Exactly what the title says. Would you rather have a car that is a straight line beast, where if you took a turn you know you'd never make it out alive?
or would you rather have a car that can out handle anything on the track and streets, but seem a bit underpowered on a straightaway?


Personally I'd have the handling car.

Personally I'd have the handling car.

Exactly.

I said handling too but theirs probably more money to be made with the other one.

Kind of a broad question to ask... It depends how shitty the "straight-line" car handles, and how underpowered the "handling" car is. But I guess I would go for the straight line monster. Mainly because there is more fun to be hand on a day-to-day basis with one of those where I live. Plus the only racing I do is in a straight line...

I like getting up to speed fast, but being an enduro racer, I would have to say better handling just because there tends to be more skill involved, races last longer, and just plain gives more of a thrill IMO.

I voted for handling even though I like the powerful straight line performance, but I'd try and get something that could do both, maybe the new Lotus Exige S with the supercharged 1.8 Toyota engine.

On a side note, Gotian, you ran a 14.8 in your Jetta when it was stock?

On a side note, Gotian, you ran a 14.8 in your Jetta when it was stock?

no but I know about 5 guys who did. But we will see for me.
When I go I will change it to what I get.

well its mostly straight roads around here so id have to go with the monster of power, Though i like the skill of driving an underpowered car with perfect handiling better.

Staright line cars make better street cars then handling cars. i think there would just be more real world application in a straight line car since we find ourselves more easily going from light to light battles then we do running in crazy circles through ressidential neighborhoods.

also it has been my personal experience that it is cheeper and simpler to modify a car to handle great then it is to make a car go faster in a straight line.

plus if a corner comes you could always simply slow down.
what the hell are you gonna do in a lotus Elise when you need more go? find a hill and roll downward? :grinno:

The way you worded the post sounds pretty unfair towards the "straight-line" car. You say the "straight-line" car can't turn at all, and yet you just say the "handling" car is "a bit underpowered on a straightaway".

Sounds like someone is a little biased?:wink:

Staright line cars make better street cars then handling cars. i think there would just be more real world application in a straight line car since we find ourselves more easily going from light to light battles then we do running in crazy circles through ressidential neighborhoods.

also it has been my personal experience that it is cheeper and simpler to modify a car to handle great then it is to make a car go faster in a straight line.

plus if a corner comes you could always simply slow down.
what the hell are you gonna do in a lotus Elise when you need more go? find a hill and roll downward? :grinno:


Doesn't the Elise do 0-60 in the 4 second range?

^from a roll its going to be slower in comparison

Im sure we all like to go down the hiways and just manuver around the cars really gracefully.

I'd go straight line since that's how the roads are around here...there's not really much of a point in going for really good handling car that couldn't do much on the straights.

straight line is fun until you can no longer keep traction... that's when the handling aspects start looking good.

I like how mine sits right now.

Not the best in the corners, but it does okay for as big as it is.
Fast straight line as well.

Why can't I have both?

It's what I'm trying to do with my Z... It's possible to make it a 'monster' at both. It just takes a shit pile of money... which, I'll eventually make. :p

I'm a bit suprised by the results we are getting. Most people say they would rather have the better handling car, but how many of you guys really mean that?

How many of you would really pick an RX8 over a Mustang GT, an S2000 over a GTO, or an Elise over a C6 Corvette? It seems to me that most people here generally the drag racer type.

Honestly I've never been a huge fan of cars that are only tend to be good at straight line performance or handling, at least for a daily driver road car. Balance and drivability is the key for me.

straight lined for me for sure. who cares about turning? if you have to turn, you aren't putting out enough power...

make your own path :) offroad!

^^ Well, I guess I'll go more in depth then. I would love to have a straight line monster, I really would. But for me the fun isn't around the corner, it is the corner (I ripped that off of BMW). This is one of the reasons I race enduros with my motorcycle and have never taken it to a drage event. I can't get enough of that flying up to a corner as fast as you can and then braking at it while swinging the back end around to cut as much time as possible. For me, straight line monsters would be fun and if I had the money I would by both, but I just see flying through twisties and autox races to be more entertaining longer.

i personally like to turn on my neighborhood streets with speed. mind you these are industrial streets so its no big deal. also, going fast in a straight line is fun, but what is more difficult is usually more fun for me. too easy and i wont like it. idk, thats just how i am.

I'm a bit suprised by the results we are getting. Most people say they would rather have the better handling car, but how many of you guys really mean that?

How many of you would really pick an RX8 over a Mustang GT, an S2000 over a GTO, or an Elise over a C6 Corvette? It seems to me that most people here generally the drag racer type.

Honestly I've never been a huge fan of cars that are only tend to be good at straight line performance or handling, at least for a daily driver road car. Balance and drivability is the key for me.


and that is why I put this up, I wanted to see how many people were actually dragsters. personally i would rather have the rx-8 over both the mustang gt or gto. but not the elise over the c6 vette, vettes handle very well.

The new Lotus Exige S which has the engine from the Celica GT-S plus a supercharger does 0-60 in 4 seconds plus handles like a dream, and I would take that over the GTO, Mustang, 350Z, and RX8.

But I'd buy the C6 Z06 Vette over the Exige any day, because yes, for everyday use the straight line powerhouse is more applicaple. But when you really wanna have fun thats when you hit the twisties. Plus you generally don't get 100+ MPH speeding tickets on the curvy roads.

well....when you look at street racing, where does it mostly occur? damn right, around here where i live, its mostly at the stop lights (straight road) or on the highways (straight road) so.....i wouldn't mind the straightaway car, BUT,....i've always liked handling, so a car that handles well for me!!

and goshian (is how you pronounce ur name?) you ran 15.6 with your 5sfe??? stock??? what were your mods??? stock interior? etc...etc...

and goshian (is how you pronounce ur name?) you ran 15.6 with your 5sfe??? stock??? what were your mods??? stock interior? etc...etc...


well actually I wasnt stock, I didnt find out until towards the end of my celica's life. I had a short ram Intake and a TRD exhaust from the GT-Four's. Also It wasnt until I recently (2weeks ago) tested out another, cause I was looking to get one for my g/f since she loved the car, that i realized how much faster mine was than a completely stock one. So no i wasnt stock, so I will fix that one, cause stock they run a 15.9 or the best driven ones anyways. But that is for another thread, no more hijacking.

toss up, im not voting

I’m not going to answer until I get some specifics.
What are the 0-60 and 1/4 mile times of the straight line car and the handling car.

I’m not going to answer until I get some specifics.
What are the 0-60 and 1/4 mile times of the straight line car and the handling car.

you do realize 1/4 is not a definition of performace, If your a 1/4 freak vote for the straightline car if you love to feel the g-force of a car going sideways pick the handling, its not that hard.

you do realize 1/4 is not a definition of performace,
Yes it is. Comparing one car’s 1/4 mile time to another car’s 1/4 time is a way of defining which car is faster.

Unless I have some definition of how fast the straight line is and how fast the handling I can’t decide which one I would take. As it is now your comparison is to abstract.

If the handling car runs the 1/4 in 30 sec I bet a lot of people that voted for it would change there vote.

i just simply asked if you like to go straight or you like to take turns, you dont need to make it more complicated than it really is

i just simply asked if you like to go straight or you like to take turns, you dont need to make it more complicated than it really is
You asked a leading question:
Exactly what the title says. Would you rather have a car that is a straight line beast, where if you took a turn you know you'd never make it out alive?
or would you rather have a car that can out handle anything on the track and streets, but seem a bit underpowered on a straightaway?
A straight line car that will kill you if you try to turn it VS a track car that’s a little under powered.:rolleyes:

I’m trying to get you to get into specifics to take out the leading aspect of the question.

Also the pic in your sig is to long.