All I can do is laugh when I read other cars claiming how fast their 0-60 or 1/4 mile times are and then calling someone elses car "slow" cuz their car takes .5 - 2 sec longer to do what they can...WHO CARES!!! ITS ONE LOUSY SECOND....they act like 1 sec = 20 minutes or something.

Sure it means everything IF you race...but I just enjoy driving my Z...it plenty quick for me and I could care less if an LS1 could whip my *** by a lousy second or two...means nothing to mean when it comes down to it.

 

The 1/4-mile and 0-60 are legendary benchmarks...cars have been compared using these metrics for ever since I can remember (mid-50s).

Since both 0-60 and 1/4 mile E.T. are heavily dependent on the launch , I prefer not to try either on my '03 Track, because I feel banzai launches are a little hard on the machinery. But I'm happy to read about other folks' times.

 

Yeah...i just hate when people use the times to call someone elses car "slow"...when its only slow if your racing...but in general every ....you konw what...i don't even know what the hell I'm talking about anymore I just hate when people act like the 1 second difference makes their car a rocket and any other car a turtle.

 

Race a car that is 1 second faster than you in the 1/4 and you will see why it "makes a difference." Hell .5 of a second is a big enough gap to smoke someone

 

People explore these specifications because it's the only thing most folks can duplicate or test multiple times to use for comparison. It puts things in perspective..in real world figures where any idiot can understand.
Your average joe doesn't have access to the same exact circuit track all over the world so it's hard to compare how a car performs all around. There are too many variables when it comes to racing on a full circuit track and hard to compare one vehicle to another based on those figures.

I have to agree though...people emphasize too much on 0-60 and 1/4 mile times. Some of the most desired cars in the world dont have the best 1/4 or 0-60.

 

I agree.

They’re like big breasts. A lot of people think big-breasted women are more passionate. Sadly, most of us find out that this is not always true. But we still keep looking.

Same thing with low numbers. A lot of people think low quarter mile times indicate a better sports car, but what we’re really looking for is a better performer on the open road. Unfortunately things like handling and braking are harder to quantify and compare. (Even quarter mile times can often be bogus as we saw from that recent list of fastest production cars).

So when we try to decide which car is better, we focus on numbers we can agree on: weight, price, horse power, quarter mile times, etc. Otherwise it becomes a question of philosophy, and philosophy hurts. Much better to have some nice solid reliable numbers.

Numbers do mean something. You can easily feel the difference in a car that is one second faster to 60 mph. Does that make it a better car? The guy that owns the car thinks so.

The rest of us, well, maybe we want to think about what you have to give up to get that extra second. That’s what makes it a horse race.

 

Agreed. I'm sure you'll be surprised how far ahead of you a car that is only "ONE LOUSY SECOND" faster than you will be by the end of the 1/4. You guys do realize that you bought sports cars correct? Maybe a mini-van would suit you better.

 

The Z is built to be driven hard. Thats why Nissan programmed the ECU to run rich when the rpms go up. It doesnt hurt to beat on it once in awhile.

 

It's like people who use 3dmark2xxx for benchmarking their PC's for performance.

 

I agree w/the other comments on here about the 1/4 mile. Accurate 0-60 times are a little harder to obtain but 1/4 mile times you can get by going to a drag strip.

You should perhaps try drag racing. One second is a pretty big difference. Two seconds, BOY, that's a HUGE difference. I've raced my Maxima (got the Z not long ago and not broken in yet by the time the tracks closed for the season), and if I run a very low 15 and other guy runs a 17, I've TOTALLY kicked their ***. I'd be ahead from the start and pulling away rapidly.

 

i would love my Z to be one or two lousy seconds faster at 1/4 run..

 

They’re like big breasts. A lot of people think big-breasted women are more passionate. Sadly, most of us find out that this is not always true. But we still keep looking.

Hmm!... that's interesting

 

0-60, 1/4 mile, slalom etc are just objective measures for comparing performance which are useful for predicting real world performance. kind of like the SATs. they're not perfect or complete, but they correlate pretty strongly with how well the person or car eventually performs in the real world.

 

I thought this was going to talk about racing at an actual track before I read the thread.

 

same here...

 

I prefer long legs over big breasts...

 

What Dr. Greg said.

Sports cars are about being an extension of the driver, man-machine interface, etc. I owned several X1/9s and an MR2, both slugs by Z standards; but, if you don't think those were sports cars, then you don't understand the concept.

Make that shapely legs. Again, it's about quality, not quantity.

 

I dont look at 0-60 or quarter mile any more; as dr greg said, its 98% launch; and they cant really tell you if the losing car lost on the launch and was pulling till the finish. with the AWD beasts around now; its apples to oranges in terms of actual power.

now my personal favorite statistic is 5-60. take all driver skill and launch out of it, and just see which car has the *****. maybe not the best race for real life since drivers skill is all we have. but for daily driving I like to know the car will go whenever I tell it too.

 

Well, people can't magazine-race without 1/4 mile and 0-60 times. Most of the people hanging around these forums haven't driven any of the cars they love to argue about. It's always "my friend has this", "An X will walk a Y from a roll or on the highway" and "I've seen this car run that".

Also, do realize there is an American fascination with drag racing that is not particularly shared by our counterparts in Britain, Germany, Italy and Japan.

 

Interesting topic. I have a 1994 Rx7 with 350 rwhp that weights in at 2735 lbs. When I had a measly 266 rwhp I trapped at 108. I should be in the 113-114 trap speed with my new setup. In stock form the 0-60 was tested at 5.0 (4.9 claimed by mazda). and the 1/4 mile ran from 13.5-13.9.

The skid pad #'s, brake numbers, acceleration...EVERYTHING about the Rx-7 out performs my RX-8 (including gas mileage, how weird is that?).

Whats my point? The Rx-8 is just as fun to drive and infact I would say on the street its more fun. And 50 times as comforitable.

I dont care what the offical 1/4 mile or acceleration data of the Rx-8 is. Its fun regardless of that. If you care about 1/4 mile, buying the Rx8 or 350Z is stupid. Get a F-body (and a mullet while your at it).