ultimate pro touring car discussion?

[Matt@BOS]

Originally Posted by Vegas69

This is the perfect thread for me to get something off my mind. It's my opinion that some are headed in the wrong direction in their thinking of building the "ideal" pro-touring car. One of the best things about my car is its ability to cruise in comfort on a lazy Sunday reliably and earn it's respect on the race track. Sometimes in the same day. I feel I've pushed my car about as far as I'd like. In most cases, a better race car means a compromise in the other arena. I'm sure alot of guys are wondering what the hell I'm talking about since they've never even turned the key in their project. I'll give you some examples.........
[LIST]
A full cage or partial that compromises your comfort of makes it unsafe without a helmet
No sound deadener to save weight(Rattles, overly noisy ride)
High spring rates to limit body roll(I went to coil overs and adjustable shocks to get rid of the leaf spring ride) My car rides so nice...
Simple functional systems of any car(door handles, hidden wiper motors, heater, stereo)
Race belts(Will you really wear a 5 point harness on the street?)
Fixed back seats[LIST]

There are many more that I'm guilty of in the drive to have a capable street and race car. Once a car is no fun to cruise, it's a race car and Pro-Touring is dead in my opinion. Maybe I'm taking it personal and feel it's all about the racing end of the spectrum. These are fair race cars. Hell, I ran within 5 seconds of that crazy Porsche super car on the road course at El Toro. My point is, the faster I get, their are choices that can be made that compromise the function of a pro-touring car.

What he said...
We're all talking about building cars that are great at everything and yet here we are going back and forth about the topic because its pretty impossible to make the ultimate, "I'm good at everything" car. Some cars are more race car, some more street car, and some are more show car. What is perfect for one person won't be for the next. For example, Bad Penny is straddling the line of being too much of a race car for me, but Steve is so madly in love with her that he can look passed her faults (i.e. climbing in and out, which is not easy) . Personally I'd rather have a car like the DSE '69 that is practically a beater with one hell of a suspension and drive train. On the other end of the spectrum towards show car, there's my Camaro. There are times I wish I could just leave it in a parking lot without worrying, or kill cones without guilt.

Matt

[coolwelder62]

My car is every thing you guys just talked about.No dyna mat,fixed back seats,full cage,big sway bars, stiff springs,super wide tires that follow every rut in the road, load exhaust,no A/C,no radio,chrome moly rod ends in the suspension,It's turned out just the way I wanted it. It's fun to drive,and w/ a good wheel man in it will hold it's own on the track Now I want to build a car that is what Todd has.Smooth & quiet ride,but yet able to kick butt at auto-x & track days.and look good at a show & shine,Get in it and drive it the whole power tour in 2011.A real pro-touring car is Jackass,or Brian Finches camaro. Those car finished in the top 5 at Optima in Nov. and they are drivien hundredes of miles on the roads.And looked good doing it.For me I would want Kyle Tuckers 70 camaro.I love everything about the car,chiped paint and all.Scott.

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by 69MSA

What he said...
We're all talking about building cars that are great at everything and yet here we are going back and forth about the topic because its pretty impossible to make the ultimate, "I'm good at everything" car. Some cars are more race car, some more street car, and some are more show car. What is perfect for one person won't be for the next. For example, Bad Penny is straddling the line of being too much of a race car for me, but Steve is so madly in love with her that he can look passed her faults (i.e. climbing in and out, which is not easy) . Personally I'd rather have a car like the DSE '69 that is practically a beater with one hell of a suspension and drive train. On the other end of the spectrum towards show car, there's my Camaro. There are times I wish I could just leave it in a parking lot without worrying, or kill cones without guilt.

Matt

"madly in love" is a bit strong.. lol

BUT, my last car was so street-rod that I wanted one a bit more in your face.. it's my play car, not my daily commuter so I don't mind the side bar or the firmer ride. I still think she rides nice and is a pleasure to drive. And yes, I wear my four-point harness even when I drive around town.

If there's a spectrum where 1 is a pure show car and 10 is a race car Penny falls at around 6.. use to be 7 before I put in the audio system

I wanted an edgy play car.. I got one.. but I think that if people start trying to build race cars in the guise of a street car then they won't be very happy, except maybe when they are on the race track.