Driving Slow Cars Fast
There's a great discussion going on in this comments thread regarding the old saying, "It's more fun to go fast in a slow car than slow in a fast car." David Drucker wrote a great article on this subject at The Truth About Cars, and I can attest to its truth.
I've never driven a true exotic, but I've driven some very fast cars, of which the fastest were probably a recent Pontiac GTO and an Audi S4. Both of those cars provide perception-bending acceleration and road-holding--capabilities so far beyond mine that they gave me the same heady, breathless rush provided by the most modern and extreme roller coasters. Make no mistake, driving fast cars fast is a good time.
But the thing is, the most fun I've ever had behind the wheel came with a 1981 Honda Prelude. The Prelude in question was, at the time, about 15 years old, had roughly 150,000 miles on it, and was in a slowly crumbling state of repair. It's engine, never powerful, buzzed so much that various loose interior plastic pieces vibrated in sympathy. The manual transmission linkage was so loose that it was almost impossible to tell what, if any, gear it was in.
None of that mattered. That Prelude and I had about 45 minutes of glory together, three-quarters of an hour of the best, most involved, most thrilling driving I've ever experienced. That abused, scabrous Prelude was the Ginger Rogers to my Fred Astaire.
The Prelude actually belonged to a friend of mine (the Nissan Maxima owner). One weekend, we got together with a mutual friend (the Chevy Z-24 owner), and jammed ourselves and our bulky backpacks into the back of the Prelude in preparation for a weekend of backpacking. Two hours later, we arrived at the trailhead, only to be dampened both physically and psychologically by a steady, gray drizzle.
After about 15 minutes of staring morosely throughout the windshield, we decided to bag the hike and drive to a nearby town where we could get a hotel and a hot meal. In this case, "nearby" meant a drive through roughly 50 miles of sinuous mountain roads that featured exhilarating elevation changes and a cornucopia of corners, all featuring wildly different degrees of banking, radii, and traction. The other guys were tired and settled in to take a nap, so I was appointed the driver.
After a few minutes of cruising to acclimate myself to the Prelude, I began to probe its limits. Despite its modest adhesion and lack of power, the Prelude was unbelievably willing. Its loose steering seemed to tighten up as I carried more speed through the corners, and its primitive and gutless engine zinged happily up to its low redline. The shifter still had all the precision of a butter knife in a peanut butter jar, but all of a sudden it just felt right.
Even now, more than a decade later, I can't claim to have ever driven better than I did that day. The Prelude and I found a rhythm out at the edge of adhesion that I've never been able to capture again. I'd trail-brake into a decreasing-radius corner, finesse the brakes and accelerator to kick the tail slightly out, clip the apex, and then steer with the throttle and add some opposite lock while blasting out of the corner. That Prelude made me feel like the reincarnation of Gilles Villeneuve.
That was a narrow, tight road, and I can't imagine anybody covering that distance more quickly than we did. As completely wonderful as an Audi S4 is, it would have felt clunky and muscle-bound on that road, like a Formula 1 car on an indoor go-kart track. The Prelude, when taken to its limits, was completely in its element.
Every transcendental moment must eventually lapse into banal normalcy, and so it proved in this case. Eventually my derring-do woke my friends, and they very loudly confirmed another truism--that fast driving is never as fun for passengers as it is for the driver. We eventually made it to the town, had a hot meal, and booked a hotel. Life returned to its normal progression.
None of this means that I'd rather own an old Prelude than a new Audi S4. But even now, more than a decade later, my favorite automotive moment of all time involves the Prelude, not any of the fancier cars I've been fortunate enough to drive.
I'll restate the original premise--driving fast is fun; driving at the limit is fantastic.
--Chris H.
Steve on April 17, 2008 at 07:24 PM
I used to own a Chrysler Valiant (not a US Valiant but an Australian Valiant, which looked much like http://www.lhmopars.com/Visitors_Rides_Images/1970_VG_Valiant.jpg ) of approx. 1970 vintage... and on a somewhat twisty hill near where I lived when I was about 18 I regularly got it to unbelievably dangerous speeds and often at night.
Big Chris on April 17, 2008 at 08:01 PM
The GTO out performed that Mercedes (585 I think) that you picked us up in? That Mercedes had gobs of power that had your (then) pregnant wife and my wife not been in the car I would've been cheering you on (with no promise to pay any tickets) to explore!
Big Chris
Rob the SVX guy on April 17, 2008 at 08:04 PM
This is why I love my 98hp 1989 Accord. I hit 264,000 miles with it this week, on a small roadtrip. It's a great car. I drive the car to its limits on a daily basis. And honestly, I could NOT drive newer performance cars at the speed I do my accord. Why? Milwaukee's roads are complete and total garbage. If I tried to go around corners as fast as I do in my accord with something new like an RX8 or GTO, I would definitely probably bend a rim. The accord's 14" wheels with tall sidewalls don't seem to mind too much, but so many newer 'performance' cars have such incredible performance, they sacrifice the ability to drive on normal, midwestern roads. If I lived in Cali, it'd be a different story. I get my SVX out of storage in a few days, and I'm honestly afraid to drive it, because I don't want to bend a rim or rip off my exhaust.
Mochi Mochi on April 18, 2008 at 12:18 AM
This is a great story Chris, and a beautiful follow up to all the conversations we've been having of late. Underlying cars and our love of them is an experience that transcends rudimentary transport from one location to another. The feel of driving a car that is "matched" to a road, and driving it well, is an something that lifts us out of normalcy and let's us experience a transcendent state. Focus shifts from all the things that cloud our minds: work, school, family, money, mortgage, responsibilities, bosses, and daily annoyances. We start to exist in the moment and be our natural selves doing what we enjoy. We find harmony with a set of boundary conditions: car and driver, tires and road, adhesion and drift, acceleration and braking. Martial arts, surfing, flying, meditation, driving - they all create a center of focused stillness and intensity. Now matter how active, no matter how fast, there is a core of calm and peace that comes with them.
When I started driving Formula Fords the experience was initially a blur. During the first days of driving my peripheral vision was gone. On fast straights I could only see what was dead ahead of me - complete tunnel vision from the speed. But as I worked and practiced my vision changed. A few days later I could see everything with utter clarity no matter how fast I was going. At triple digit speeds I could precisely locate a small crack in the tarmac from the edge of my vision. It seemed like time and space had undergone some kind of shift.
My Squareback was no performance car. The VW Type III did 16.2 sec 0-60. I have never experienced a car that had such an extreme case of under-steer - but I loved it and had some amazing driving experiences. The first time I was actually able to get it into a balanced over-steering drift on dry pavement felt like such an incredible accomplishment.
But you don't need to push a car to get to those transcendent states. When driving across country time stops being the factor by which events are measured. You reach a point where distance rules your understanding of time and space. You find yourself thinking, "It's been 1200 miles since I thought about that project at work", "It was 2000 miles ago that I was in a house", "I have 125 miles left on this tank of gas", "60 miles to the next gas station".
These moments are very special.
OldCarGuy on April 18, 2008 at 06:21 AM
Now you’ve touched on a car near and dear to my household. My wife is the original owner of a 1991 Prelude 2.0 Si. She likes it so well that for her Christmas gift a few years ago I had a very good body shop re-paint it, and I found a set of NOS alloy wheels (an option in ’91) to replace the plastic wheel covers that had badly deteriorated. The result was and is a very clean, sharp, nearly new looking 17-year-old Prelude, for which she regularly receives compliments and offers to buy. But she isn’t selling. She doesn’t like any new cars (aren’t I blessed?) and says she will drive it forever. And she loves the pop-up headlights. It’s rare to see a Prelude in good condition anymore, probably because they were bought relatively cheaply and “enthusiastically” driven by kids (ricers, tuners). For me, it harkens back to (but is a bit stronger, more refined version of) the “sport coupes” like the Capri that we’ve previously discussed and the Manta that I hope we discuss. Quick and nimble, fun to push near its limits, but easy to maintain and gas up. What’s not to like? I would prefer it to be rear-wheel-drive, but nothing’s perfect.
Mochi Mochi on April 18, 2008 at 08:08 AM
OldCarGuy, what a great present to give your wife! Hondas from the 80s and 90s produce a nearly irrational sense of attachment in their owners. Si models are particularly good at this. Part cuddly teddy-bear part, road racer... as you said "What’s not to like?" The AWS (All Wheel Steering) Models are incredibly rare and cool. On a recent trip up the 5, north of LA, I passed a bright red Prelude SI from about 91 - it was gorgeous.
Rob the SVX guy on April 18, 2008 at 08:33 AM
Heh. Oldcarguy, I bought my wife an 1989 Prelude Si with 4ws last summer. It's a BRILLIANT car, except for 5th gear. 5th gear is far too short, and makes highway travel somewhat obnoxious, but other than that, it is an amazing vehicle. I picked up mine for $1600 from a guy who stored it for 7 years in a heated garage, so it's pretty cherry, though last winter really took it's toll. It's already starting to rust. Are you doing anything to keep the cancer away? I'm almost considering storing the prelude and driving my SVX next winter, since my SVX already has some rust. Here's some pics, if anybody is interested:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3036526
OldCarGuy on April 18, 2008 at 12:10 PM
Mochi Mochi: “OldCarGuy, what a great present to give your wife! Hondas from the 80s and 90s produce a nearly irrational sense of attachment in their owners.”
Well, what can I say? Her Prelude’s paint was fairly badly oxidized from being outdoors nearly all its life, but other than that the car was in excellent condition. One day I asked if she would rather have something newer, perhaps with air bags for safety, and she said no way! Considering she had just “saved” me significant money, I thought I would thank her and her beloved Prelude by making her look better than new (the Prelude, that is).
Quality paint job: $2,600
NOS wheels: $500
Look on her face when she saw the completed project: Priceless.
Rob the SVX guy: “Oldcarguy, I bought my wife an 1989 Prelude Si with 4ws last summer. It's a BRILLIANT car, except for 5th gear. 5th gear is far too short, and makes highway travel somewhat obnoxious, but other than that, it is an amazing vehicle. I picked up mine for $1600 from a guy who stored it for 7 years in a heated garage, so it's pretty cherry, though last winter really took it's toll. It's already starting to rust. Are you doing anything to keep the cancer away?”
Rob, I knew we would find our common ground. :-) We don’t do that much interstate driving in it, but it has no trouble at the 70s to low 80s speeds that we might travel. Again, if I compare it to our old sport coupes it cruises the highway quite well. As for rust, it’s lived its entire life in the south – never seen highway salt. I can honestly say it has zero rust issues.
I looked at the photos of your wife’s Prelude – nice! You’ve inspired me to upload a photo. I hope this link works:
http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn124/4OURRIDES/Prelude/?action=view¤t=Prelude.jpg
OldCarGuy on April 18, 2008 at 12:16 PM
Sorry about that, let's try this:
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn124/4OURRIDES/Prelude/Prelude.jpg
Rob the SVX guy on April 18, 2008 at 03:17 PM
No, it can definitely go 80mph, I've taken mine up to 120mph on a few occasions... the problem is the revs. 5th gear is barely different from 4th, so if you're doing 70mph you're already turning 3700rpms. At 80mph, it's spinning at 4 grand. It's kind of ridiculous.
Your wife sounds like a pretty intelligent gal... late 80s early 90s hondas are amazing cars. They're efficient, they're small, they're well screwed together, reliable, and FUN TO DRIVE. I'm not sure if it's purely because they all have 4 wheel double wishbone suspension, or what, but driving them is FUN. In fact, I'd have to say I like driving the prelude is more fun than driving my SVX, excluding the highway.
Mochi Mochi on April 18, 2008 at 06:51 PM
Yeah it's the suspension. The unequal length suspension arms and very precisely designed geometry make all the hondas of this vintage superb handling machines with the potential to be incredible handling monsters. The previous generations were not quite as refined, BUT they were still great and a lot of fun. My experience with an 87si was wonderful. But 88 brought in a wave of brilliant changes to engine and suspension.
BTW Rob and OldCarGuy - your cars look wonderful. Makes me want one.
Personally I love the 5-speed closed ration si transmission. If you don't like it you can always swap in the normal DX gearbox, which has an overdrive 5th. They are fully interchangeable, and they don't even cost that much. A used or salvaged box should be pretty cheap.
A lot of people (yours truly included) were EXTREMELY PISSED OFF when Honda went back to MacPherson struts in the most recent generations of the civic chassis. ARE YOU LISTENING O-HONDA-SAMA? We want our racing suspension back and we want it back now.
Rob the SVX guy on April 19, 2008 at 01:10 AM
Mochi: Why not pick one up then? They're super affordable, reliable, easy to work on, and you can score one in amazing shape for a tad over 2 grand. I don't see the point of newer hondas. The old ones are better, and they all last forever anyways.
Mochi Mochi on April 20, 2008 at 09:52 AM
Rob : great minds think alike. I've got my eyes open - looking for a clean Si with 4WS :)
Cookie the Dog's Owner on April 20, 2008 at 07:32 PM
As I said in the '73 Cutlass discussion, driving 1960s-70s Detroit iron in Northeast Ohio snow teaches you a lot. We had battleship sedans with slushboxes and no limited-slip differentials. I learned to counter-steer into a skid real real fast.
Steaming Pile on April 21, 2008 at 08:00 AM
I wouldn't beat up my Scion out like that either. It's plenty tossable, but for some reason the people in Japan decided it ought to have 185 60R15 tires. Nice rubber, but try finding them anywhere other than your friendly neighborhood Scion dealer. It's hard, but not impossible. Still, the problem you cite with short tires and the resulting bent rims and such is also evident with slow but fun to drive newer cars.
Jon Hill on January 15, 2011 at 06:53 PM
Love this post!! I used to cane my 87 jetta and my 86 GTI and found it much more fun than trying to push my friend's Mustang...miss my GTI :*(
stanczyk on February 14, 2012 at 02:29 PM
Nice article ...
For me to praise "old clunkers in good condition" is worth trying ... :)
A little bit out of the Topic:
Observation of new car-models make me no thrills .. (new Lambo or Ferrari ?!? ... ugly and overdesigned ... )
.. and small city cars are the similar subject : they are heavy , and "try" to much to look good .. or even "muscular" ...
Old little cars has proper design: simple, not "pretentious" ...
...
PS:
I'm an owner of 1986 Renault 5 GTL (Le Car) .. and that is a little, cool machine : it weights below 900 KG , and it has 1,4 perky (65 BHP) engine .. and when it's warm :) .. it goes like crazy ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Q4f_Egwkk
France still can produce good sporty-cars :
CLIO RS (2.0L N/A - 200 BHP), or MEGANE RS ... :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5cVx6_5HcA