Car (or bike) Chat!

[StanleyB]

All that power through the front wheels will give you some interesting tramlining and torque steer.

I have been driving standard and souped up Saab cars for about 18 years now, and once you have a LSD fitted, it drives perfectly OK.

[MartinT]

I have been driving standard and souped up Saab cars for about 18 years now, and once you have a LSD fitted, it drives perfectly OK.

Good to know!

[Marco]

Talking of fast estate cars as we were, does anyone remember the bonkers TWR Volvo T5 BTCC cars from the early 90's?

Mental... That must handle about as well as a shopping trolley!!

[Gromit]

Mental... That must handle about as well as a shopping trolley!!

Actually, the old 850 was a fine-handling car - Volvo finally 'got it' where decent driving dynamics were concerned and with a decent FWD chassis (as opposed to the live-axle horse carts of before) it was a damn nice motor. 'Car' magazine stated at the time something along the lines of 'we finally have a Volvo that's great to drive'.

The estate was used as it had better aero qualities than the saloon version, and of course showed us that the Swedes had a sense of humour.

[Marco]

Just don't get suckered into taking on a Saab 9-5 estate diesel. Some of them have been tuned to 400BHP, but look as docile as a turtle.

If you are having your car tuned up, consider adding LSD (limited slip differential), bigger brakes, and wider tires. I had to do all of that after I had my engine tuned up.

I've always loved Saabs. The sporty ones were rather underrated, IMO, with most folk opting instead for Beemers, Mercs and Audis. They were built like tanks and had fantastic engines. The turbos were superb! Sadly, however, a lot of the older ones will have lost a few of their 'gee-gees' with age (which happens with all cars), so the 400bhp you speak of will probably now be rather less...

Noted on the LSD, etc. The Merc will be getting the full BRABUS treatment (as applicable to my specific car), so along with engine tuning, all the other 'bits' that need to go along with it

For those of you unfamiliar with what Brabus tuning is about, here are a couple of vids to whet your appetite:









One day I will own that car (Rocket 800).... I just LURVE the total insanity of it!!

Marco.

[Marco]

Actually, the old 850 was a fine-handling car - Volvo finally 'got it' where decent driving dynamics were concerned and with a decent FWD chassis (as opposed to the live-axle horse carts of before) it was a damn nice motor. 'Car' magazine stated at the time something along the lines of 'we finally have a Volvo that's great to drive'.

The estate was used as it had better aero qualities than the saloon version, and of course showed us that the Swedes had a sense of humour.

Hehehehe, indeed... Fair enough on the handling thing. I just looks a little, shall we say, 'ungainly'!

Marco.

[MartinT]

Whereas AMGs are a gentleman's performance vehicle, Brabus are mad loon rocketships. I've seen a few in Germany. Subtle they aren't.

[Marco]

Lol - you're probably not wrong, but I just love the sheer insanity of the volcanic power they produce. My own car, of course, won't be anywhere near as 'brutal' (in every sense), as what is shown in the above vids!

Therefore, it will still retain the essence of a being a 'gentleman's performance vehicle/long-distance cruiser', but with a feral animal lurking underneath the hood...

Marco.

[synsei]

A mate of mine owns a Smart Roadster which has been breathed on by Brabus. Tiny engine plus big turbo equals lots of laggy fun, it's a bit of a handful in the wet though

[shane]

My favourite Brabus:




not forgetting when they put two Smart engines together to make a V6: