you are right about everything except about what you said about trucks. in a truck you feel like you are going slower than you actually are because you are further from the road, so the movement is less. the closer you are to the road the faster you "feel" like you're going. don't believe me? then hang your head out of the door and look at the pavement...it'll feel like you're doing 100mph when you're doing about 30mph.

anyway, he is right...the more control the car has, the slower it "feels." get into a car with terrible suspension, etc., and you will "feel" like you're going faster. that's why modded cars feel faster than our stock cars when in fact they're slower. the mods take them above the hp they were designed for, so you feel more out of control. our cars were designed for high hp, etc., so that's why we don't feel as fast. if you put our engine into an old 66 mustang, you would think it was the fastest car known to man, due to the crappy suspension, etc. that's why those old cars felt so fast...they had big engines, but those engines were actually LESS powerful than the one we have in our GTs. however our suspension is so much better, that we "feel" slower and have a tougher time roasting the tires.

anyway, it's all about perception...mod your car with 4.10s, cai/tune, and you'll "feel" faster and more out of control, i'm sure of it.

 

Yeah I agree with the truck thing.... the higher up the less of an angle your seeing the road...but I probably was thinking that way cause of the usually bouncy / tip over feeling a truck has.... so I take back the height thing... which if you take that idea to the extreme think of how slow an airplane feels when way up in the air vs take off/ landing....

props....

 

Have you ever casually taken off from a light with a bunch of cars and looked in the rearview mirror and wondered why they were a quarter mile behind you. I look down at the speedo and I'm doing 65 in a 45 zone. I have not gotten used to it in 9 months of driving this car. I recently rode in a '66 Mustang with a built 289 that was at about 430 RWHP. He was out to give me a scare and really tried. This thing had so much torque and grip it felt unbelievably fast. And it wasn't because he had a sloppy suspension. It was very harsh and set up for road racing. I think the main feeling of speed was the grip that it had along with the acceleration. If you are spinning your wheels you don't get the push in the back. He came up to his turns 2 or 3 times faster and further than I would do and he was able to negotiate them without tire squeal. Its all about the G forces exerted on your body.

My conclusion from that ride was that grippy tires as well as a tight suspension are critical to the feeling of speed. A few rattles and squeaks helped too.

 

ugh happens to me way too much.

i meant more talking about making the car feel fast in acceleration, rather than just like your going really fast while staying at a constant speed.

my theory:

stiffer engine mounts, to get more of the vibration/violence of the engine to you.
louder exhaust, for obvious reasons.
lower/stiffer suspension.......closer to the road, feel more bumps, more violence
lower control arms
4.30's

 

im 6'3 and 175 lbs!!!!

 

wanna feel fast, spend your driving years in an suv, then get a mustang. thats a change, and i love it.

 

I dont know. It feels about right to me. Actually better,

Not to bash my own car, but........

A paltry 281 cubic inches, with only 320 ft lbs hauling around 3400lbs. That is not quite what I would call scary. But thats me.

 

Gears and good D/Rs will put you in the seat!After that its FI or NO2!American Muscle, youve been in my car with gears,crappy tires & a 75 shot and seen what it was like.Now Im hittin that b!tch with a 125 shot & have NITTOs(555r).She really lets ya feel it now!Ill take ya for another ride this Friday night.

 

Lets not forget horsepower and tq. Are cars are pretty close w/ 300hp and 320 ft pds of tq. If we had only 240ft pds of tq and 300hp, are cars would "feel" faster at wot because we can feel the power pick up. I remever when i let my buddy drive my Gt (comparing it to his old 300zx twin turbo) i remeber him saying: "man this cars fast; but it doesnt feel as fast because there power right away. Unlike a twin turbo where it needs to spool up."

Or even the other way around w/ those older cars that just have tq and no hp. they feel fast down low but not up top.

 

I also know that cars I ride as a passenger in feel different than the car I am driving.

I've been in some fairly slow cars that felt fast because I wasn't the one driving. When I am driving I already know when, where, and how hard my car is going to pull at any given position on my power band, speed, or gear. I anticipate the response of the car and therefore it doesn't really surprise me.

When I drag race I really don't feel the speed at all, and that is when I am pushing my car the hardest. I am focused on paying attention to how my wheels are holding traction after launch, when to shift, shifting properly, keeping the car straight. When I am doing that I never really notice how hard I am being pushed into my seat.

None of that happens when I am a passenger in another car so I can feel the car accelerate. without paying attention to other factors.