yeah... But what was the TG track time?"

Man in pub #1 "I... Erm... *look of desperation* My round is again then?"

¹ Not actually a dig at the Monaro, It was just the first car I could think of that's more likely to be better in a straight line than round corners.

² Total guesses.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by NoOne

Straight line acceleration is my choice, as Egg Nog pointed out it is the most practical performance aspect. There is nothing like the exhilarating feeling of being planted deep into your seat ..

This is where a prefer a jetliner take-off

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by henk4

This is where a prefer a jetliner take-off

Concorde, Edinburgh airport short runway and permission to re-heat all 4 engines on take-off. one BIG kick in the back

[HemiCuda500]

being in love with musclecars, I'd have to say the most important spec is the quarter mile. 0-60 times can be dropped with different tires and gearing, but the quarter mile is dependant on gearing, tires, horsepower, and torque.

As long as it has good brakes, a bad handling car with awesome horsepower can be pretty effective using the "point-and-squirt" technique.