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subego · Feb 22, 2021, 05:37 PM

Originally Posted by Doc HM

back end of the circuit maybe 110 flat out.

That’s 70 in freedom units.

Thorzdad · Feb 22, 2021, 06:01 PM

About 30 seconds in...Was that a giant wall of haybales along the side of the track? Like, two stories high?

Doc HM · Feb 22, 2021, 06:10 PM

Originally Posted by subego

That’s 70 in freedom units.

I think you’ll find we still use “freedom units” in the UK as well. Only the Europeans (sadly that’s not us anymore) use cheese eating surrender kilometers. So that will have been 110 mph not kmh.

Doc HM · Feb 22, 2021, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by Thorzdad

About 30 seconds in...Was that a giant wall of haybales along the side of the track? Like, two stories high?

Yes it was. Did not want to pile into it so was taking it too carefully. Should have been braver.

OreoCookie · Feb 23, 2021, 02:46 AM

Originally Posted by Doc HM

I think you’ll find we still use “freedom units” in the UK as well. Only the Europeans (sadly that’s not us anymore) use cheese eating surrender kilometers. So that will have been 110 mph not kmh.

Using such low power cars is actually a big plus. This way somewhat average people (and I assume you are much, much better at handling cars than I am) can use their car at 100 % without recklessly endangering themselves or others. If you have a modern hot hatch, these have at least 300 horsepower, Mercedes’s A45 AMG S is up to 420 now, I think. When I was a child, this was super or even hyper car territory. Even good drivers can rarely use 100 % of that for an extended period of time in a safe fashion.

IMHO that’s an advantage of vintage sports cars, too. My best friend got a Porsche 968 CS for his 40th in whatever-euphemism-Porsche-uses-for-a-bright-pink. He really researched a lot, and this is a Japanese import that was kept in great shape by a Porsche connaisseur. He still had to put in a bit of money after he got it. It “only” has 240ish horsepower, but that’s enough for spirited driving. Before that he had a Miata, and he specifically said that he enjoyed that he can put the pedal to the metal and only good things happen. I had the same experience 15 years ago when I rented one. It’s not fast, but in a sense that’s good.

Doc HM · Feb 23, 2021, 04:58 AM

For sure. It's all about getting to the fun.
Although it was revered in it's day as the king of the hot hatches, my GTi would struggle to stay with a generic econohatch from today and even a modern warm hatch would leave it stone dead.

There's also a reason that Peugeot have never managed to re capture the 205 GTi's package since, weight. It's only 800kg so it carries so little inertia into bends its scary how it holds on. Of course even cooking modern cars have bigger better tyres than mine (it's only on 185/60 14s) which are the standard size for the car so moderns also have a surfeit of grip plus 20 computers to keep you out of the trees.

Car tech has moved on but thankfully fun is always fun.

subego · Feb 23, 2021, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by Doc HM

This is Europe so it's a manual.

Originally Posted by Doc HM

Only the Europeans (sadly that’s not us anymore)

JFC. Pick one.

Doc HM · Feb 23, 2021, 10:57 AM

Originally Posted by subego

JFC. Pick one.

OK Yes. You got me. It WAS Europe when it was built. Does that work for you?

subego · Feb 24, 2021, 01:40 PM

Hmmm...

Do you fill it with liters or gallons?

Full disclosure: I drink soda in liters.

reader50 · Feb 24, 2021, 02:21 PM

The real test is if they drink their beer in liters or gallons. I would be impressed by either answer. I'd also avoid them on the road.

subego · Feb 24, 2021, 02:43 PM

Both would be warm.

Laminar · Feb 24, 2021, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by subego

Hmmm...

Do you fill it with liters or gallons?

WORSE. They fill up with IMPERIAL GALLONS which are different from US GALLONS. So a car in the UK gets 40 miles per "gallon" while the same car in the US gets 32 miles per "gallon" even though they use the same amount of gas. And then in Canada the same vehicle gets 7.3 L/100km and what the everloving hell even matters anymore?

Doc HM · Feb 24, 2021, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by Laminar

WORSE. They fill up with IMPERIAL GALLONS which are different from US GALLONS. So a car in the UK gets 40 miles per "gallon" while the same car in the US gets 32 miles per "gallon" even though they use the same amount of gas. And then in Canada the same vehicle gets 7.3 L/100km and what the everloving hell even matters anymore?

Nice try but we actually abandoned gallons a fair while ago. Fuel has been sold in litres in the UK for well over 20 years now. The fuel companies were getting scared that the price per gallon was looking horrific. Of course now it's more per litre than it was per gallon.

Beer in pints. A clear case of everyone else in the world being completely wrong. It's the perfect size either warm or cold.

Thorzdad · Feb 24, 2021, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by Doc HM

Beer in pints. A clear case of everyone else in the world being completely wrong. It's the perfect size either warm or cold.

Happily, beer is the one area in which the US have fully embraced the metric system.

andi*pandi · Feb 24, 2021, 06:33 PM

Um, pint is not metric? or does beer have a different pint from any other liquid measurement used in say, cooking?

2 cups = 1 pint
2 pints = 1 quart
4 quarts = gallon

Thorzdad · Feb 24, 2021, 06:41 PM

Ah, right. My bad. Wasn’t thinking straight. Haven’t been sleeping.