Quote from S14 DRIFT :

LOL no it won't

My 1.4 nova did well over 120mph, although i was running a 1.2l 4 speed box as i just dropped the 1400 lump in when i killed the 1200, plus a big weber carb and tweaked timing helped a lot.

Because the bore is the same, but the stroke is longer on the 1.4, it gave it really long gears, so it did 37 in 1st, 68 in 2nd, 94 in 3rd, and well, off the clock in 4th.

It was brilliant at the old drag strip where we used to go at the weekends when i rolled up in this burgandy and black rotten nova saloon, and used to beat the ass of things like xr2s and things like that, mainly because i still had the 1.2l badge on the boot.

I never did manage to beat one lad who had a nova GTE though, he always got me by like 2 feet or so, it was that close.


Oh yeah, now i've stopped going off on tangents, american cars don't do corners!

If it went off the clock, how did you know it was doing "well over" 120mph?

At those kind of speeds, the speed told on the speedo is alot different to what the car is actually doing. The only real way to test the cars current speed (when doing excessive ammounts) is via some sort of GPS but even then, its not exactly accurate.

120 on the clocks is probably at best 110 real. A modern (2002) 1.4Si Fiesta has a rated top speed of like 105 so you won't pull 120 out of that.

As for your Nova Dan well if it has the 4 speed box which has longer ratios and a larger and upgraded engine it may have topped at 120 real but not much higher.

Well, in that egg-crate of a car it felt bloody fast!

I just went by the distance from the end of the numbers which is 120 using the scale on the speedo and the needle was about another 15mph worth of distance further round the dial from where the numbers ran out.

I do know that they are more inaccurate the faster you go so although the dial showed ~135 i probably only reached 125 or so.

Quote from pearcy_2k7 :

A 1.4 Fiesta will get 120mph (maybe) which is more than your peice of American shite, look at your roads too, shite unless you live in the canyons

Yea, a stock fiesta wont do 120mph, unless it's down hill, will have to be a pretty big hill at that though.

On the other hand, 1.4 golfs go over 120 easy.

the difference is, what is on the speedo at 100+ doesnt relate at all to what the car is actually doing, they get very very innacurate when they get to that speed.

Well i said maybe, will have to find out

Quote from sam93 :

One good example with how bad it is in America, the kid who got a M5 for his first car, took it to a runway and killed himself and 4 others I think it was.

I hate that fact that we have to start off in crappy cars but it helps us to learn car control and not step into something that has a lot of power and kill ourselves.

I actually find your arguement kinda pathetic. You say about getting slow cars to learn in, and you see why its like that, yet all you want to do is tune the bollocks out of your first car.

Any new driver on the road who goes for anything fast as a first car is silly in my opinion....

Quote from mcgas001 :

I actually find your arguement kinda pathetic. You say about getting slow cars to learn in, and you see why its like that, yet all you want to do is tune the bollocks out of your first car.

Any new driver on the road who goes for anything fast as a first car is silly in my opinion....

Good point mate, and pretty much on the mark but i do know of one particular example where this wasnt the case.

A guy i knew, who's parents were loaded, let him buy a 3l turbo supra (fast and furious shape one) as soon as he passed his test and he owned it for 5 years before finally selling it on without so much as even a parking dent.

It is true that for alot of people a quick first car is a recipe for disaster, but in some cases it can teach someone how to drive, car control, and also,respect for what a car can be capable of, good and bad.

Quote from mcgas001 :

I actually find your arguement kinda pathetic. You say about getting slow cars to learn in, and you see why its like that, yet all you want to do is tune the bollocks out of your first car.

Any new driver on the road who goes for anything fast as a first car is silly in my opinion....

I don't want to tune the bollocks off of it. Tune it over say the 3 yrs I'll have the car yes. Only mods I will most likely do if I get a 1.2 Corsa is have the ECU remapped and chipped, different exhaust system including manifold and a better suspension kit and leave it at that.

Quote from DeKo :

the difference is, what is on the speedo at 100+ doesnt relate at all to what the car is actually doing, they get very very innacurate when they get to that speed.

Don't I know it, mine said 115 once, yea right.

Anyone can drive any car provided they have the maturity to use it. For example my first bike had 105bhp. And I didn't crash that..

I know someone who's first car was a little Clio and he crashed that because he drive's like a bellend. I also know someone who's first car was a 323 BMW and he never put a ding on it for 2 years. He drive sensibly. You see my point mmyes.

Quote from sam93 :

I don't want to tune the bollocks off of it. Tune it over say the 3 yrs I'll have the car yes. Only mods I will most likely do if I get a 1.2 Corsa is have the ECU remapped and chipped, different exhaust system including manifold and a better suspension kit and leave it at that.

No offence, but what's the friiggin point? Its a 1.2 FFS, your blowing your money on something which has less power than my lawnmower. With such a small engined car, your not gonna notice ANY difference what so ever by doing them mods, and the getting an ECU remap is pointless. Your just gonna THINK your corsa is faster because of the louder sound. Get your mind out of modifying small engined cars, save your cash, and get a real nice motor when your 19/20.

Ha! I figured I would get all the little kiddies in here in an uproar. You guys have any idea how it is to drive on a hilly road? One with other cars cruising up behind you at 20 mph over the limit while you are in a weak little 4 popper screaming in 3rd gear at 6000 rpms trying to keep the speed limit uphill (and failing)?

Let's see, I drive a Nissan Altima, 150 hp 2.4L 4 cylinder that barely gets out of it's own way. My wife's Ford Escape 200 hp V6, much more weight, high center of gravity, and "poor handling" will walk all over the Altima. You boy racers constantly talk about handling, you are ON THE ROAD! I don't care about your egomaniacle opinions of your superiority complex ridden "our roads and cars are better than yours" opinions, I very much doubt that my "big" SUV would break a sweat driving as a normal driver on any road, yours, mine, or his.

Much like the assumption that everyone is rich in the US which is wrong, we also all don't drive on the interstate and live in the city. And speed limits are set for a reason, if it's 45 mph here, then anything you drive darn well better handle the road at 45 mph. If it is 25 mph where you are, if you can't handle that in a "crap handling American car", then you shouldn't be on the road.


As for the kid driving the BMW and killing himself and 3 others (4 others? Can't remember...) it has nothing to do with the car. He would have killed himself in anything because he was the idiot, not the car. If you think you can't handle a car and need some little go-kart cardboard box, then you shouldn't even be driving the cardboard box. It's the stupidity of the kids in cars and the invincible thinking that's the problem, not the cars.

The reason we drive our "cardboard boxes" Mr.Rodgers, is because for OUR roads, not yours, they are all we need. We dont need great big trucks, with stupidly large 7.0 PETROL V8's, as they would not fill any of our needs. This country is abit more realistic with what cars we use for our everyday commute (although more and more people are picking SUV's, when there highly unneeded), we dont automatically go for large engined trucks, SUV's or cars because our roads are different, our enviroment is different, everything is different. So go keep to your crappy dodge ram's and ford F150's, and we'll stick to our "cardboard boxes".

Listen ladies we're helping Sam get a car and giving him advice, not slagging off each others countries cars..

MAKE LOVE NOT WAR.

Although I feel I should say that America has some DAMN fine mountain roads and I'd give anything to take my bike up there..

Quote from mrodgers :

Let's see, I drive a Nissan Altima, 150 hp 2.4L 4 cylinder that barely gets out of it's own way.

well theres your problem
you drive an overweight car with a heavy lump of engine that is far too big for the amount of power it produces

Quote from sam93 :

I don't want to tune the bollocks off of it. Tune it over say the 3 yrs I'll have the car yes. Only mods I will most likely do if I get a 1.2 Corsa is have the ECU remapped and chipped, different exhaust system including manifold and a better suspension kit and leave it at that.

There is absolutely no point, just buy a better car if you have to go faster, it'll cost you a lot less in insurance premiums.

Quote from mrodgers :

Ha! I figured I would get all the little kiddies in here in an uproar. You guys have any idea how it is to drive on a hilly road? One with other cars cruising up behind you at 20 mph over the limit while you are in a weak little 4 popper screaming in 3rd gear at 6000 rpms trying to keep the speed limit uphill (and failing)?

American roads are very different, you have highways that a wide and straight going straight over mountains, not something we have in the UK. What you don't have though is the narrow country road, tight and twisty with few passing places, lots of blind bends and a significant minority of traffic that blasts down them at ridiculous speed. Americans drive exceptionally badly, on a straight piece of road they drive quickly with little spacial awareness, get to a vague bend in the road and they come to an abrupt stop and crawl round it at 5mph. Road rallies would be pointless in the US, the roads may have stunning scenery but they always manage to be wide and straight, honestly the best roads in the US that people seem to travel hundreds of miles to spend a weekend driving are nothing compared to roads within 15 minutes of where I live.

Quote :

Let's see, I drive a Nissan Altima, 150 hp 2.4L 4 cylinder that barely gets out of it's own way. My wife's Ford Escape 200 hp V6, much more weight, high center of gravity, and "poor handling" will walk all over the Altima. You boy racers constantly talk about handling, you are ON THE ROAD! I don't care about your egomaniacle opinions of your superiority complex ridden "our roads and cars are better than yours" opinions, I very much doubt that my "big" SUV would break a sweat driving as a normal driver on any road, yours, mine, or his.

Interestingly I have driven a car equipped with the Escape engine, it does 0-60 in under 5 seconds and is an absolute hoot to drive why, because it's light with a low centre of gravity and great handling and no powersteering, abs, traction control and other such nonsense, if Morgan can achieve this in a car (quite literally) using 1920s technology then there's really no excuse for Ford to still be producing an overweight shed that can't get there in twice the time. More than ever in the middle of a recession with a failing car industry car makers should be producing simple light cars that cut the overweight crap, a 200bhp V6 should be the realm of fast sports cars, not everyday drivers.

Quote :

Much like the assumption that everyone is rich in the US which is wrong, we also all don't drive on the interstate and live in the city. And speed limits are set for a reason, if it's 45 mph here, then anything you drive darn well better handle the road at 45 mph. If it is 25 mph where you are, if you can't handle that in a "crap handling American car", then you shouldn't be on the road.

In the UK there are many roads where a WRC car couldn't average the speed limit, let alone stick to it. If the limit was set at the speed you were expected to drive the entire length of the road at in the UK the average limit would be about 15mpg as soon as you turn off the main roads...

Quote from S14 DRIFT :

Although I feel I should say that America has some DAMN fine mountain roads and I'd give anything to take my bike up there..

Hmm, even your bike?

go for a ford mustang

Just no.

Quote from Shotglass :

well theres your problem
you drive an overweight car with a heavy lump of engine that is far too big for the amount of power it produces

Now i have never been to america so i am far from being fully sure about this as im just going from what i read and hear about, but i have to agree with the above statement in general. It just seems that alot of american vehicles are un-neccesarily big and bulky.

In america there are regular saloon cars that weigh over 2 tonnes, that have a 5litre+ 'V' engine that use a ridiculous amount of fuel, and are gutless, whereas if you compared that to an average car over here that would weigh little over a tonne, is running a 2 litre 4 cylinder engine, and is more nippy to drive, much more economical, and can still hold the same amount of passengers.

I just fail to see the logic of huge cars with even huger engines, to get the same, if not a worse end result.

Quote from Bawbag :

Hmm, even your bike?

Haha.. for a weeks riding on a loaned R6 on some of the Canyons they have...yes, would I would.

Quote from Nathan_French_14 :

No offence, but what's the friiggin point? Its a 1.2 FFS, your blowing your money on something which has less power than my lawnmower. With such a small engined car, your not gonna notice ANY difference what so ever by doing them mods, and the getting an ECU remap is pointless. Your just gonna THINK your corsa is faster because of the louder sound. Get your mind out of modifying small engined cars, save your cash, and get a real nice motor when your 19/20.

I am going to get a nicer car at 19/20, hopefully a BMW E30 325 with the M-Tech 2 bodykit in Aplina White - Lovely car If not one of those, I'll get the E36 version.

It's more about the driver rather then the car in my opinion. There's people who can drive 55mph down the highway with 80000lbs behind them safely.