if your lucky, if not.. funeral bills

^^+1

If you race on the street you are a street racer, let's not mince words. And street racing = epic fail. I did it once, one time, as a nub before coming to my senses and never doing it again - thank goodness nothing happened. Remember, all it takes is one time. Props to EMC for posting this thread.

EMC is just some dingleberry that wanted people to think he know what he was talking about so he wrote my bio and then posted his name out on it.!
haha, fastest car on the planet (1990 berretta)
actually suprisingling enough, i own a 3000 AND a stealth (TT) and the fastest i've driven was in the berretta. doesn't really make sence hu?

EMC, thank you for putting this up. Everyone that I have ever met that is into
cars seems to think that horsepower is everything.

Case and point. When I was talking to a few of my applicants about my Eclipse
that Calin bought me for Christmas, one ran up to me and rattled off to me
all of this stuff that I am just going to have to do to it to make it sick and wrong.

(IMG:http://forums.megadeth.com/images/smilies/shakehead.gif)

I have no genuine need for that kind of speed. All I need is a car that I look great
in getting to and from work. That every once in a while I can be a little Motopsycho
in. That when ever I need to just get away, I can get behind the wheel and just
drive. That is all. Nothing fancy. The most I would even plan on doing is MAYBE
turbo. MAYBE.

Thank you once again EMC. This is a really excellent post!

Just read this and now im going to be more cautious and make sure my lateral arms are good. and i also know alot of people that think Horsepower is everything. my friend owns a 1989(i think) 5.0L HE mustang and at the dyno it was about 550HP. which i think is insane. on a eclipse anything more then 350hp is more then enough for me i dont race i just like to have it to drive around, maybe go to the track everyonce in a while. but yea thanks for posting this EMC and thanks pwee for adding.

I've done this... it sucks.

I just read through every post in this. And you know what, I realized something: I'm a dumbshit.

I learned to drive on an '04 Ford Taurus SES with a 200HP Duratec 30. It was an automatic, and I loved to floor it at a light and feel the tires chirp as it struggled for grip. Now, I drive a 120HP Lancer OZ. Is it fast? Hell no. Do I wish it was faster? Hell yes. But for me, much as I'd love to have tons of power, I can't afford it. For the cost of really getting POWER, I could buy a car that is faster stock. I know this, I acknowledge this. But I still love to floor my car down a highway. I like feeling the car say, "don't f*ckin' do this Sam..." as I near the rev limiter at the top end. I know its bad for my car, that its dangerous, etc. And when I'm in traffic, or on a city/suburban street, I don't push that hard. If I'm doin' between 35-40, I'm happy. Yes, sometimes I've done 40 in a 25, but I know that I would probably be going faster in a faster car.

Its not horsepower that matters. No matter how little or how much you have, its driver skill that matters. EMC, I'd bet that you were on a track and pushing slightly on that Supra. In fact, I think that you probably have the skill to drive it and have grip in first. Because you've been driving for a long time. You know how to control a car. Me? Assuming I didn't stall out that Supra, I'd have FOUND a wall to hit, no matter how open the track was. Because I have (painful though it is to say) very little driving skill.

Do I want a fast, RWD/AWD car next? Yes. Do I think I could handle it now? Maybe. But after all, there is a reason insurance SUCKS for a 19yr old. We're expected to be douches and crash a lot. Its a sad fact of life.

I will try my best to never be a douche on the road. Maybe, that way, I'll end up as wise as some of you.

Really an AWD is better in all aspects, low end acceleration (not so much on high end for a comparable rwd car), stability, safety, etc... However they require a lot more care.

That may just be an opinion, but it's something to think about.