St. Pete (was RE: [rescue] Sun Ray Thoughts?)

[Kurt Huhn]

>
>   Nope, I'm thinking CORvette.  I've driven about ten of them.  Lots of
> pickup, but I've built scrap wood go-karts with lawnmower engines that
> handled better.
>

Ah.  Never driven a corvette - but I've always heard they handled great -
especially the newer models.  I'll defer to your judgement though...

> > I used to own a Ford Taurus with some pretty heavy performance mods.
After
> > buying my truck, I realized that I would have to *seriously* rethink my
> > driving style.  Those things can move in a straight line very quickly
when
> > needed, but do _not_ stop or turn well at all!
>
>   There's a huge amount of emphasis placed on outright HORSEPOWER in
> the semi-serious side of the automotive industry.  Handling and
> balance are just as important, and in some instances, more so.
>
>   The measure of a car is more than just the horses under the hood, in
> the same way that the measure of a computer is more than just the
> processor's clock speed.
>

True.  My taurus used to outperform all manner of cars - and it had a total
of 165ft-lb and 165hp at the  front wheel.  Admitedly, that's a little
anemic by modern standards - but the sum of serious handling mods, shift
kit, Eagle HP tires, and driver that's a former circle-track participant,
made for one helluva package.

My truck has had a couple mods (mostly exhaust) that boost it to an
estimated 350ft-lb and 265hp.  It makes it to 60 in about 9.4 seconds.  That
not exactly tearing up the road - until you consider that that's about 4500
pounds moving that fast.  Sheer mass dictates cornering performance, but
Dodge really helped that with anti-sway bars and whatnot - especially in
models with the HeavyDuty options, like mine has.  Tires make all the
difference, too.

Of course, I have plans to boost torque up over 400ft-lb and HP to over 300.
All that, because I have to haul around some pretty heavy trailers from time
to time - not because I'm looking to tear up the street.  The truck just
doesn't do all that well when you get over 85 - dirty air gets into the bed
and the rear end starts to "float".  Makes it interesting in cross-winds....

Kurt