The most ridiculous challenge I have ever gotten

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Kind of a long story, but I'm going to be as brief as I can...

There's a small car club at my old college - quite a broad interst in cars is represented from import to domestic to trucks and jeeps...

Well, there is one guy in this club that time after time astounds us with his comments. He's an import guy and is adamant that he is NOT a ricer. He thinks F-Bodies are mullet mobiles, and while he respects their performance, he isn't impressed by it, because he says it isn't much of a challenge to make it fast. His comments have kind of brought him the reputation of the nemesis of everyone.

He drives a 94 or 96 Nissan Altima GXE. He has intake and exhaust mods.

It runs a 16.5 @ 85.

Recently, I was considering buying a used C5 Z06, and I brought that idea up on our car club's message board. Several of the import crowd was trying to talk me out of the Z06 and into the Evo VIII (which is ridiculous in itself), but the thread got highjacked into car "stereotypes". At which point in time this knucklehead says that "any V8 car with less than perfect handling is a mullet car".

I told him that my car handles well, and anyone who believes f-bodies are only straight line cars really don't know what they are talking about. This was his response: "Jay, other than CJ's poly mounts your suspension is stock and your car prolly handle's as well as my mostly stock grocery getter."

I kid you not.

I reminded him of the time he chased me up a freeway cloverleaf on-ramp and I made him disappear in my rear-view mirror... he replied: "Jay, i had blown struts, yes you were pulling away, but not very quickly. This was also with sh**ty all season tires."

I don't think I can sell my car any more. I HAVE TO wait until spring time and absolutely humiliate him for cash. This is just the MOST ridiculous claim I have EVER heard. His 4-cylinder Altima is going to corner as well as my WS6.... unbelievable........

Here's the link to the thread... feel free to register and enlighten this guy... but please don't be an idiot and just call him names and swear at him, since it is my college car club.

http://shadowedillusions.com/forums/...t=788&start=45

[Joe 1320]

It might be better to post a link to here.......

He's obviously never had a serious performance car or he wouldn't be showing his ignorance that way. He's obviously very proud of his ride and wouldn't take any critisicm anyway. For the record, any car can be made to handle, but I doubt that he has a clue on what it would take for his rice burner to hang with even a stock f-body. He would have to dump serious dough.

[raroZ28]

What an idiot. I have been pushed into a sharp turn at high speeds in my buddies SS.

I won't lie Jay, I said the same thing before, it's a common misconception. My friend's 01 SS set me straight. It stuck to the road like glue. Just feel bad for them, don't argue.

[raroZ28]

Not only that, but I have also taken front wheel cars into sharp turns. Pretty scary when it starts veering off and hoppin'. I'd rather be pushed into a turn than pulled, that's for sure.

[lt1maro]

Jay, as far as i see it, you have nothing to prove to this kid. I know, the message board knows, heck the whole world knows that the 4th gen f-bodies are vehicles to be reckoned with. In their hayday, there was nothing that could touch our cars in its price range. You own one of the best performing cars in the world, even to this day and they dont even make them anymore. For god sakes, the kid drives a car that was designed to hold babies and get 30 miles to the gallon. Take him for a ride in your car, i bet that would change his whole outlook.

[MN6WS6]

I think you have to understand things from his point of view. Apparently, his entire life has been bombarded with "Asia makes better cars than America", "Asian cars handle better because they're lighter", and all that other "Pro-Asia" stuff that a lot of these younger kids have been taught. I deal with it every weekend, and every weekend I tell these idiots the same thing...

The only reason that imports are as popular as they are is due to one fact... insurance.

Insurance on a high performance vehicle is outrageous, so somewhere along the line the young crowd got the idea to take a grocery getter, baby carrying, 35 MPG car that has cheap insurance and hop it up to make it perform. If it weren't for insurance, there would never have been an "import revolution", because everybody would be driving high performance, AWD or RWD cars.

Period.

The only ray of hope we gas guzzling, RWD mullet mobiles have is the "drift revolution". I see a lot of positives in this. Why? Because drifters are RWD with 300HP or more. Granted, they can't go straightline and ride rougher than a log truck with an air suspension failure, but at least they are high power RWD cars. This could get a lot of people out of "fart pipe land" and into a real car that can show them what we've known for years. If you want to put the power to the ground, the fastest way to do that is by putting the power to the rear wheels.

If somebody comes up with the "AWD is better", just refer them to NHRA.com, IHRA.com, NDRA.com (that's the import racers) and tell them to look at any record involving ET or MPH. Every one is held by a RWD. Why? Because you LOSE power through an AWD differential. AWD is great on the street and below certain power levels, but in the real world of "he who is fastest wins" the AWD argument holds no water.

BTW, the original purpose of building up a FWD car was to "make them as fast as a stock Mustang, Camaro, or Corvette." You might want to remind him that most of the stuff he will encounter on the street will not be stock

[raroZ28]

Take him for a ride in your car, i bet that would change his whole outlook.

It will. Find a nice turn, with nice roads (I know, almost impossible here in MI, right?), and hit it, and just punch it. When his head nails the seat and you're hitting the turn, he will shut up really quick.

In the summer of course, you don't want to spin out on cold roads

It's actually 60 where I'm at today, kinda nice, minus the rain.

[Tig]

Would he constitue an Altima fanboy?

[Nightrage]

I think you have to understand things from his point of view. Apparently, his entire life has been bombarded with "Asia makes better cars than America", "Asian cars handle better because they're lighter", and all that other "Pro-Asia" stuff that a lot of these younger kids have been taught. I deal with it every weekend, and every weekend I tell these idiots the same thing...

The only reason that imports are as popular as they are is due to one fact... insurance.

The kid across the street from me pays less for his supercharged 95 Mustang GT than he did for his 95 Civic. The Civic didn't have ABS or airbags of any kind whereas the Mustang does. I guess it depends on what kind of coverage you get but most kids just get basic liability so they only care about safety options. They wanted $5,000 a year from me for my '86 monte with just basic liability and they want around 4,000 for the Trans Am with liability and collision. The real reason imports were popular? People are poseurs. Plain and simple. Just look at that Von Dutch crap. People (like my girlfriends sister) were paying $40+ for a mesh hat with a patch sewn on it. Why? So they could look "trendy" (just a nice way of saying poseur). Look at girls. They'll pay thousands for a freakin handbag. Not only that but they'll use it for a week before it's out of style or doesn't match their outfit or something stupid like that. I think we have a porblem too though. We're always harassing people for spending $2,000 on their $4,00 car when they could have bought a sports car for $6,000. Not everyone has that money up front so they have to spend it over time. Camaro's are cool with import people, why just last month i saw a V6 Camaro with a full body kit, wing and a license plate that read "High Rola" or something to that effect. Beware the next trend!!!

[Joe 1320]

There is one trend that has not been mentioned. Many times, the younger folks need help from their parents. I'm not too proud to say that at one time I had to accept their help with a car. I've seen it many times with people that I've worked with or went to school with...... it's time for them to get a car, they pick out something and run it by the parents........ the answer is "No way are you getting a high HP V8, you need to look at something more economical, not as much power, etc." That's how they end up with a Civic or the like and spend thousands after the fact making it look more like the performance car they had hoped for. That's when the pride kicks in, the denial that it isn't "just as good or better" and so on. Is that bad? No..... imagine how bad things would be if even half of the inexperienced wannabe riceboys who do high speed fly-bys actually had something capable of serious speed. The rest of us would be afraid for our lives even more so then now. The morgues would get filled up pretty quickly if they had bought an f-body. Those that have one, know that driven without care, it will bite you.

[SS_CarGuy]

Jay....when someone starts telling me things like that, I point them at this site http://www.worldclassmusclecars.com/TheList.htm#A That usually shuts them up! You can find his car on there as well as yours and show him the facts! In addition you can click on those cars shown with a blue line to get additonal information behind the stats that are shown.

[95TransAm]

Jay, i feel your pain. Just the other day, i was surrounded by three kids telling me how a mini s (owned by one of those kids) would smoke my t/a. They insisted on it, and wouldn't take no for an answer.

Another kid i know with some civic wanted to race me as well with his supposed 100 shot of NNNNAAAAWWWWWZZZZZ!!!!! He too insisted that i would be smoked.

The way i shut these kids up is....

"You wanna make easy money, I'll bet you 100 bucks that I'll take you in a race. If you can smoke me, then you have nothing to worry about."

For some reason, most seem to back out at this point . There are some though who still try to hold on to their little pride that has already all but been shot down by replying with...

"Well, i bet your car isn't stock. I was saying that stock your car isn't fast."

I even tell them that if they want to race for money, that i would set my car back to stock being that it isn't that hard and i have everything i need to do it (except for the higher stall converter, but i know for a fact that most of them don't even know what a tranny looks like, let alone know what a torque converter is).

It's the one thing i think we all will have to learn to live with from time to time owning a sports car. I personally think it's cuz they're either jealous or cannot except the harsh reality that their cars are no where near as fast as ours.....

or maybe it's because when I'm cruising with a buddy of mine who owns a wrx, everytime when we go out with girls....they tend to choose to ride in my ride rather than his

If you're gonna take this guy seriously jay, you might as well go home and just beat yourself in the head with a frying pan....you'll lose less brain cells that way.

[01SS]

Hey, do me a favor and remind this guy what exactly the TRANS-AM car was named after and what the name reflects....eventhough he might not be able to grasp the concept

[Z Ya Later]

Hey man, I know we haven't gotten along in the past, but is he really worth your gas? Or the ticket? Its better to know the truth and let him live in ignorance than risk your neck trying to convince him of something he'll never admit. If you can do it at a track, then smack the ever-lovin' crap outta him. Otherwise, just let it go man. No sense shooting the guy who brought the BB gun with a Desert Eagle lol

[RocKin1967]

man have i heard this alot.... u will never shut the import driver up, this 1 time this kid in a crx that had alot of work done to it pulls up to where were hanging out and starts talkign about how he just smoked a v8 impala and that v8s arent that fast .... so i get called over and my friends tell him 2 race me..lol so we go to this abandoned road down the streeti had 3people in my car and he was by himself....wow i must have had him by like 6cars b4 i let off, we go back to the hang out and he got quiet and left within 5min then the next day i get approached by his "ricer buddies" saying ohh ur v8 got smoked by my boy andy.....lol man wtf, i let em know wut happened.

As for the "new trend" well theirs this kid with a 91 camaro rs 305 on "nawz" he swears his car runs 10's, he will argue with u and he almost fought my friend cuz my friend laughed in his face when he saw the bone stock 10sec 305 with a 100 shot...he hangs out with a bunch of guys with civics so i get y he thinks hes running 10's lol, but he just wont race any1... wut a shame an awsome car gone to waste on a loser....