Racing against Honda S2000

[Olorin]

Now tell me guys how unfair this is. So we finish our company end of year function, going home, and my colleague flirts with the idea of a 'race' as I mentioned earlier. We are on the N1, no one made any preparations for a race of any kind.

He is in front of me, probably about 15-20 meters in front. I have no intentions of racing, I'm just going home. Then he goes. Sprints off. Then I follow soon after wards, but I'm unable to catch up to him. That isn't exactly fair, is it ? Another person that just surprises me, then I have to catch up. My car has more power and a higher top speed, but once the Audi got the jump on me, he was in front by at least 50 meters. I was going full tilt, obviously, but he had the jump start. So in my mind, that isn't exactly a proper dice, is it ? I'm sure my car would have caught up eventually but it just doesn't sound like a legitimate race.

Rumor has it at work that he beat me when all that happened was he got the jump on me, a sneak attack. What do you guys think ? Think it's legitimate, fair/unfair ?

 

[killua]

Now tell me guys how unfair this is. So we finish our company end of year function, going home, and my colleague flirts with the idea of a 'race' as I mentioned earlier. We are on the N1, no one made any preparations for a race of any kind.

He is in front of me, probably about 15-20 meters in front. I have no intentions of racing, I'm just going home. Then he goes. Sprints off. Then I follow soon after wards, but I'm unable to catch up to him. That isn't exactly fair, is it ? Another person that just surprises me, then I have to catch up. My car has more power and a higher top speed, but once the Audi got the jump on me, he was in front by at least 50 meters. I was going full tilt, obviously, but he had the jump start. So in my mind, that isn't exactly a proper dice, is it ? I'm sure my car would have caught up eventually but it just doesn't sound like a legitimate race.

Thats not a "race". On a rolling start he would def beat you in the begining. The 2 cars have similar drag and frontal area. The audi weights a little less, and has less drivetrain losses because it is fwd. You will only be faster than him at higher speeds where your extra power becomes the dominant factor. If you would jump away from standstill, and you keep you wheel spin optimal, then you would jump infront of him.
And remember, he has the same torque available, from lower down in the rev range, so you car is only more powerful if you drive till 6200RPM....

 

[Olorin]

Yeah, it's what I thought. If we were on an even playing field, from standstill, I should beat him. I mean, my car 0-100 is almost 1 second faster. Then I have a better top-end speed so the gap should increase as we approach higher speeds. But yes, my car is not substantially faster so if he had the jump on me (and is already in front of me), it's going to be tough to beat him.

 

[saturnz]

I personally feel it is a bona fide race because you followed him.

Had you continued to drive like you were driving home then it would not have been a race.

It may not have been a fair race, but it nevertheless is a race, and you lost.

 

[killua]

Yeah, it's what I thought. If we were on an even playing field, from standstill, I should beat him. I mean, my car 0-100 is almost 1 second faster. Then I have a better top-end speed so the gap should increase as we approach higher speeds. But yes, my car is not substantially faster so if he had the jump on me (and is already in front of me), it's going to be tough to beat him.

yes, IF you launch you car correctly... otherwise its still 50/50 If you have never done it, then don't expect to do it corretly under pressure. If you are going to pull away without any wheelspin, you lose you RWD traction advantage....

 

[Olorin]

I suppose you are right. Unfair conditions though.

---

So are you saying that I need to generate decent wheel spin to get the upper hand ? Usually if I put my foot flat, the car definitely goes but there is almost no wheel spin. Obviously revving would improve the situation but I've never really been involved in racing.

 

[saturnz]

well if you had caught up with him and passed I'm sure you would be saying how you beat this guy in a race even with the handicap

so the only reason you are complaining is because you lost

street racing is never fair, there are always circumstances which favours either driver.

 

[Olorin]

But I don't feel it is necessary to gloat about a 'win' when the circumstances were simply unfair to begin with. Street racing isn't fair ? We both have 2.0l engines. My car generates more power and a higher top speed but it weighs 40kgs+ more. I was approaching 180 km's at night after having a couple of beers. I suppose I could have kept on going but then who knows what would have happened. I'm just saying that if I was made aware of the race at the time so that I could prepare myself (be in the right gear, right rev range etc), the situation would have been different. That's all.

If you get the jump on someone and you are in front, and you have similar drive train, it's kind of obvious that you are going to lose. But it's not a fair race in my view.

 

[Skwinty]

I was approaching 180 km's at night after having a couple of beers. I suppose I could have kept on going but then who knows what would have happened.

Just be careful you don't end up like the two VW racers who killed an innocent motorist on Hospital bend in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Both the boy racers are in deep shit now and may well end up being revved by bubba.

Best to keep this type of behavior on the race track.. Just saying :slap:

 

[saturnz]

very simple reason why street racing will never be fair is because there is no scrutineering, governing body, independant officials etc etc

looking at the paper and what happens on the roads are two different scenarios

also, like I said, you should have just kept on driving as if you going home. The problem with street racing is that people will always have some sort of story afterwards, and therefore it is generally accepted that these stories can't really be taken seriously and thus the line - "come with what you got and go with what you get"

 

[killua]

But I don't feel it is necessary to gloat about a 'win' when the circumstances were simply unfair to begin with. Street racing isn't fair ? We both have 2.0l engines. My car generates more power and a higher top speed but it weighs 40kgs+ more. I was approaching 180 km's at night after having a couple of beers. I suppose I could have kept on going but then who knows what would have happened. I'm just saying that if I was made aware of the race at the time so that I could prepare myself (be in the right gear, right rev range etc), the situation would have been different. That's all.

You get the jump on someone and you are in front, and you have similar drive train, it's kind of obvious that you are going to lose.

Ask him for a rematch, best out of 3. Just don't screw it up the next time then. Because then you will never recover from the shame

And just remember, the effect of putting your foot flat 1 second before the othe oak has an emense effect, but if your behind him, you have less air drag because you are drafting :spit:

 

[Olorin]

I agree, it's senseless to race at night past 12:00. It's dangerous. I suppose racing on a track would be the smarter move. From my position, the only way I see myself beating my colleague was driving at 200km or more. I've never gone that fast in my car (or any car for that matter). I'm not the racing type, but if I do have the chance, I would prefer the circumstances surrounding the race to be on an even playing field, no jumping the gun, sneak attacks...etc.

 

[saturnz]

Just be careful you don't end up like the two VW racers who killed an innocent motorist on Hospital bend in the early hours of yesterday morning.

My boss told me there was an accident on Hospital Bend, I didn't know that is what actually happened.

 

[killua]

looking at the paper and what happens on the roads are two different scenarios

+1
The 0-100 times are seriously misleading. Because even the gear changes from 1 person to the next can have 1/2s difference. The 0-100 times are conducted on a nice track, with car having minimum fuel etc. And they do 100's of launches and take the best ones. Some cars are notoriously hard to get off the line, like the chev UTE's....
so in the end, there are so many variables that you need to do 10 races to have a clear winner.

 

[Sankekur]

People will brag about anything as a "win" (especially true for citi and corsa drivers). The proper way of racing is a couple of laps around a track as it tests everything, handling, acceleration, braking etc. rather than just going fast in a straight line like some American or something.

 

[killua]

People will brag about anything as a "win" (especially true for citi and corsa drivers). The proper way of racing is a couple of laps around a track as it tests everything, handling, acceleration, braking etc. rather than just going fast in a straight line like some American or something.

Don't hate the players, hate the game . How quick a car accelerates has an accurate indication on how fast you can drive in traffic, overtaking trucks. I am certain that 80% of the fanatics have never driven their cars near the limit. And in this case olorin would be in a much worse position than someone with a Corsa OPC when he needs to overtake a slow moving truck.

 

[Olorin]

You know, since I bought my E90, I've been driving with AC on almost the entire time. But it only hit me a few days ago how fast my car is without AC. Don't get me wrong, it's not a rocket ship, but turning AC off makes a BIG difference. It's like I've just gained 10-15 kw's. Can't believe it would make such a difference but it does.

Overtaking isn't an issue with a car like mine. As far as overtaking a slow truck, is that a joke ? My dads Toyota Yaris sedan can overtake slow trucks. Obviously my car can't overtake as quickly as an Open OPC, but its quite capable when the need arises.

 

[killua]

You know, since I bought my E90, I've been driving with AC on almost the entire time. But it only hit me a few days ago how fast my car is without AC. Don't get me wrong, it's not a rocket ship, but turning AC off makes a BIG difference. It's like I've just gained 10-15 kw's. Can't believe it would make such a difference but it does.

Overtaking isn't an issue with a car like mine. As far as overtaking slow truck, is that a joke ? My dads Toyota Yaris sedan can overtake slow trucks. Just about any car can overtake a slow truck.

I'm also not saying your car is too slow. Every car is capable of overtaking a slow truck. The problem comes in when there is only 1 lane for traffic going in your direction, so the yaris needs to wait a longer time for a much bigger gap before being able to overtake. Another example is driving on the highway and being caught behind a truck doing 60, and the fast lane doing 120. Then you have to wait much longer before you can change lanes. It is a nightmare driving a yaris on the highway, you need to gear down to 4th, even 3rd if you were caught off guard. Now compare that to driving a 330d, the gaps in traffic shrink considerably...
My point being that there are different levels of overtaking ability...

 

[saturnz]

I think you need to realise your car is not a performance car and unfortunately for you it will never be unless you willing to commit lots of money to prove otherwise.

 

[Olorin]

Thanks Saturnz for making me feel great about my car. Although I would disagree with your claim about performance. If you are talking strictly speed, then yes, its not a performance car. But one can define performance in many ways. The car sure handles like a performance car. It's not a speed demon, but road holding, grip, handling in corners, it's very 'sport-like', having been in a Toyota MR2 the other day, it wasn't THAT much different, and the MR2 is a performance machine.

My car is not a POS.