Gotta say something about all this 0-60 hokum. Am I right or do I need advising?

 

I have owned a 200sx S13 and S14 before I plumped for the Zed and although the 0-60 times are in the same league, the general performance cannot be sanely compared. 0-60 means toss on the roads as there are very few occaisions when cars are placed side by side with engines raring to go. Even if they were, the very slim difference between say the Zed and the M3 amount to even a useable car length`s difference.

 

In my opinion, it is the torque and power of the car to overtake when at normal driving speed that makes all the difference. The Zed has this power in endless abundance. Let`s not forget that the reason the Zed has a 0-60 time of @5.6 secs is because its top end is knocking on 180mph! It is at speeds of 50-60 + that I think a car`s ability to accelerate comes into its own. Get the Zed to 70+ and you can feel your foot coming off the accelerator as the speedo keeps rising faster and faster.

 

I dunno what you guys and gals think but the very slim difference between 0-60 times in cars like the Zed, S4, Audi TT, etc is really important. On a racetrack perhaps, but not on the jungle of roads in the UK. (says a man just about to stick a new chip in his ECU)

 

Am I right...or not?

Truthfully, yes but its one way to show how quick a car is. Like you said the Z top speed is 180ish which means it has 5 gears manual and 4 gears auto to get to that speed. When you talk Audi TT top speed is only 140ish I think so the gears are closer and you can get quicker 0-60 times with less power.

 

As you said, the difference between 0.2 0.3 seconds 0-60 is less than a cars length so in the real world, there is little use of 1/2 a car length.

 

However, 40-80 the Z is very quick and till be more than a cars length infront of a TT. The 3rd gear on a manual just keeps going and going all the way to 100.

0-60 means less to me than a standing 1/4... all the videos you see of street racing usually involves like 60mph roll ons etc when it comes to the big boys.

A more meaningful stat from terms of driveability is mid-range acceleration. In reality this is going to be in the 50-70 range ...the range where you need the extra 'ooomph' to overtake on a single carriageway. The time spent on the 'wrong side' of the road is, clearly, the time that one would wish to minimise. This is the reason that a lot of car tests (on the telly, in mags etc.) include overtaking....often referring to the 'exposure' time.

I get a warm glow when I think of kickdown in my UK auto'....an even warmer glow now, as, having been off the road a mere 32 weeks....I'm due to get it back before Christmas....thank you Santa!!

 

I mean taken to extremes some of these rally-based motors (Evo's, Scooby's) are like a rocket up to near their max. of 135-ish (yes, I know they can go a lot quicker...depends on gearing etc.).....but, do a 300 mile drive ....and who is going to be more relaxed - an Evo driver or a ZX pilot? It's horses for courses really...one is a top 'Grand Tourer', the other a more 'point and squirt' driver experience. Let's face it, if we all had the dosh we'd probably have one of each.

 

Am I alone in thinking that the Audi TT is a bit of a 'girly' thing, though? Seems more style over actual content. See they are giving it a V6 which should make it a bit more interesting.

...and watch those greasy roads out there when you unleash the ponies through only 2 wheels especially ponies on ecu steroids.

 

Its not summer now and cold damp air means more horses too.

 

I've got the traction control that leaves skid marks in your pants and makes you lift off sharpish when the tail steps out. Some dozy sods keep their foot down as the world rotates around them. Power isnt everything but its nice - and can be dangerous.