Which is the best handling car?, 911,356, or my favorite 914?? Options

[second wind]

So I saw one of the best looking and built up 356's today.....and I went to the last Rennsport and watched 911's and 914's race each other....so my question is this....which model handles the best? I have been in a 356 that had 250 hp and all my friends have 914's with at least that....911's have even more. The 356 today looked so good that I said to myself..."Wow...what could possibly out handle that car?". Just a fun question for a Saturday night....
All the best,
gg

[Superhawk996]

Main issue is that "handling" is highly subjective on the road. Without lap times or data acquisition to gather objective data, it comes down to personal preference for most drivers. I once was talking to some one telling me about how they like the handling of a car they liked. Turned out what they were really talking about was ride quality. Went down the road like. . . . riding on a cloud. I kid you not. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

Mid engine, low Cg, and wide track width is going to win out on handling from a physics standpoint all other things being equal (which they never are).

Once you get into comparison with modern vehicles with something other than trailing arm suspension, all bets are off. However, 914 still stands up very well against modern vehicles despite it's age and simplicity.

[jd74914]

Main issue is that "handling" is highly subjective on the road. Without lap times or data acquisition to gather objective data, it comes down to personal preference for most drivers. I once was talking to some one telling me about how they like the handling of a car they liked. Turned out what they were really talking about was ride quality. Went down the road like. . . . riding on a cloud. I kid you not. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

Mid engine, low Cg, and wide track width is going to win out on handling from a physics standpoint all other things being equal (which they never are).

Once you get into comparison with modern vehicles with something other than trailing arm suspension, all bets are off. However, 914 still stands up very well against modern vehicles despite it's age and simplicity.

I think modern tires play a big role. Especially R-comps, low-treadwear kinda stuff. A lot of modern tires have much better stiffness characteristics and lower camber sensitivity than rubber of old (note: I haven't seen tire data for strict passenger tires, but have for a bunch of sticker stuff). This means a car with substandard camber again (914 here) can really stand up well when fitted with high end tires as compared to more OEM setups on more capable modern cars. Especially if you stiffen up the suspension on the 914, set static camber correct, and are handicapping the new car with OEM alignment...