Have bikes ruined sports cars for you?

Nope. I enjoy both.

 

A buddy of mine put a V8 in his Miata a few years ago. Did an immaculate job with the install, 370 HP at the wheels, 2500 lbs, well sorted suspension etc. He gave me a ride during an autocross session and I was giggling like a school girl the entire time. That Mustang needs about 1000 lbs shaved off of it and a 175 lb driver, would make all the difference in the world most likely.

 

One of my riding buddies (ZX10R), also has a really nice Toyo MR2 that he has gone thru and re done.
Pretty sure he said it has a Supra engine w/ variable valve timing V6- Jewel infected (pun intended), no forced induction.
I think he said it was under or right at 2K pounds, and ~400hp at the wheels.

As you know, it's a 2 seater, rear engine monster! This thing will throw some G's on you in a corner.
He has re done the suspension too- it's Low to the ground!

This thing is badass- he still loves his '10' though

* As far as the OP's first post. I can't afford an expensive high end sports car- and that's OK for me.
I do have my awesome, nearly stock K5 liter bike- that after 2 years of riding it - still amaze's me often!

 

I enjoy both. Couple days ago was blasting up n down the local airport runway in my neighbors Bullet Mustang (joys of him having some “influence” not to mention his hanger is nicer than most houses) Quite fun actually and quicker than I thought it would be. Drove a somewhat detuned pro mod in pro mod set up and radial vs the world set up. That’s crazy fun especially when you aren’t paying the bills. Living surrounded by mountains my next play car will handle very well and hp isn’t main focus. I’m on a couple ends of the spectrum from an amg wagon to an Ariel or excocet to a Lotus, etc. Ideally I need two play cars.

 

I've been thinking my next car will be an Ariel atom, Lotus Exige with blower, or a 2016 GT4. Would be nice to drive those 3 and see what I really want.

If I go a little cheaper a Lotus Elise or Cayman S.

 

I can cover a test drive in at least one of those.

 

Ya I’m all over the place, would love to drive them all as well. One thing I like about the lotus is I fit in it, and about damn perfect.

 

Having never met, I don't know how tall you are, but in the research I've done guys that are 6 ft 4 can fit with a helmet. Getting in and out takes a little bit of work but once you're in, there is plenty of legroom.

 

Thank you for the offer. Who knows maybe later in 2020 I can get out that way, watch a WERA race, meet a bunch of the east coast BBSers, check out your CNC, and drive that fine machine.

How far away do you and @Canadian Bacon live from each other?

 

The most thrilling driving I’ve ever done was under duress after we’d found our youngest chewing on grandpa’s blood pressure medication. The in-laws live out in the country, basically right next to the edge of the earth - so, in the car went the two-year-old and off we went.

What was normally a 30-minute drive became 16 and I have to say, a Q7 with less than a 1/4 tank of fuel, and a wife that didn’t say shit about my driving, the car handled surprisingly well over a mix of hilly country roads and while four-wheeled drifting an off ramp.

Still, bombing into turn one after a green flag while down-shitting [sic] into second and keeping your elbows out is way more exciting than that shit show.

 

You guys are taking off the shelf 5.0s designed not to kill inexperienced drivers and scoffing at their performance?
2018+ 10spd 5.0s run 10s with a tune, exhaust and e85.
Slap a blower of turbo and a fuel system and 1000whp unopened engine is happening.
2011 and up 5.0s with 8 grand in mods are running bottom 9s and would wipe the floor in straight line with 90% of the bikes out there.

go hang out with some of those roll racers in Florida, Texas, etc. no bikes hang with those 1000+whp guys.

the straight performance between non supercar modified cars and bikes has closed drastically in the last 10 years.

 

No idea. Where you at Bacon?

 

Not really scoffing, was just expecting it to pin me back in my seat a little more. Maybe I need to drive one of them fancy Teslas. Just out of curiosity, what's it cost to get a 2018 Mustang into the 10's. For 60K I was a bit underwhelmed. (although it looked badass and sounded fantastic)

 

60k? That’s gt350 price.
a 5.0 can be had off the lot for 38k.

High 10s with the 10spd auto is longtube manifolds, exhaust, e85 and a tune and a sticky tire.

9s involve a blower. $7500 for a Whipple or a VMP.
the dual injection 2018+ require just an injector upgrade. If you wanna go 8s a twin turbo off the shelf kit for 8gs.

Gone are the days of having to replace everything with aftermarket to be able to touch 10s.

 

I’m 6’3” but with only a 32” inseam but I can still fit in one with a helmet comfortably

 

My first car was a '71 Camaro. SB400, 10.5::1 pistons, big cam, low-rise intake, headers, 4-spd and 3.73 gears.
I've yet to drive a car that comes close to that 'Maro and we have a stock '08 C6 - quicker than a C5 Z06.
As for bikes, I've yet to ride anything as exhilarating as that 'Maro, with the exception of a '73 Yamaha SC500.
So, have bikes ruined cars for me?
Nah. Not even close.

 

I'm gonna take the next step up from both cars and bikes ...

https://www.thedrive.com/news/28065...can-buy-a-5700-hp-steam-locomotive-for-375000

 

To me, cars that are thrilling to drive, comparable to a bike, have to be very light—meaning under 1500 pounds if it doesn’t have a V8, under 2000 lbs if they do. This is race car range, definitely not street car range. It must be light to change direction like a bike, to be thrilling like a bike. This lightness was more common before cars were required to be crashworthy. A bug eye Sprite street car weighed like 1500 lbs. In the early 60’s my dad and I built a race car that weighed 1300 lbs and it was plenty fun to drive, even though it only had 110 hp or so. It was plenty fun. My dad had a Kurtis 500 sports car with a sprint car engine, it weighed just under 2000 lbs., and it was plenty fun too. IMHO, Something that weighs 3000+ lbs or even more simply won‘t change direction fast enough—simply lacks the transient response—to be fun to drive. Sure, it can have 500 hp and pull over 1g, but that’s not the same thing as being as light, quick and responsive feeling as a bike. A 3500 lb car will never be really thrilling to drive around corners. Street cars today are much heavier, they have a lot more structural integrity and handle much more predictably and are much safer to crash—but to me, they lost the thrill quotient along the way.

 

Yeah its a totally different experience for me... as they say 'as you age, get a cage' ... I am just not as comfortable pushing a bike as I am a car these days. Granted, 3 kids changes your perspective quite a bit.

I'll always have a love for 600s and the lightweights (never really enjoyed liter bikes), but for now I have my fun with my wife in a roadster and the top down.

Check back in 10 years from now and I may have a different view.

 

Who doesn’t enjoy time with their wife and her top down?