Cloverleaf adventures

[AutobahnSHO]

So it was rainy today so I took Civic to work.

I get to the light at my favorite cloverleaf when it's red and I'm first in line in the right lane, a civic behind me, then a newer Civic comes screeching up to stop in the lane to my left. I kinda figured they're trying to jump the traffic behind me so it turns green and I FLOOR it. He does too. He can't pull ahead at all 

https://goo.gl/maps/jkazMCYtuq9bjJLr5

45mph zone and we get up to 51mph before he finally brakes and I brake just down to 40 as we go into the "25mph" curve.

https://goo.gl/maps/7eeEq2LHtzZASpjk7

I take it at about 40mph, pushing about 85% of what the Civic could probably do- I can do it at 45mph in Scrappy. I'm full on the gas as it straightens out and hit 65mph at the merge. It's a 65mph zone where people are flying by at 10 over, always kinda dangerous when people get scared and almost stop instead of merge..

https://goo.gl/maps/eMBMSygHHEHegehe6

And I look back and the racer is literally 20 car lengths behind me. I set cruise at 70mph in the middle lane and made it home before it started raining....

[r0tor]

When I drive around with the g-meter up displayed on the Alfa you get a pretty clear indication of how little people actually understand the limits of an average modern car.

An average driver is maintaining < 0.3gs on a turn.  Enthusiastic drivers seem to be pulling maybe 0.4-0.5gs.  It's rare to find anyone that will hang with you at >0.8 g which almost any car these days can pull.

My record is 1.01 gs....

[veeman]

When I drive around with the g-meter up displayed on the Alfa you get a pretty clear indication of how little people actually understand the limits of an average modern car.

An average driver is maintaining < 0.3gs on a turn.  Enthusiastic drivers seem to be pulling maybe 0.4-0.5gs.  It's rare to find anyone that will hang with you at >0.8 g which almost any car these days can pull.

My record is 1.01 gs....

I agree however it's good the average driver doesn't get anywhere near those limits you are though.  Also those limits drop precipitously when it's wet outside and I wouldn't trust an average driver to understand that morning dew means the roads are damp.  Plus you probably do a quick check of all 4 tires daily.  Average driver doesn't. 

[giant_mtb]

Plus you probably do a quick check of all 4 tires daily.  Average driver doesn't.

True that. I detailed a Subaru yesterday, the tires looked a bit low on air...sure enough they were all at around 17psi, so basically half of where they're supposed to be.

[r0tor]

Can you imagine how much better fuel economy could be had if average cars were designed around average drivers - a return of <200 width rubber and far less performance

[Eye of the Tiger]

Can you imagine how much better fuel economy could be had if average cars were designed around average drivers - a return of <200 width rubber and far less performance

No shit, but everyone wants their cars to look like Hot Wheels.

[AutobahnSHO]

True that. I detailed a Subaru yesterday, the tires looked a bit low on air...sure enough they were all at around 17psi, so basically half of where they're supposed to be.

[AutobahnSHO]

When I drive around with the g-meter up displayed on the Alfa you get a pretty clear indication of how little people actually understand the limits of an average modern car.

An average driver is maintaining < 0.3gs on a turn.  Enthusiastic drivers seem to be pulling maybe 0.4-0.5gs.  It's rare to find anyone that will hang with you at >0.8 g which almost any car these days can pull.

My record is 1.01 gs....

I think the Torque app can measure lateral or acceleration Gs.  I should check it out!

The tires on Scrappy now are pretty cheap all-seasons. They're noticeably less corner confident than the almost-bald ones they replaced. Much less contact surface, as the old ones were still aired properly and worn evenly, almost like racing slicks.