Couldn't have agreed with you more and even brought me back to the bad old days i spent dangerously sideways in my old mans scorpio cossie, (sigh) the memories.Just to add a point to the poll all i can say is after driving 20k in the first year of scooby driving (my Impreza will be with me one year next week) is that i find the power(300) even at full blat to be ample (could always do with more blah,blah) and to be whimpering about not finding the situation to use your car fully is a little pathetic.Try driving it,it helps!! I'm not advocating driving like a scumbag or a chav like ye english folk call them just enjoy it mate,life is short!

i have just turned over from the germinn side (m3 evo) to a sti v4 type r and there is a good reason for this, if the bmw had 4 wheel drive i would not have changed over!

the ride, comfort, style, control just about everything was perfect apart from the fact that when its wet you cant tool about and if its snowing take the bus.

now with the type r i have the conrtol on how much sideways action i want, to a point.

is it too fast? could be. some people think that it is (passengers normally)
do i need all that power and torque? no, but its nice to have so you can
overtake with confidence and to pull out of a situation when you need to.

full list www.humbersidesafetycameras.com

I'm afraid I've become increasingly convinced of it over the last few years.

My '98 was great fun, and even the P1's power and handling were still modest enough to be enjoyable on a day to day basis. However, with the '03 STi and especially the WR1, I feel I'm not doing the car justice. In my '98 and P1 I could charge across country very quickly and still be not too far from the speed limits, but at the same speeds the WR1's barely ticking over.

I apreciate that some people will find suitable places to exploit the car's potential, but I've never done track days or the like and the roads around here have limited scope for enjoyment. Consequently, I'm sad to say that my cars have pretty much become very powerful taxis.

Josh

To be fair my car is a bit over the top for the 3 miles i drive to work everyday, but I realise why I bought a Scooby on my day's off and I can go for a real drive up on the moorland roads where there's no one for miles!! :)

I can use mine no worries, but then it's just a Honda!

Just because the car is fast doesnt mean you have to use it, i have a boost controller to switch the fun on when conditions permit.

When washing my car sunday I observed 2 scoobys, an evo,an M3 and a few other "performance" cars that drove past at 30 mph (30 limit) but the twats that raced past at way over the limit were all ****box racers, clio's nova's etc who felt the need to thrash it around the small streets because they know its slow, it proved to me that having a fast car dont mean you got to drive it fast but having a slow car you have to try and convince others that its fast ;)

very true, well said :)

Blag a ride on a modern litre sports bike (or a pillion). Get back in your car and you'll think you have sufficient usable power...

You must live in my village!

Some great replies and interesting points of view in this thread..... adam that's why I posted it;) also interesting is the spread of people and indeed the number that have used the poll .....

I do agree with the comments reagarding being a better driver can get you more speed and the pedal goes two ways..... however my point is that my car is just so damm fast... literally if you're sat at say 70 on the motorway and sneeze by the time your foot had accidently hit the floor you're doing 90....

I for one don't go like a lunatic round blind bends and speed through built up areas, however when I used to overtake someone in my MY02 sti lets say on a b road they were doing 40 ish I would go past possibly getting up to 70 then dropping back to 60... now in the same time you're up to 90+ and dropping back to 60 when the bend is so much closer... it's just THAT much more difficult to drive quicker because it is so quick... if that makes sense to anyone :cuckoo:

Interesting debate! My 02STi/PPP is 3 years old next month and so I'm debating whether to get an 05STi/PPP. Or not. The bottom line is, I rarely use the full capability of the car: and it's pricey in terms of juice and insurance. As has been said, three figures is a very risky tops on anything other than an uncamera'ed Motorway in the wee small hours. True, you can make overtakes....on to the next crawler.....on to the next ....and the next at the point where the rolling english road prevents anything for several miles and your previous 'victims' form an orderly queue on your rear bumper! And the margin of cornering on country roads is increasingly prejudiced by 44 tonners which take up more than half the carriageway :(

So, yes, it's too powerful other than in rare circumstances. It's also uneconomic.

And yet............ ;););)

Phil
PS One thing tho'. I'd never get an un-PPP'd STi, since the PPP adds more value to the driveability even than it does to the rarely-usable top margin of performance. IMHO

Limited to 100 eh!!
Mine can reach 170+ on any short straight & reach 150 from rest in 13secs so limited to 100 would be bit of a prob. Admit my topspeed of 200+ is a bit academic. 60-150 in 9.1 is used almost everytime I use the car so perhaps you could put +/- 50% on the limiter:D

hmmm hopefully not on the uk roads then

Interesting stuff guys - I feel I should put my 10p worth in here!

I currently own a Clio 182 and previous to that, a Punto GT Turbo. I would say neither car was too fast, but there is a stark contrast in the way each car behaved.

The Punto was great in a straight-line, yet show it a bend and it got really twitchy with oversteer/understeer seeming to happen at random times. Even a basic Saxo would out-handle the GT - let alone a VTS. It was also very much on/off with its power delivery and you had to be very cautious in the wet, especially with grids and manhole covers etc. Oh, and the brakes were crap! However, it arguably made me a better driver. Because you had to think far ahead of you, you were always within the limits of the car and the mid-range turbo push was always useful for overtaking.

Enter the 182 which I picked up in December. It is quicker, faster and much more smoother to drive than the GT. It takes much longer to get into it's power band - 4,200+rpm but once there, it really does pick up. In contrast to the GT, the brakes are superb and the car itself is generally a lot better built. However, in a sideline to the original question, I think the 182 maybe too good at handling. This thing is amazing - fling it into a roundabout and the inside rear will lift - easily allowing you to control the turn. Under heavy braking, it stops railroad-straight and overall, the compusure of the chassis is brilliant.

That doesn't make it safer though. Whereas I had respect for the GT as it could catch you off guard, the 182 takes nearly anything you throw at it. Granted, the margin for error in the 182 is much bigger than the GT, but I get the feeling that it would flip out in an instant if pushed too far. With the GT, you never wanted to push it that far in the first place!

For the record, I've borrowed a WRX and thought it was a superb car and certainly not too fast in that state of tune. The only downside with it was the fact that you felt compelled to accelerate hard with it - just because you could! In any case, if I had an Impreza I wouldn't care for speed, handling, looks or anything else. Just give me that exhaust note - even on idle! Lucky sods....

D.

Ok please give me your mind numbing hallucinogenic spleen squishing beasty!!!:norty:

I'll gladly give a good workout every day!

Must admit mine gets quite a bit of full load pedal almost evry day... we have some quiet road if you look, also you can have plenty fun if you throw in a few quiet large roundabouts and twisty roads without goin warp factor 9


Guys...
In case you don't know hawks ride really does induce hallucinations, you could swaer the speed read 80 4 seconds ago and now it seems rather blurry passing 130... Mmmmm



make it so number one!:D

http://www.netmoon.com/startrek/image/warp/w92.gif
http://www.netmoon.com/startrek/image/warp/w92.gif


http://www.netmoon.com/startrek/image/warp/w92.gif

MADRod :"Limited to 100 eh!!
Mine can reach 170+ on any short straight & reach 150 from rest in 13secs so limited to 100 would be bit of a prob. Admit my topspeed of 200+ is a bit academic. 60-150 in 9.1 is used almost everytime I use the car so perhaps you could put +/- 50% on the limiter "
Fantastic performance. What kind of car can do that? Are you interested in entering for Ten of the Best?
Makes my performance insignifigant.

On topic. There is no such thing as too much power. The car has a throttle pedal and this is used to control power. The power pedal is controlled by the right foot and hopefully that is connected through a fully functioning brain.
www.geocities.com/harveysmith3000.
Speed is a drug.

i agree with you in respect of the throttle foot brain issue but my original question still hangs in the balance can you have too much power for the road. Im my opinion you can, however when U get to unleash my car on a nice long runway, i'm sure i'll totally forget such a childish notion :D

Hawk

I felt exillerated when I first took charge of the soulmobile. Launching up the dual for the first time was hair-raising and exciting and scary all at the same time. However, after 2 years I now feel I want something more.

Edit: Oh, and NO! It doesn't have too much power, it could never have TOO much power :D