Traffic Light Grand prix

JHMEG

I can honestly say I've never challenged anyone. But, I was challenged on the M4 a couple of months ago by a lad in a 205 1.9 GTi. First rule: know your enemy. He, quite obviously, didn't.

L-M

I was "challenged" by some lad in an Omega today. Even though I was turning right and he was going straight on. He kept revving the car and moving forward, letting it roll back wards and then revving and letting it go forward so on, so forth. When I went to take off, he jumped the car, and as I look in I saw some older woman giving out to him.

Then I realised it was just a very bad learner driver who didn't know what a handbrake was.

Who learns to drive in an Omega??

Thoie

I was the inadvertent challenger at a set of lights (about 15 years ago).

I was in a 1L Micra, with 5 hefty adults in it. Lights turned red as I approached. I was indicating and in the "turn right" filter lane. Bloke beside me in the "straight ahead" lane, driving something fancy and sporty. Knowing those lights stayed red for quite some time, and the right filter stayed red even longer, I was in neutral, handbrake on. While shifting position slightly I accidentally tapped the accelerator. Vroom, went the Micra.

Guy in fancy car to my left gives me a panicked look, and edges forward. I thought "nah, he can't be". Tapped accelerator again. Vroom. He shoots me another look, edges forward a bit more and revs - vroom. I start laughing, and the bold bit in me has to do it again. Vroom vroom, said the teensy laden down Micra. He's chomping at the bit, revving for all he's worth, I'm laughing my head off now, my passengers think I've gone mad. The lights go green, he's off from a standing start, flinging his car forward with skill and grace. Meanwhile, I'm still at the lights (the filter is still red), gasping for breath. I compose myself, the filter turns green, and I drive away. I've always wondered what was going through his mind at the time.

bauderline

... reading this reminded me of something.

Years ago I came across an Escort Cosworth with plate "K1 LER" with an inscription underneath... "Don't hunt what ya can't KILL!" .... Classic

Pity it was in the RUC pound.....

tossy

I've had a problem with my car going into limp mode recently due to a faulty MAF,the symptoms are it won't idle right it will hunt for revs i.e rev to about 1000rpm die and rev again,plus to get it moving you need to give it socks,now in a normal car this might be grand but in a V6 with a full Milltek exhaust it makes a hell of a racket.

So cue Saturday and just approaching Newlands cross and my car goes into limp mode,i pull up beside some guy in an almera and my car strats reving itself,i can see this guy looking at me and i'm just trying to keep the head down not make eye contact,light goes green and i put the shoe in on the V6 and sound like the biggest learner driver ever trying to get in moving - god i felt like a plank :D

generally i avoid the traffic light mickey measuring competitions as most cars aren't worth wasting juice on,although every now and then you come across a car you'd like to measure yourself against and that is a bit of craic,one thing is for sure i love the look of surprise on their faces when you ease off at the limit and let them catch up

modm3

I like the revving and then just pulling off slowly - especially when I had the M3 . That car induced some serious road rage in a poxed out Astra, that I had to get the gards involved....nasty little p*ick that one.

Have had a couple of experiences against Golfs for some reason, I now have a 530d and some newish TDI thing thought that his newer car was far "superior" to my ancient tractor......wrongo.....
...and then with a current GTI out of a roundabout, I was late meeting some friends going mountain biking, so with 2 bikes strapped to the back of a T5 S60 I was ploughing along until umbridge was taken by the GTI as he sped up when I went past. Into roundabout and out he floored it (nice noise too) but T5's when not from a standing start are ferocious, I caught up and passed him with relative ease (car on the limit though) - he got himself walloped by a Volvo - Ha ha !! ...but of course he had the final when I backed off and he continued on well past the speed limit, not that I was under it either

stealthyspeeder

Im a big fan of traffic light grand prix, althougth I rarely instigate it. Me and friend (who has an Astra VXR) are always at it on roads we both know in Belfast, its great craic as we are pretty evenly matched and our races are won or lost on the amount of wheenspin on takeoff, entry to 2nd and third, and the smoothness of gear changes.

My best experience was last september when me and my friend were driving towards Belfast (we were at the Knocknagony junction at IKEA),
(not ragging it) when a Bently Continental GT pulls up in the third lane and starts revving! He was trying to show off to his girlfriend, so we couldnt resist. As we both know the lights well there, we set off on the end of amber, and as it was wet we both know to change out of 1st and 2nd at 3.5 and 4 thousand RPM, the guy got a spanking by two hatchbacks! and I had the delight of watching him in my rear view mirror explain to his girlfriend that the weak lnk in the that episode was his driving!

Ah good times!!..... very immature.... but good times!

btkm8unsl0w5r4

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

a Bently Continental GT .....and as it was wet we both know to change out of 1st and 2nd at 3.5 and 4 thousand RPM, the guy got a spanking by two hatchbacks! and I had the delight of watching him in my rear view mirror explain to his girlfriend that the weak lnk in the that episode was his driving!

Ah good times!!..... very immature.... but good times!

they are all automatic and would have nooooo problem spankings a VXR. He really must not have been trying. Even if the traction controll reined him in, that car is so fast he would have killed you, thats a 500+ BHP supercar.

having the wife in the car, screaming "slow down" act as a type of speed limiter.... Or else he watched laughing as a 4 cylinder astra with a third of his cylinders and less than half the BHP shot magestically up the road

stealthyspeeder

Ryann Whispering Venom wrote: »

they are all automatic and would have nooooo problem spankings a VXR. He really must not have been trying. Even if the traction controll reined him in, that car is so fast he would have killed you, thats a 500+ BHP supercar.

having the wife in the car, screaming "slow down" act as a type of speed limiter.... Or else he watched laughing as a 4 cylinder astra with a third of his cylinders and less than half the BHP shot magestically up the road

I think he had traction control turned off but from the wheelspin he had when he set off he was definately trying, driver inexperience combined with the wet day, plus we had a second or so head start and no wheelspin through the changes, this meant we were both well ahead (3 or 4 car lengths) by the time he started gaining, when it was also time to slow down. He got a spanking! Plus the girl looked to be young (and fit) and seemed to be egging him on when he was revving!

Ideal conditions, and equal drivers, yes we would have got a spanking, but its not just down to the car you drive, its how you drive it. worth mentioning here, I reckon 80% or so of performance car owners, given ideal conditions, would not be able to achieve the cars stated 0-60 time on their first 3 attempts (as these are tested by proffessional drivers) and I would doubt that when trying the optimal, 0-60 time would be achived more than half the time on a regualr basis!

Schumacher1

I was in the states in 05 for a month and rental company gave me a free upgrade to a Mustang. I have to say that I was quite silly with it, especially in the wet.

On interstates it was great fun to get a long clear patch (no HWP) and floor it for 1 or 2 mins, the US cops have no humour.

Only problem was the wife. A built in FUN stopper.

Ended up switching it after 1 F*in week to something bland, because my fault ... she got sick of banging her head when I floored it around corners.

mp22

nearst set of traffic lights to me are 48 miles away:D

Martron

i was challeged by a guy on a push bike.... (i think my car needs a service)

Johnny Utah

CianRyan wrote: »

Got a challange the other day, i was on my push bike though.
Some guy in a 89 civic rolled up beside me, started revving, i laughed and knodded at him.
When the lights went green i cycles off ahead of him, he missed a gear, then stalled and i reckon at that stage he just gave up.

It was so great.

Martron wrote: »

i was challeged by a guy on a push bike.... (i think my car needs a service)

Do you drive an 89 Civic by any chance?

MSporty

back from my trip to Donegal, no traffic light racing but a couple of incidents with a BMW X5 and subaru Legacy B4 all things

btkm8unsl0w5r4

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

He got a spanking! Plus the girl looked to be young (and fit) and seemed to be egging him on when he was revving!

So you and you mate in a Astra, take off from these same lights so much you that you have a race plan and shifting pattern worked out. And you "spanked" a guy in a Bentley continental GT (quarter of a million euro, 200 MPH super car) with a fit young girl in the passenger seat obviously excited by the size of his w12.

Yeah you really showed him, poor guy must be devastated....:rolleyes:

stealthyspeeder

Ryann Whispering Venom wrote: »

So you and you mate in a Astra, take off from these same lights so much you that you have a race plan and shifting pattern worked out. And you "spanked" a guy in a Bentley continental GT (quarter of a million euro, 200 MPH super car) with a fit young girl in the passenger seat obviously excited by the size of his w12.

Yeah you really showed him, poor guy must be devastated....:rolleyes:

Lighten up Ryann Whispering Venom!! the thread was about traffic light GP! im only sharing my experience! The reason I found it worthy of mention is that the cars we were driving compared to the one he was driving are not as expensive, or as powerful as his. Im sure he's not devasted (not that I said he was) however he was embarassed for a moment over a situaion which he initiated, I found this amusing. (OT but in race condtions the Continental GT is pretty poor on the track, quite a lot of little four pot engines beat it on alot of tracks including mine on Nordschleife and Hockenheim Short)

Also as I originally said, I enjoy traffic light GP with my friend, so knowing local traffic light times and when to shift gears in different conditions for optimal acceleration is hardly a "race plan"

tossy

Those continentals aren't all that i had one beside me in my old remapped TDI and from 3rd up he couldn't shake me! i swear.

kazul

Are you guys sure that you weren't racing chrysler 300cs?
Either that or the Bentley drivers weren't giving it the beans at all

Lauder

Sure some muppet decided to take me on at a set of lights on the Clontarf RD this evening. tarted up honda civic with a exhaust lik a moped, you know the usual lark. Anyway I was in the MGB just pottering along in no hurry, and this muppet starts revvin at the lights lookin to race. anyway lights go green and he cuts out. BRILLIANT STUFF altogether!

tossy

kazul wrote: »

Are you guys sure that you weren't racing chrysler 300cs?
Either that or the Bentley drivers weren't giving it the beans at all

I know my cars and it was a bentley and it couldn't pull away on my remapped TDI in 3rd the look on his face was priceless - i swear!

Sqaull20

tossy wrote: »

I know my cars and it was a bentley and it couldn't pull away on my remapped TDI in 3rd the look on his face was priceless - i swear!

I have a mapped Fabia VRS, which is probably quicker than your yoke ( due to weight etc) and no chance in hell you could keep with a 180mph+ Bentley!!! First gear is rubbish ( beacause of the lag ) and your really pushing it to get 60mph out of 2nd gear ( no point anyway as redlining is crap in them ).

So if you were in 3rd and killed your yoke to keep up with the supercar, you were doing what 70-80mph, before he pulled away? Even a bangered up Evo would make a sizeable gap at that speed, a supercar lol.If he was trying/good he would have be gone before your turbo even kicked in, first gear!

Victor_M

tossy wrote: »

I know my cars and it was a bentley and it couldn't pull away on my remapped TDI in 3rd the look on his face was priceless - i swear!

That is the funniest quote I've ever read on boards, and sums up perfectly what VAG TDi drivers think about their cars!

I don't doubt you kept up with him, he just obviously wasn't trying to shake you, the look on his face was most likely due to the fact that there was a Bora driver revving the nuts off his car right beside him.

aoibhebree

I've a friend who drives - or tries to drive - a WRX, he's the worst driver I've ever seen. He came into the pub the other night, all flushed and out of breath and looking totally delighted with himself, and says - "Ya should have seen it - I just creamed this Nissan Micra at the lights!"

Well done ... :rolleyes:

stealthyspeeder

Victor_M wrote: »

That is the funniest quote I've ever read on boards, and sums up perfectly what VAG TDi drivers think about their cars!

While VAG drivers sometimes have an inflated opinion of their cars, I've noticed a lot of people have an inflated opion of expensive cars which they've never driven, or cars with headline grabbing horsepower stats. (Horsepower turns heads, torque turns wheels!;)) Often a lot of that horsepower is not usable on certain roads or the weight/weight distribution effects handling so much that conering speeds are greatly reduced. The most usable horepower for everyday use in Ireland is found in the Evo's And Imprezzas.

Zube

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

Horsepower turns heads, torque turns wheels!;)

So what would 650 Nm of torque from 1600 rpm plus four wheel drive do?

stealthyspeeder

Zube wrote: »

So what would 650 Nm of torque from 1600 rpm plus four wheel drive do?

Turn the wheels of the 2,350kg (mostly located at the front) Bently Continental GT i would pressume!

Zube

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

Turn the wheels of the 2,350kg (mostly located at the front) Bently Continental GT i would pressume!

0-60 in 4.6 seconds. And since it's a 4WD auto, it'll do that every time the driver stamps on the loud pedal.

mcwhirter

tossy wrote: »

I know my cars and it was a bentley and it couldn't pull away on my remapped TDI in 3rd the look on his face was priceless - i swear!

I know which car I would be rather driving though, I'll let you guess.

Victor_M

stealthyspeeder wrote: »

While VAG drivers sometimes have an inflated opinion of their cars, I've noticed a lot of people have an inflated opion of expensive cars which they've never driven, or cars with headline grabbing horsepower stats. (Horsepower turns heads, torque turns wheels!;)) Often a lot of that horsepower is not usable on certain roads or the weight/weight distribution effects handling so much that conering speeds are greatly reduced. The most usable horepower for everyday use in Ireland is found in the Evo's And Imprezzas.

You are spot on there, Evo's and Imprezza's are actually designed to be driven fast on crap potholed roads so they are perfect for the roads in this country, but the Bently CGT (I presume has the same engine as it's 4 door sibling) is a 600 Bhp, AWD, monster, I've been behind the wheel of the Continental flying spur and it's terrifyingly fast, scariest part is how unaware the driver is of the actual speed unless you refer to the speedo.

P.s I'm only winding you up Tossy;) I know the TDi's are quick and you are probably a pretty good driver being a serious diesel petrol head but there has to be a limit to the sort of cars a noisy, unrefined, pretty dated diesel engine no matter how mapped can out perform.

as someone else mentioned last week (could have been you) it's not always obvious how determined the other drivers are.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Victor_M wrote: »

but there has to be a limit to the sort of cars a noisy, unrefined, pretty dated diesel engine no matter how mapped can out perform.

What, I cant believe my ears Those oil burning, smoke bleaching, farm yard sounding, heavy as hell, unrefined engines are faster than a star ship. And mostly driven by F1 drivers trying to stay undercover.

See they got de TORQUE :eek:, and that's all that matters. Doesn't matter that its not much torque :eek: and it all comes in one short spurt even out of a red (japs) eye. And if a 911 driver cant keep up its cause he has none of de TORQUE :eek: and is a rubbish driver.

TORQUE :eek: + VAG TDI DRIVER SKILLZ = DE WIN

Forgot the GT was 4WD, this certainly makes me think the driver may not have been racing. See any Muppet in a half decent can bet a high end performance car on the public roads if they are willing to be more mental and dangerous than the other person. Also sometimes people make things up.

tossy

Victor_M wrote: »

That is the funniest quote I've ever read on boards, and sums up perfectly what VAG TDi drivers think about their cars!

I don't doubt you kept up with him, he just obviously wasn't trying to shake you, the look on his face was most likely due to the fact that there was a Bora driver revving the nuts off his car right beside him.

Ha ha you guys need to realise when someone is clearly taking the piss,this thread has now descended into a joke so i decided to have a little fun.

I knew the limitations of my old TDI golf and Bentleys were not on that list.

The Bora is not Diesel and would make a hell of a better effort matching the bentely considering it has over 50% of its power and weighs around a ton less,in fact the have pretty similar 0-60 times and both are 4wd so it would be an interesting traffic light grand prix :cool:

btkm8unsl0w5r4

Bently V Bora, there is one for the mythbusters.

Martron

Johnny Utah wrote: »

Do you drive an 89 Civic by any chance?

nah i was only joking. i drive a focus and was not challeneged

mcwhirter

tossy wrote: »

Ha ha you guys need to realise when someone is clearly taking the piss,this thread has now descended into a joke so i decided to have a little fun.

I knew the limitations of my old TDI golf and Bentleys were not on that list.

The Bora is not Diesel and would make a hell of a better effort matching the bentely considering it has over 50% of its power and weighs around a ton less,in fact the have pretty similar 0-60 times and both are 4wd so it would be an interesting traffic light grand prix :cool:

Very good, enough of the joking on now please.

tossy

I never said Bentley v Bora i merely pointed out it would be an interesting traffic light grand prix from my point of view as the owner of the Bora and a person who has spent time and money trying to improve their car,like i said on another forum in relation to a similar topic of traffic light grand prix,any flute can buy the super car press the loud pedal at a traffic lights and hold the steering wheel straight.I am one of the most grounded car enthusiasts on here i don't spout fairly tales or nonsense.

When i wrote the last post i did a search for the bentleys 0-60 and the first result i found (letstorquebhp.com) put it at 5.6secs,so thats what i was basing my assessment of an interesting traffic light grand prix on,i was thinking then that figure seems a bit high for such a car so i did another search turns out the Bentley will do it in 4.6 seconds or so,which extends the gap somewhat i.e the Bentley hits 60 a second or so quicker.