"Best handling" car(or truck) you have owned????
#1
Lexus Champion
Thread Starter
"Best handling" car(or truck) you have owned????
So far I've owned, in order:
1991 Buick Regal sedan with the 3.8 V6
1990 Seville STS
1999 Camaro Z28, auto
1991 Cadillac Brougham
1998 Camaro Z28, stick
1995 Cadillac Fleetwood
1993 Toyota truck, 2wd, stick(still own)
1992 Lexus SC300, stick(still own)
Now you might laugh, but of all those cars I've owned, the 93 Toyota truck has been the most fun to drive, if you push it on a curvy road. Next best was that 91 Cadillac Brougham with the stiff suspension trailer tow package. Both of those were on skinny 14" and 15" tires, respectively.
Granted, I love my 92 Lexus SC. It has more grip than those cars above. The steering is tighter, more direct, I will say it handles WAY better than the 91 Caddy and the Toyota truck. Same thing with both of those Camaros, the steering was rather "numb" but turn in was immediate, and the limits were much higher, which they should be considering how damn fast those cars were in a straight line. The 95 Caddy was a float-mobile, it rolled onto its door handles and felt like you were turning a battleship, even with 255/40/R17 tires on stock suspension.
You might laugh, but that 93 2wd pickup at 2600lbs with its skinny 14" tires is a riot. Granted you aren't going very fast until you reach terminal understeer in a corner, but man its so tossable. Same thing with that 4100lb Cadillac Brougham with the trailer tow package. You got stiff shocks/springs and fat roll bars on each end, that thing had stupid light steering, but yet I've hussled it through tight roads and kept up with Miatas and Porsche Boxster drivers who didn't know how to ****ing drive lol. Granted the brakes were smoking after the first outing(I got some better front rotors/pads, and rebuilt the rear drums after that).
1991 Buick Regal sedan with the 3.8 V6
1990 Seville STS
1999 Camaro Z28, auto
1991 Cadillac Brougham
1998 Camaro Z28, stick
1995 Cadillac Fleetwood
1993 Toyota truck, 2wd, stick(still own)
1992 Lexus SC300, stick(still own)
Now you might laugh, but of all those cars I've owned, the 93 Toyota truck has been the most fun to drive, if you push it on a curvy road. Next best was that 91 Cadillac Brougham with the stiff suspension trailer tow package. Both of those were on skinny 14" and 15" tires, respectively.
Granted, I love my 92 Lexus SC. It has more grip than those cars above. The steering is tighter, more direct, I will say it handles WAY better than the 91 Caddy and the Toyota truck. Same thing with both of those Camaros, the steering was rather "numb" but turn in was immediate, and the limits were much higher, which they should be considering how damn fast those cars were in a straight line. The 95 Caddy was a float-mobile, it rolled onto its door handles and felt like you were turning a battleship, even with 255/40/R17 tires on stock suspension.
You might laugh, but that 93 2wd pickup at 2600lbs with its skinny 14" tires is a riot. Granted you aren't going very fast until you reach terminal understeer in a corner, but man its so tossable. Same thing with that 4100lb Cadillac Brougham with the trailer tow package. You got stiff shocks/springs and fat roll bars on each end, that thing had stupid light steering, but yet I've hussled it through tight roads and kept up with Miatas and Porsche Boxster drivers who didn't know how to ****ing drive lol. Granted the brakes were smoking after the first outing(I got some better front rotors/pads, and rebuilt the rear drums after that).
#2
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (3)
1992 Integra GS - totaled
1993 Integra LS-S w/ Type-R swap
1992 Civic Si w/ LS/Vtec
1992 Sentra SE-R
1995 200sx SE-R
1989 Supra turbo
1995 G20t
1999 G20t
2000 G20t
1995 200sx SE-R w/ VVL swap
2006 GS300 - totaled
2002 GS300
1999 Solara V6 5spd
Best handling car is a toss up between my 95 G20t and the 99 G20t...main reason is becasue I did the most suspension work to these cars (was following a lot of DTM racing back then). The Integra with the Type-R swap was the funnest though, nothing like having a Type-R motor, even the LS/Vtec stood no chance against it.
Supra was fun but heavy as hell to really enjoy. My SE-R with the VVL swap now is similar to the Type-R in excitement but handling isn't all that to me.
Most enjoyable car is the GS300, nothing like a smooth luxury car to roam the streets when ready. Pump gas, change oil and drive operation for the most part...and with the way I drive it, lucky to get 5 full-ups for the year
1993 Integra LS-S w/ Type-R swap
1992 Civic Si w/ LS/Vtec
1992 Sentra SE-R
1995 200sx SE-R
1989 Supra turbo
1995 G20t
1999 G20t
2000 G20t
1995 200sx SE-R w/ VVL swap
2006 GS300 - totaled
2002 GS300
1999 Solara V6 5spd
Best handling car is a toss up between my 95 G20t and the 99 G20t...main reason is becasue I did the most suspension work to these cars (was following a lot of DTM racing back then). The Integra with the Type-R swap was the funnest though, nothing like having a Type-R motor, even the LS/Vtec stood no chance against it.
Supra was fun but heavy as hell to really enjoy. My SE-R with the VVL swap now is similar to the Type-R in excitement but handling isn't all that to me.
Most enjoyable car is the GS300, nothing like a smooth luxury car to roam the streets when ready. Pump gas, change oil and drive operation for the most part...and with the way I drive it, lucky to get 5 full-ups for the year
#3
Lexus Champion
2006 C6 coupe w/stick great car
2004 C5 coupe w/stick great car
2008 Mini Cooper S w/stick rattle trap, roughest riding
1990 Acura Integra w/stick
1984 C4 coupe w/stick horrible car reliability wise.
manual tranny makes a car MUCH more fun to drive and connected to the driver!
2004 C5 coupe w/stick great car
2008 Mini Cooper S w/stick rattle trap, roughest riding
1990 Acura Integra w/stick
1984 C4 coupe w/stick horrible car reliability wise.
manual tranny makes a car MUCH more fun to drive and connected to the driver!
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#10
The best yet including the Porsche's I've owned is my current 2014 Vette Stingray . I've never had a car this glued to the road before, a real joy to drive. I've done some things that would have really scared me in previous cars, but I think I may have only gone to 70% so far. Can't wait till the Corvette Museum's new track opens next summer, maybe I'll have a chance to take her up there for a 'stroll'
#11
Lexus Test Driver
Join Date: May 2005
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87 BMW 325 (E30) - traded for GS
99 Lexus GS400 - sold
00 Honda S2000 - traded for A4
06 Lexus RX400h - traded for GLK
07 Audi A4 Cabriolet 2.0T - sold
92 Lexus SC400 - sold
1997 Toyota Supra Turbo (current)
2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 (current)
2001 Honda Prelude (current)
2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster (current)
Best handling car = S2000, hands down, but my GS400 was the best luxury cruiser...it just drove so smooth. The Supra feels like a big boat under 4k rpms, the Aston pulls but also feels like a boat at the same.
99 Lexus GS400 - sold
00 Honda S2000 - traded for A4
06 Lexus RX400h - traded for GLK
07 Audi A4 Cabriolet 2.0T - sold
92 Lexus SC400 - sold
1997 Toyota Supra Turbo (current)
2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 (current)
2001 Honda Prelude (current)
2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster (current)
Best handling car = S2000, hands down, but my GS400 was the best luxury cruiser...it just drove so smooth. The Supra feels like a big boat under 4k rpms, the Aston pulls but also feels like a boat at the same.
#12
Out of Warranty
We have to look at cars in their own eras. Hands down the best-handling car I ever owned was a '72 Opel. That was then, this is now. The Opel's .73g on the skidpad was pretty amazing for its day - it was the "Rallye" model that benifited by slightly larger sway bars and a lower ratio rear end - a 3.67:1 final drive versus 3.44:1, although it was saddled with stock rims and cheap tires. Car & Driver noted it "stuck like lint to a navy blue blazer" and within a year the marque was the foundation of the Showroom Stock Sedan Series in the SCCA. Opel and Ford's Capri pretty well owned that class for the first two years.
Opel would beat out the Capri and Toyota's new Celica in Road & Track's comparos, as well as the rotary-engined MX-3 and the Chevy Vega (being WAY down the list somewhere) in a C&D comparison. C&D also commended Opel for being "uncommonly well engineered for its price" (initially a reasonable $2490). "It's German in the same way Porsche's and BMW's are German...the Teutonic automotive know-how is...there. The engine has manners. It whirs like a BMW and never shakes. The suspension is German too...The ride is well controlled and the car never floats or wallows."
Because it's cheap 2ply (French made) Goodyears had a load rating of only 850 pounds, I had to swap them for somewhat larger Sears (made by Michelin) tires with nearly double the load rating. The difference in handling was amazing. Why Buick ever imported Opels with bias ply tires is simply beyond me. The difference was good for another 10 mph entry speed on my favorite decreasing-radius offramp. Steering was so well balanced that you could flick the rear end out and catch it at will - although considering the realities of its power/weight ratio, you couldn't explore this characteristic extensively on a dry road, you'd eventually grind off speed.
The secret of the Opel's handling was low weight, a zingy cam-in-head 1.9 L four ahead of a slick 4-speed driven through the most positive yet forgiving clutch in the industry. While the skidpad numbers were good, the actual handling on the road was far better . . . so much so that by the end of 1972 the Opel was banned from Showroom Stock. It had literally won every event in which it was entered.
Opel would beat out the Capri and Toyota's new Celica in Road & Track's comparos, as well as the rotary-engined MX-3 and the Chevy Vega (being WAY down the list somewhere) in a C&D comparison. C&D also commended Opel for being "uncommonly well engineered for its price" (initially a reasonable $2490). "It's German in the same way Porsche's and BMW's are German...the Teutonic automotive know-how is...there. The engine has manners. It whirs like a BMW and never shakes. The suspension is German too...The ride is well controlled and the car never floats or wallows."
Because it's cheap 2ply (French made) Goodyears had a load rating of only 850 pounds, I had to swap them for somewhat larger Sears (made by Michelin) tires with nearly double the load rating. The difference in handling was amazing. Why Buick ever imported Opels with bias ply tires is simply beyond me. The difference was good for another 10 mph entry speed on my favorite decreasing-radius offramp. Steering was so well balanced that you could flick the rear end out and catch it at will - although considering the realities of its power/weight ratio, you couldn't explore this characteristic extensively on a dry road, you'd eventually grind off speed.
The secret of the Opel's handling was low weight, a zingy cam-in-head 1.9 L four ahead of a slick 4-speed driven through the most positive yet forgiving clutch in the industry. While the skidpad numbers were good, the actual handling on the road was far better . . . so much so that by the end of 1972 the Opel was banned from Showroom Stock. It had literally won every event in which it was entered.
Last edited by Lil4X; 12-25-13 at 04:22 AM.
#15
Lexus Champion
Top 3:
1986 Toyota MR2
2014 Lexus IS350 (currently own)
1988 Toyota Corolla GT-S Coupe
1986 Toyota MR2
2014 Lexus IS350 (currently own)
1988 Toyota Corolla GT-S Coupe