Lets setup a scenario for argument’s sake. Lets say that we have one car, it out-handles every other car on the road, it is FAST around the track. However, it relies on a lot of electronics and makes the car a little less numb. It is easy to drive SUPER fast though. Then you have a second car which is a bit slower around the track. Car #1 beats it everytime. However, this is a driver’s car. The steering feedback is excellent and you can feel every movement right in the palm of your hands.
Which car do you buy? Is that feedback enough to draw you into a slower car, or do you choose the faster car?
I’m assuming you are trying to compare a numb fast car to a car which is not numb but slower.
I guess it all depends on what you think numb is.
Is brake feel and fade considered numb?
Is non-communicative steering considered numb?
Is a non linear brake away point considered numb?
Is a soft or spongy suspension considered numb?
Not when I buy a car, because I know I’m going to change it to suit my likings. Also, not so much because I’ll just learn the car.
Example:
C5 has less feedback through the steering wheel. This can cause you to get the car to push if you are not careful.
M3 has very good feedback through the steering, but I can also get this car to push.
The C5 will out handle the M3 hands down, while the M3 still has more communicative steering. That doesn’t really matter in the long run though.
The bottom line is that if you have a performance car, you need to learn that car. You need to figure out its quirks and discover were it shines.
The M3 loves to dive into turns, while the C5 likes them more gentle but can motor through the back half of every turn with ease.
Over all of course a “numb” car is not going to be as fun to drive as a “sporting” car. Though you might want a number car for say for a DD. I had an Impala and Regal and they were both awesome cars. Super numb, super comfy, like riding on a couch, which has been placed on a water bed, which is on top of a skew of kittens.
i like something that is taut enough to handle ok through the corners but id rather it go fast more. there is rarely a place on the road that you can corner above 7/10th safely but you can almost always hammer the power down on a daily basis even at relatively low speeds. plus im much less inclined to drive somewhere far just so i can hammer my car to see how well it handles. combine that with the fact that handling/feel humpers are usually douchebags makes me even less inclined to vote for that option. straight line for me then.
I’m just sayin’, for most non-professional drivers feel is way more critical. Someone like me wouldn’t know how hard to push a noble or GTR because I can’t feel when the tires will slip.
Well if I was buying either of those cars I wouldn’t be racing competitively as they are road cars, which means I’d buy the M3 because I’d likely have more fun and not care about the best possible lap time.
