drft_180sx

Lets all start realizing one thing, we love our cars, and for the most part are a little biased to them.

That being said, i would imagine that our cars were one of the best handling cars in its leagues in the late eighties/early nineties...But nowadays, suspension setups are much different.

RX7Tuner.

The FC will dominate any comparable car out there. How do I know? Two words..."Rear Steer".

sunshine

iTrader: (3)

"Rear Stear"...is...two words..."really worn" After 16-20years these bushings are shot. Most of them are eliminated, and very few hav been replaced.
-a

bacek

my fc is starting to look really old.....

therefore i am driving it harder and harder the uglier it gets....

therefore enjoying my car tons....

therefore i dont really care if its suspension design is old since its fun to drive and i drive it hard since im not too worried about aesthetics.

slpin

iTrader: (9)

it is an old dated car
it is dated and have a suspension design from the early 80s.

if it is a new sports car - chances are, it will handle better.

VacavilleFC

true we all are biased towards the 7's, by the way i sat in a elise at the sac car show this weekend and it has to be the smallest most unfomfortable car i've ever sat in , i'm 6'3 150lbs, my buddy is 5'8' 150lbs and had absolutely no elbow room on either side, the only way i can see cruising around with a passenger in that car is if they didn't have a left arm, cause theres literally 1 inch inbetween the 2 seats and the shifter and e-brake are there. i think when it really comes down to it, the fc is more fun to drive than the 8, s2000,350z by far. it has the most interior room, it's the lightest, the most comfortable, and it has almost unlimited potential if you have the budget

pengarufoo

most new cars will outhandle a 20 year old stock car.

if you start modding it comes down to one major thing for handling: grip:weight ratio.

the elise is a great handling car mostly because of its light weight and it even has a slight bit of downforce

the fc is a reasonably light car, so with new components that arent 20 years old, and sticky rubber, it will handle pretty well. Modern cars tend to be heavier because safety standards keep getting tougher, for this reason an fc can be competitive with modern cars provided it has new parts.

Black91n/a

The FC does handle pretty well, but modern cars are better.

One of the FC's greatest strenghts is it's predictability and stability. It's incredibly confidence inspiring and it'll won't bite you. I've had mine on track for a total of 6 days at 3 seperate 2 day driving schools and that predictable, stable handling was great. It allowed me to push very hard, without too much worry. I've managed to pass some seriously fast cars because I had the confidence to go harder and faster than them. That's not to say that it handles better or is faster, but they didn't have the confidence to try. I've passed a Lotus Esprit S4, a Porsche 996 Carrera 4S, BMW M Coupe, BMW M3, and so on and so forth, all in my cheap, old, low powered car on hard street tires. My springs and shocks are still stock, but I've got RB sways, some extra bracing, DTSS eliminated, and poly bushings.

On mountain roads, you CANNOT judge how fast a car is or how well it handles compared to you, it's up to driver skill and how far they're willing to push.

pengarufoo

You also shouldnt forget its alot easier for someone driving a small investment to be confident taking risks than someone driving a larger investment... not true for everyone but it's the general truth....

I'll toss my zx6 all over the place dragging parts not worrying much about low siding it, its value is 3500 at best... on my r1 im alot more careful, $8k fully paid with liability coverage does that. I want to get at least $6k back when I go to sell it, thats not going to happen if i make a mistake finding its limits.

now imagine someone in a $60,000+ porsche that is paid for and insurance that doesnt cover track accidents... it's going to take them a while to get comfortable with tossing it around.

there are many factors to consider when comparing the observed performance of one car in another persons hands to yours, especially when there is a tremendous value stratification.

On that note, I would say the fcs greatest strength is its price:performance

smokie

iTrader: (5)

I Have read everyones comments about the handling of the fc compared to todays cars and yes i will admit that the newer cars are built better and may handle better due to new gen suspension design but one thing that i have notice is that the fc have a almost perfect front to rear weight retaio which most new sports cars today dont have to me IMO the fc kicks but just becuase of that yes its old but if you take care of it it can hang better yet be better and yes its skills its up to the driver to bring out the best in any car, how ever the cars that you guys have been naming dont even compare to the skyline r34 the subaru wrx or wrc and the evo why because they are all wheel drive and any all wheel dirve car is better than a none all wheel drive car by far

VacavilleFC

wrx's are wonderful cars, just prone to rolling over, hella of alot faster than anything else i've ever owned though

http://photos.yahoo.com/gregowen420

i had a girl cut me off on a country road, rolled it 5 times and climbed right out without a scratch on me

gingenhagen

switching cars won't improve your car's handling abilities as much as learning how to drive will.

Node

iTrader: (1)

gotta remember tire technology plus how many of you have driven a fc w/o **** bushings and good stock struts?

GodSquadMandrake

We've covered this before...

Lots of cars have a 50/50 weight balance. What makes the FC special is that the weight is centered more towards the middle which gives it a lower polar moment of inertia allowing it to change directions quickly. It also has a short wheelbase which makes it even more nimble.

The 50/50 weight balance isn't that special if you think about it. For instance my MK2 Jetta weighs 2,100 pounds and has a terrible weight distribution of about 65 front 35 rear even though I have moved the battery to the rear and removed extras like A/C. So 2,100 x .65 = 1,365 pounds on the front tires.
My FC is roughly 2,700 pounds because it has 5 lug suspension, with all the GXL stuff, and a stereo. So 2,700 x .50 = 1350 pounds on the front tires.

Can you guess which car handles better with the same sized tires and similar spring stiffnesses? Yes my Jetta does handle much better as my autocross records will show. The FC transitions faster and feels more neutral but the Jetta has higher overall grip and turn in. Yes it has a bad weight distribution but it's not front heavy because the overall car is light. I also have a stiff rear swaybar which transfers the load of the front end onto the rear tires. The body roll is absorbed by the rear tires and since they don't have much weight on them to begin with I can run with a very stiff rear swaybar. Of course that is just a crutch but it does well.

Black91n/a

Yea, for sure the cost thing is a big inhibitor for the Porsche and BMW owners. There was a guy with a new Cayman who kept coming over and talking with my dad about his turbo Miata, because in his words "I can afford a Cayman, but I can't afford two". So if he crashed it, that's it, no more fancy Porsche for him. For me, crashing my FC would put a big dent in my plans for the moment, it won't affect me for very long. Within a few months of working I could buy another one.

RX7Tuner.

The 7 is a solid car. I was at Gingermann Raceway (South Haven, MI) this summer testing and tuning my father's fully prepped SCCA ITS 2nd Gen Rx7 N/A. There happened to be two Elise's on the track at the same time as me. I was able to pass one of them and pull away while the other kept his distance in front of me. Obviously there was a difference in driver skill level between the two. But the slower Elise was no slouch on the track, he knew what he was doing. Now I am not foolish enough to think that an Rx7 can hang with an Elise but I was very surprised at how well it did. I think it was a great comparision between a fully modified RX7 and a stock sportscar of today.

smokie

iTrader: (5)

How About Asking Someone Who Drives One And Drifts One Professionaly And Ask Them What They Think Because I Truly Believe The Fc Is An Amazing Car With Wonderful Handling You Wont See A Jetta Drifting But You Will See A 7 Makes You Wonder Dont It

rrw

iTrader: (2)

i dont remember the question being about drifting... or is that just me?

smokie

iTrader: (5)

Yea Its You Lol

raptor22

Yeah, you kow what, hes right, the fact that a relatively inexpensive and easy to replace RWD car is drifted more than a FWD sedan is really odd....makes me think alot...great comparison.

--Alex

smokie

iTrader: (5)

Thanks But That Is True That And The 240 Is Always Used So Why Is Everyone Dissing The Fc Well Not Dissing But You Know........i Mean The Car Stock Has Good Handling Why Compare It To A Car That Has 21st Century Design Thats Not Fair And It Still Kicks Most Of Those Cars But By Far

GodSquadMandrake

That's pretty sweet that you were able to pass one Elisa and kind of hang with the other. The Elise is just an amazing car so it proves that the FC has a lot of potential, obviously you weren't slacking either.


I don't know anyone who drives or drifts an FC professionally, do you?
I know someone who drives a MK2 Jetta professionally. His name is Brooks Hill. He is sponsored by Thule roof racks and is active in rally racing in north america.






That was at Rim of the World rally I believe and no it's not a photochop.

You won't see a Jetta drifting but will you see an FC launching 20 feet in the air?
Different strokes for different folks. FC's are well established in drifting and Jetta's are well established in rally.

Here's a pic from the last rallyx I went to:



Someone brought an 88 NA FC there that day too. They got stuck in that mud because with only 50% of the weight on the driving wheels they could not get enough traction to overpower the drag caused by the mud. A Jetta however has a higher percent of it's overall weight on the driving wheels giving it better traction in the mud.

Black91n/a

I can't wait for the drift fad to die. Drifting has nothing to do with handling or going fast, so why would you bring it up in this discussion? How about asking for real racers oppinions, you know, those that compete against other drivers and against the clock? Road racing and autocross are good places to compare, drifting isn't.

Drifting is just automotive figure skating. Anything that needs a judge isn't a sport.

This isn't a discussion about drifting, so lets get back on topic and discuss handling.

Learn how to use caps properly, not every word needs a capital first letter, it makes it more difficult and annoying to read.

adrock3217

I didn't read much, just incase this is a repeat. But nonetheless, from my personal experiences, the RX8 is a better *overall* performer than the FC, stock for stock (My 88 GTU, stock, vs. my RX8, stock).

I agree, however, the FC has MUCH better turn in. (Note: This is with traction control + dynamic stability control turned ON, and both cars wearing Toyo Proxes.) The FC went right where you pointed it, however, it would oversteer at the limit. With TC+DSC on in the RX8, it will go where you point it, but will UNDERsteer at the limit.

However....with the TC+DSC turned off, the RX8 takes the cake. So. Easily. It will stick to the road, go exactly where you want, without a hint of understeer, the back WILL come out, but ONLY if you mash the throttle mid-turn (like..it will only come out if you WANT it to.)

jay3

ive never driven one so i cant say for sure, but isnt a mr2 better at handling than a fc? stock vs. stock. just looking at it makes me think of a go cart.