Dubious in that you begged the question of "always getting passed in the straights", presenting a very debatable point as a given. When it isn't. Dubious in that you have cherry-picked one or two videos and assert that evidence applies for all cars everywhere.

Dubious in that you made your mind up, and are unwilling to entertain any thoughts that contradict that view.

Heck, if you look in one of the videos you cite as evidence, you'll see that the small lightweight car beat all but one of the muscle cars! That leaves at least a half-dozen powerful cars that could not pass him on the straights.

You've seen Jack's video, where he passes two high-powered cars. Even though the Vette was passed when it spun, you'll notice that it never even got close to him after that--he was basically running away from it. But frankly, any mistake in the right spot would have been enough for Jack to pass him; that's one way that people often get passed.

Is a high-powered car easier to go fast with? No question. Can a lower-powered car pass a higher-powered car and make it stick? Absolutely!

You could put me in a Viper, and put most of the regular posters from this board in a Yugo, and they'd still wind up blowing my doors off. They are simply better drivers than I am, and the better driver has a huge advantage.

Is power good? Of course it is! Can it help you pass other cars? Yes, if you can use it reasonably.

Is handling good? It sure is. Can it help you pass other cars? Yes, if you can use it.

--DD

I'm no race car driver.
It took me a couple laps to figure out how to pass a car that was as fast as me. I couldn't get him in the passing area of the straight (DE rules).....
.
There was a sweeper leading into the straight......I let about 50-70 feet grow between us, then hit teh go pedal.....by the time we hit the straight, I was going 15 mph (or so)faster than he......gulp.

What if we put you in a Viper, but put them on a unicycle. Would they still blow your doors off?

We need more details to hypothesize on your troll-bait... I mean... thread... I mean... scenario. Does the Viper we give him have doors? How many Hp in the unicycle? What is the contact patch of the unicycle? what kind of rubber does it have? What is the fitness level of the unicycle driver? Does Dave have one or two functioning eyes? Does Dave have feet?

I guess this discussion is over because he's going soon to be struck by lighting for saying even God in a Yugo can't beat Dave in the Viper. You said it. He heard you. You can't take it back even though you edited it.......... :D ;)

If you'd ever seen me drive on the track, you might realize that I could just about give the unicycle a run for its money in the Viper.... ;)

Almost.

--DD

But in all seriousness, a 3600lbs viper making 450hp has 1 hp for every 8 lbs. a unicycle with a 150lbs driver... Making 20hp will have 1hp for ever 7.5lbs!!!

The unicycle will win, hands down. Math does not lie folks. This is the internet. It must therefore be true.

How big is that unicycle's contact patch?

Wait, how big is Dave's butt?

It really depends if the unicycle is French or German. The german's are known for unicycles with larger contact patches, but the large skinny wheels of the French versions have better gearing for top speed, which will be key for a track battle with a viper. As we have all learned, why have a large contact patch when you always get passed on the straights?

Daves butt, by concensus, is estimated to be three blue sparrows long with two degrees of accuracy.

Some light reading:

The Racing Driver: The Theory and Practice of Fast Driving: Denis Jenkinson: 9780837602011: Amazon.com: Books


Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving: Carl Lopez, Danny Sullivan: 9780837602264: Amazon.com: Books

Ultimate Speed Secrets: The Complete Guide to High-Performance and Race Driving: Ross Bentley: 9780760340509: Amazon.com: Books


Driving to Win: Al Holbert, Bob Holbert, Albert R. Bochroch: 9780894040245: Amazon.com: Books

http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Win-Essential-Guide-Driving/dp/0615592570/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456453262&sr=1-2&keywords=driving+to+win

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Enough-Autobiography-Jackie-Stewart/dp/0755315391/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456453215&sr=1-1&keywords=winning+is+not+enough

Let's just say that there is a reason that the test for 914 sag has been called the "Dave's Big Butt Test"... :(

--DD

Here's a short outake vid from about 8 years ago (sorry for poor vid quality!) of me racing at Autobahn South (same track from KTL's earlier post of my buddy Julian's vid showing Chris in his 911).

https://vimeo.com/156869706

I'm driving my e30 M3 with 168 HP and similar torque at the wheels. The car with driver weighted 2715 lbs, running Hankook Slicks (215 width), and running no aero. The race started with a wet track and slowly dried. The car I'm racing with is out of class and has substantially more HP/TQ and runs quicker lap times.

HP/TQ is not everything! Being good on the brakes will let you make up a lot of time. The other thing that happens during a race is conditions change and tire characteristics change. The heavier cars on Hoosiers would lose time towards the end of the race because of overheating. The slick compound I was running would start slow and then come on later in the race and then be more consistent. Using the draft is also critical. The one long back straight let me take advantage of this to make the pass. I was able to hound him in the corners just enough to stay right on his tail coming out of the corner before the long straight.

Damon in STL

I used to run my 911 against those muscle cars at RA all the time.

The temptation is to charge right up on their azz in the braking zone. The only issue with that is the muscle car will slow you up on the corner exit. Repeat ad nauseum.

The key is to leave a little room so you can accelerate out of the corner and catch them the next time. It often takes 3-4 corners to set this up and make it work. Btdt

Here's another video outtake from Putnam Park from about 5 years ago. I'm now driving a spec e30 with an inline 6 vs. an ill handling poorly driven V8 Mustang. All of my comments on the vid were from the original video....LOL!

He's probably making at least twice....if not more HP!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5P3oMXcY0U&feature=youtu.be

I like this video

It says so much about old light nimble simple and fun
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z_qrhu8GgEE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Enough of this thread.... I'm hoping to go fast on both straights and corners with my new car. :P . My NP01 Prototype will arrive 1st week of March hopefully.



The wrap is almost done sans the numbers and sponsors.
http://i.imgur.com/xdyXXZXh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/86Jgewnh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/SFaL92Qh.jpg

"This video is private. Sorry about that."

--DD

WOW! Cool!

Is that basically an enclosed version of an IMSA lite car?

It's basic design yes, but less expensive materials (tube frame vs carbon etc) It's being called Cup Car performance, with Spec Miata maintenance.

I LOL'ed when the 'Stang blew right back past you in the straight, and you said "Umm, ok then...."