daily driving fun cars

turbotalon1g · 11-09-2012

I drove mine to work and its so stressful because I can't just jump in it and drive, i had to bring the laptop too and I'm listening for any kind of sound that isn't normal.

Is this just a car guy thing or a DSM thing?
Because if its a DSM thing then I'm getting rid of it and getting something V8 powered.

I was thinking that its old and why it might have issues and something newer wouldn't be so bad.

**Kracka** · 11-09-2012

Old and modified is never a good thing if you're looking for a reliable stress-free DD.

A//// Guy · 11-09-2012

Mind that my fun cars weren't "fast." But I never worried about being stranded with my M3 or my other modded Audi. Just depends on the kind of car and how far you take the mods...

C3L1CA · 11-09-2012

I used to daily my old 2g when that was making pretty good power wthout any worries. Wasn't really stressful but I always did have a spare set of plugs in the glove box, oil, coolant and tools with me if that says anything lol

Also if I was far away from home I wouldn't do 1-2-3-4 gear pulls in it, just simple 3rd gear pulls.

I would think listening for noises would be any car guy that is pushing his luck with a stock motor or just in general beating on it.

carltalon · 11-09-2012

I am always a little more stressed driveing my "fun car" to work. Like you said always listining for weird sounds and smelling weird smells etc. The more I drive my car the more comfortable I feel. I think it would be the same with anything modifyed because its always in the back of your mind that the car has been taken apart/ messed with. You just have to drive the car more so it can prove its self and you can get used to driveing it all the time.

**Tachyon** · 11-09-2012

I think it's a little of both, but chiefly an old car thing.

I use to actually get more 'excitement' out of driving my old turd because at any moment it would randomly suffer catastrophic failure. It was the sort of rush you would get from playing russian roulette, I'd wager.

Over the course of a few years, every single mechanical OEM part has been replaced and the car is rock solid, and because of such, no longer a stressful driving experience.

Long story short, I'd say it's the same with any old performance car - it takes years to get them solved. It would be a lot easier starting with a newer platform that was designed for more power.

Depends on your personality, I guess.

**JET** · 11-09-2012

It just depends on how far you are pushing the car. The farther you push it to the limit the more finicky it will be, that goes for any car. I think a big part of your issue is that you don't trust the car yet either. Once you get everything set good and have put a few thousand miles on it trouble free, then you won't feel like that.

600whp on a 4 cylinder is going to be much more stressful to drive than 800whp on a TT LS2.

**scheides** · 11-09-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by JET

600whp on a 4 cylinder is going to be much more stressful to drive than 800whp on a TT LS2.

IDK, I have been putting a *LOT* of miles on my X (only 599whp dynojet, sigh) and while it does have problems here and there, if I make sure to be proactive and quick fixing them it is fine. I do listen for strange noises whenever I drive it but I'm not overly concerned with them 100% of the time. The thing is stout and reliable, gets me to work and back and everywhere inbetween.

**JET** · 11-09-2012

I am definitely not saying it can't be done, just saying that the same power level in a car with a much bigger engine is usually more reliable. There are many examples of it being done reliably, but a corvette doing it is childs play for example.

**Murlo26** · 11-09-2012

Despite my fun car being very rock solid for the last few months DD'ing (I did almost 10k miles this summer, 60 miles a day when I drove to work), I am glad I have a new car now.

It was really getting to me having to drive it so much because like you said, it takes more thought to drive it and troubleshoot if things are wrong.

Now that I have a normal car again, i just hop in and go and its quiet (i can hear people on my cell phone again) and comfy and nice with an automatic.

DD'ing fun cars are fun for only so long, then what you once loved becomes a bit of a chore. I think I will love the evo even more next year when I only drive it on weekends and nice days and not my long ass commute to work.

**Goat Blower** · 11-09-2012

Yeah, I'm a happy camper driving my Tahoe everyday, I don't worry about a thing, change the oil and basic stuff, but just drive without a worry. Even though my GSX has been pretty reliable over the years for the power levels, I definitely don't have the same comfort level as a stock newer car.

93gtpeater · 11-09-2012

G35x supercharged or turbo would be a very fun dd. I love my maxima but the next car I buy will be a g35x manual. I love the vq motors. I think its a car guy thing when we hear any noise we start to wonder whats up.

turbotalon1g · 11-09-2012

I think it's more along with what you guys are saying and it's what I've been thinking.
I don't really drive this car that much and therefore don't trust it as much as my old DSM.

My old 5 spd, i would only take the laptop if i knew i had to change the tune or was going to race it.
That car saw 30k miles every summer did TX to MN, MN to OK a bunch of times and I let a lot of people drive that car, and I mean here are my keys see you tomorrow, drive and never thought about it.

Another issue I think is the changing blends of E85.

Thanks for your opinions, also I realize that I'd have to have something with this much power to consider it fun, changing lanes with 380whp is way more fun than 110whp (if i'm lucky)

**Goat Blower** · 11-09-2012

Thinking back, I did have an Evo and a couple of STi's as my dailies for a while and I hated them, I ended up picking up an S60R because my STi made my kidneys ache driving down 100 through Edina. The young guys probably don't mind driving a canyon carver daily, but it's not for me after driving a lot of comfortable stuff over the years.

**Murlo26** · 11-09-2012

For most of us on this forum I think the level of a car that is described as a "fun car" requires lots of money to be reliable and comfy (aka mercedes v8 type car) as it needs like 500hp lol.

Not a lot of cars come reasonably priced that provide my evo performance with comfort, which is why we love evos/dsms because they are pure performance, no extra crap.

So I bought another car with extra crap and no performance to balance it out!

turbotalon1g · 11-09-2012

I'd just need 400/400 in most things for it to be fun.

Got a ride in a C5 vette that was about that power level and it was comfy and fun as shit.

**Murlo26** · 11-09-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbotalon1g

I'd just need 400/400 in most things for it to be fun.

Got a ride in a C5 vette that was about that power level and it was comfy and fun as shit.

A corvette is a solid car, I love my dads c6, still wouldn't consider it comfy though, better than any mitsu for comfort but still not comfy in conventional terms. They are relatively reliable though but not practical for winter, so still not a DD imo, not in MN.

**Goat Blower** · 11-09-2012

After our last trip to Slippery Falls, I realize I'd rock a CTS-V. Run low 11's and drive in comfort everyday.

turbotalon1g · 11-09-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murlo26

A corvette is a solid car, I love my dads c6, still wouldn't consider it comfy though, better than any mitsu for comfort but still not comfy in conventional terms. They are relatively reliable though but not practical for winter, so still not a DD imo, not in MN.

FYI AWD isn't the end all for everything, i know some evo/dsm/suby guys have a hard time believing this.

**Tachyon** · 11-09-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murlo26

I think I will love the evo even more next year when I only drive it on weekends and nice days and not my long ass commute to work.

I agree with this approach. While everyone is different, I find that saving the fun car for recreational driving leads to a much fuller experience.

I had to DD my talon for two weeks when my commuter went down this spring. By the end of the two weeks, I was really board of the car (satisfied by need for speed in the first few days) and could only focus on the drivability issues.

If a car is build for performance, and only use that performance for a limited mount of the time you are in it, the whole situation seems sub-optimal.