Best Handling American Cars

[playnthru]

LOL. You're gonna have to show the proof if there's more than 2 in the game.

You're gonna need to show proof this thread is about GT5 cars, or race cars for that matter?

Neither are mentioned.

 

[GTV0819]

*Wrong post*

 

[Wolfe]

GTV0819, this thread isn't about Gran Turismo. It's in the Cars in General (real life cars) subforum.

 

[GTV0819]

GTV0819, this thread isn't about Gran Turismo. It's in the Cars in General (real life cars) subforum.

Huh?

Well, sorry about that. I accidentally mistook the thread talking about some American cars in GT5. Wasn't trying to mess it up that way but thank you for telling me this.

 

[Badasp5.0]

Are we talking tuners? Or just Factory stuff?

Shelby GLHS
Shelby CSX

I knew a guy who had a CSX-VNT that was a awesome little car sadly he tore it up.

 

[Space Dynamics]

1987 - 90 Oldsmobile Touring Sedan. Came with the FE3 Suspension package. Muliti Link rear suspension. Fun.

 

[The Vanishing Boy]

-> In my opinion, may I add a tuned one?

Ford Crown Victoria M/T by Roush for Bondurant Driving School

- 5 M/T
- 4.6L V8 from the '99 Cobra
LINK


-> In factory guise?

Chevy Cobalt SS Supercharged (.88g)
Chevy Cobalt SS Turbocharged
Chevy HHR SS
Commuter Cars Tango T800
Dodge Viper [2nd gen] ACR
Dodge Viper [2nd-gen] GT2
Factory Five GTM
Ford Contour SVT (.90g)
Ford Focus SVT (.87g)
Ford Probe [2nd-gen] GT
Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 [1st-gen]
Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 [2nd-gen]
Lucra LC470
Mosler Consulier GTP
Panoz AIV
Panoz Esperante GTLM
Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Road Car
Panoz Esperante JRD
Saturn Sky RedLine

^ That is all I think at the moment...

EDIT -> I should add more...

Buick GNX (.87g)
Pontiac Trans Am WS6 (.86g)
Shelby Series 1 (.98g)
Shelby/AC Cobra 427 (1.04g)
Shelby Daytona Coupe 427

 

[RDF97]

The last generation ACR Viper is supposed to be quite a good handling car as well as the new Viper GTS.

Last gen ACR clocked 7:12 or 7:14 round the 'ring!!!

 

[Vantage7825]

Last gen ACR clocked 7:12 or 7:14 round the 'ring!!!

That's what the Porsche 918 Spyder is hitting!

 

[Slash]

You can believe what you want but changing a Mustang II's tire size to 275s will allow it to pull a 1.2g on the skid pad. Considerable improvement over the stock .70 or so.

Think this applies to race car though. But even still, wow. http://www.mustangii.net/articles/track_comparison_monza_mustangii.asp

 

[Zenith]

The Male Bovine Fecal Matter Detector just exploded.

 

[Joey D]

The only thing I found that talks about a Mustang II hitting that high on a skid pad is an article that is talking about one in IMSA Racing trim, or in other words...one that looks like this:

Article in question: http://www.mustangii.net/articles/track_comparison_monza_mustangii.asp

 

[Slash]

I was misinformed by several family members I see


I edited my other post with the RC link.

 

[Tornado]

Skidpad numbers by themselves don't entirely mean good handling anyway. They mean good grip.

 

[Slash]

Well they both coincide don't they?

 

[Beeblebrox237]

Well they both coincide don't they?

No, that's why the Viper finished las in Motor Trend's best handling car competition. Handling is about how the car feels, about how it communicates with the driver so that what grip it has can be used as best as possible, in a fun way.

 

[Tornado]

Truly evil-handling cars could pull monstrous skidpad numbers, then be nearly undriveable at the same limits on anything but a glass-smooth flat road. That's even ignoring things like steering feel and chassis predictability. A car could "handle" really well in the sense that it goes around corners fast; but if the chassis flexes, the steering is numb and/or the suspension is twitchy and stiff (or excessively sloppy), it doesn't amount to that much compared to a car which "handles" worse but has much better body control.


See: 1984 Corvette Z51 vs. a contemporary 944 Turbo.

 

[YSSMAN]

Skidpad numbers by themselves don't entirely mean good handling anyway. They mean good grip.

Half of that is generally tire choice and performance. Throw a set of PS2s on a Hyundai Accent, and I'm sure it's performance would greatly increase on the skidpad.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

The Challenger being on there is pretty iffy. One of the instructors brought a rental one out to a trackday last weekend and they were taking turns doing hot laps in it. The thing is so heavy they had to start braking at the start/finish line (halfway down the main straight, normal braking point is about 7/8ths of the way to the end) to get it to clear the first turn. It turned a pretty respectable lap time for what it was but it was down to power more than anything else.

The Focus ST should be on the list, as long as it counts as American. The older Focus SVT is supposed to be pretty decent as well, I recall them doing pretty well in autocross.

The Cobalt SS wasn't bad depending on version, and its cousin the Ion Redline is also a pretty decent handler. Some older Saturns have also seen autocross success.

 

[Kent]

Skid pad point... +1

Another issue is what can be done with electronics. Ive heard various reviews of cars that seem to be great but fail near the limit as stability control programs take over and prevent the brakes and throttle from controlling the car in the hands of a skilled driver.

 

[Badasp5.0]

Some older Saturns have also seen autocross success.

Yep I have a friend that has a few local autocross records in a older Saturn SC coupe. But its got some aftermarket parts on it.