How fast is too fast?

I've been wondering, how fast is too fast?

I've always considered myself a pretty good driver. I'm 27, I've got 10 years no claims and never had a scratch. I drive pretty quick most of the time. I also like to think that most of the stuff in the IAM handbook is in the back of my mind, keeping me in check.

But I'm no racing driver and I know my limitations.

The Supra TT is a pretty darn fast car and it took my a few months and a couple of unplanned 'drifts' before I truly had the measure of it. Now I've gone BPU with hybrids and the car is a completely different beast. It's phenomenally quick. I realise that the performance of the car is now way beyond my abilities as a driver.

But this board is just full of people for whom BPU just wasn't quick enough. The list of mods beyond BPU go on and on. I wonder: can the majority of people who have such super-fast cars truly handle them? Or is it all for pub / board bragging?

This isn't aimed at anyone in particular. I'm just curious.

I've been wondering, how fast is too fast?

 

I've always considered myself a pretty good driver. I'm 27, I've got 10 years no claims and never had a scratch. I drive pretty quick most of the time. I also like to think that most of the stuff in the IAM handbook is in the back of my mind, keeping me in check.

 

But I'm no racing driver and I know my limitations.

 

The Supra TT is a pretty darn fast car and it took my a few months and a couple of unplanned 'drifts' before I truly had the measure of it. Now I've gone BPU with hybrids and the car is a completely different beast. It's phenomenally quick. I realise that the performance of the car is now way beyond my abilities as a driver.

 

But this board is just full of people for whom BPU just wasn't quick enough. The list of mods beyond BPU go on and on. I wonder: can the majority of people who have such super-fast cars truly handle them? Or is it all for pub / board bragging?

 

This isn't aimed at anyone in particular. I'm just curious.

give it a few months and you would have got used to it and be looking at ways to go faster -

I'd love to take my car on a track and test my own limits but never seem to have the cash !

Good question, I seriously dought that a majority can actually handle over 500bhp maybe not even bpu, I mean there's no skill in doing straight lines, anyone can do that, but throw in the bends too and it's a whole new ball game, when you get the chance to open it on twisty b roads you very quickley realise that even a stock car is pushing it, let alone a lot more power being involved.

I would love to go single but I wouldnt require a huge amount of power, I'd say 400 is more than adequate and I'd say 300 is all you need for our roads anyway.

A lot of these things do depend on your location though, If I lived in the twisty roads of Wales I wouldln't need huge amounts of power, however if your near lots of motorways then your going to want more straight line speed which requires much less driving skill.

You get used to the power and tailor your driving to suit. With more power comes more respect...

i will be truthfull the t88 supra i have, which i now have a deposit on is nice to drive but as soon as you nail it its damm scary and your palms sweat and you get hot very quick and for them reasons i do not really use it that often,and few other reasons one is the weather and 2 the faster the car the more respect you have for the car as one day it will bite you hard.

and i like fast cars as i get a buzz from it simple as that:D just dont like the sweaty bit

I will also be honest. I've had a BPU+ Supra, and Dude commented on what a great, healthy and quick example it was. But even so, RLTC saved my hide on more than one occasion.

I've now got a big single car coming. Originally the 649ps figure given to me by Trial was thought to be flywheel, we have since learned from Trial that this is at the wheels, and I'm now quite nervous.

Over 600 at the wheels may be too much ! But I'll take it easy at first and see how I go.

I think not being able to afford to replace it will ensure a healthy respect !

I've been wondering, how fast is too fast?

 

 

Well according to ACPO guidelines 79mph on a motorway or 68mph on a national A road!!

.... when you get caught by the police:p

Too fast is when you dont get traction in any gear

I will also be honest. I've had a BPU+ Supra, and Dude commented on what a great, healthy and quick example it was. But even so, RLTC saved my hide on more than one occasion.

 

I've now got a big single car coming. Originally the 649ps figure given to me by Trial was thought to be flywheel, we have since learned from Trial that this is at the wheels, and I'm now quite nervous.

 

Over 600 at the wheels may be too much ! But I'll take it easy at first and see how I go.

 

I think not being able to afford to replace it will ensure a healthy respect !

yer mine is 530 at wheels and its scary so to drive a 650bhp at wheels i can only imagine to be scarier lol

I tend to drive my diesel corsa, all 39 bhp of it, faster round the local roads than I do my supra, as has been said the faster the car the more respect you need for it.

I tend to drive my diesel corsa, all 39 bhp of it, faster round the local roads than I do my supra, as has been said the faster the car the more respect you need for it.

i thrash the arse off my work van and drive it alot harder than my supe.

i think its because i know the power is there and it will bite, the work van on the other hand is slow so you need to give it loads..and i do:D

Too fast is when you dont get traction in any gear

Thats what I am talking about...

We still get it in 5th and 6th so plenty more to go

Gaz.

Hehe

You can never have too much !!! i started at bpu then the drug of POWER set in ;) When you push that 1000hp mark and there is no traction in ANY gear ... you just have to get used to drivin with the back end out ,,,,

i thrash the arse off my work van and drive it alot harder than my supe.

i think its because i know the power is there and it will bite, the work van on the other hand is slow so you need to give it loads..and i do:D

And it's not your car

kind of a different question but do any of the BPU peeps use their car as a daily driver...?

Too fast is when you dont get traction in any gear

I'm going to guestimate my car at about 340 at the wheels (much lower than a lot of the people that have posted in this thread), and already I don't get traction until 4th if I just slam it from very low speed.

I know what you mean about driving other cars harder. I also have a Rover VVC Coupe. It's a quickish car, but only about 145bhp. That car is front wheel drive, and I can push it quite hard. If I'm giving it too much gas round a bend, it starts to oversteer and I adjust my driving accordingly. The Rover gives me that 'warning' that I'm going too hard. But the Supra is less forgiving. It seems very much an all-or-nothing experience. You blip it just a tiny bit too much, and the next thing you know you're in a drift! There's no grey area. Scary. So, on twisty roads, I can probably drive the Rover quicker around the bends than the Supra, because I feel a lot safer doing so.

kind of a different question but do any of the BPU peeps use their car as a daily driver...?

I do.

It's a good question and one I've wondered about myself. I guess it depends what you want to do with your car (i.e. fast road, race or drag etc).

My car is a very healthy bpu and to be honest generally the limiting factor is the driver (me), i.e. I don't really _need_ more power, I need to drive better lol - but I only use it on the road... Rarely do I think to myself, if only I had another 100bhp, but sometimes I wish I could handle the car better, I guess that comes with practice.

I'm not really just a straight line driver anyway, I like a mixture of acceleration and cornering, and the single biggest thing that would make you faster is probablty better braking, handling and driving ability. More power, well it's always nice but it can make the car harder to control, even at the same speeds let alone going faster.

I think a BPU supra is an excellent fast road car and it's fast enough for nearly all purposes. I know you get used to it, but that's probably time to get better skills, not jump for more bhp.

just my thoughts today, tomorrow I'll be wanting a single turbo upgrade again lol

i thrash the arse off my work van and drive it alot harder than my supe.

i think its because i know the power is there and it will bite, the work van on the other hand is slow so you need to give it loads..and i do:D

I know what you mean, it's so much easier to thrash a low power car/van. Sometimes you can make people in expensive cars look pretty silly, especially in the wet then they are struggling to lay the power down hehe

Mine won't be a daily driver either, I don't think I'd go much above BPU if it was to be used every day. Well, maybe just a small single

kind of a different question but do any of the BPU peeps use their car as a daily driver...?

I do too - no problems with it either - at the end of the day its a Toyota!! Just visit the petrol station quite often thats all!

A car is never to fast it will only go as fast as you tell it to. Unless its a Ford Explorer

dont think it down to speed its how it drives really

Its funny because i went in at the deep end of supra ownership and bought a 600++bhp T88 supra and found it well beyond my driving capabilities and it frightened me to death, in one way it was great but another i knew it would at some point bite me

but

i think alot of people tend to increase the power of the car then look at suspension/brakes etc etc and this is where people go wrong and feel the car is beyond them!! funny thing is i put the supra up for sale and had someone interested in it so we did a few jobs on the car before they came to pick it up and while we did we noticed the suspension was well out at the rear and once set up right it was a different beast!! much more driveable and could get the power down much easier....well as easy as you can with a monster turbo like that

Kirbz