Quote:
Originally Posted by medphysdave
You bring up a point in here that has me question whether weight is the metric for which we should gather all the salt? Can heavy cars feel nimble? I stand in the "no it cannot" and "heavy track monsters require a track to be fun." camps.
My miata was fun "go kart" feeling. Was it more to do with the size or was it the weight. Both? It felt like it was on rails. Arguably if you add enough grip to a heavy car it will take corners quickly as well. My f-type feels very large and not nimble, but if I toss it into a corner it holds. It's just not very confidence inspiring. Would a 3500lb miata still be fun due to it's size?
Is weight not the issue but the distribution of weight, and center of mass? Would a small 4000lb car with a low center of mass and well distributed weight feel nimble/fun/small? Think small heavy electric car.
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I've gotten to hot lap, track, or race in various forms: a Miata Cup car, Skip Barber Formula, E36 M3, F30 335, Coyote kart, Mazda Protege MP3, new NSX, Mclaren 570, Huracan, MP4-12C, Gallardo Superleggera, R8 V10, 981 Cayman GTS, Nissan GTR, Ferrari 458, F430 Scuderia, 991 GT3 RS, Aston DBS, AMG C63S, and a couple others I can't recall.
The most fun out those - Miata Cup, 570S, Huracan, and Skippy Formula. The 570 and Huracan never felt heavy and the turn in for both was amazing and confidence inspiring. So I think it is all relative, and I don't think weight is really the be all end all, but it is MUCH easier to make a lighter car feel more fun and have more approachable limits - especially at affordable prices. I never felt like a better driver, or more confident in what I was doing than in that Miata though. So size or something certainly matters.