R8 Gordini on Shannons

[schlitzaugen]

A lot of love for these little boxy frenchy things I see. Unfortunately as they get older (and we too) it is very likely they'll end up standing more than driving. Not sure which is best but looking at say AE86 Corollas being modified to the point that no decent car is with us any more, I would say the 8G still has a better chance to survive another generation.

 

[Bowie]

Agreed!

The generation that grew up with the 8G's are, on the whole, well generally have a bigger slice of the economic pie then those that grew up in the late 80's loving the 86's. And you are right, probably less likely to wish to cut panels out and go drifting...

Yeah I'm looking at you boomers. Go drifting in your G's, it will be fun

But thanks for looking after the 8g's never the less

 

[JohnW]

A lot of love for these little boxy frenchy things I see. Unfortunately as they get older (and we too) it is very likely they'll end up standing more than driving. Not sure which is best but looking at say AE86 Corollas being modified to the point that no decent car is with us any more, I would say the 8G still has a better chance to survive another generation.

A few 8Gs will survive in close to original condition I reckon. It won't be many. Might still be more than "standard" R8s......

 

[Paul T]

Agreed!

The generation that grew up with the 8G's are, on the whole, well generally have a bigger slice of the economic pie then those that grew up in the late 80's loving the 86's. And you are right, probably less likely to wish to cut panels out and go drifting...

Yeah I'm looking at you boomers. Go drifting in your G's, it will be fun

But thanks for looking after the 8g's never the less

I don't think My G would drift on Bitumen, not going to try it either, big repair bills I would think.

 

[schlitzaugen]

I reckon it would drift easily. My first car was a 1966 R10 poverty pack, with all of 40-ish or so Hp minus whatever left the stable in the 30 or so years before I bought it. On 155 tyres would easily drift on dry bitumen even at 40km/h around corners. Best car in snow.

 

[schlitzaugen]

A few 8Gs will survive in close to original condition I reckon. It won't be many. Might still be more than "standard" R8s......

I was thinking about that. I guess the fate of these two is somewhat connected. As long as there's a R8 to supply body parts, R8Gs will survive. After that, they'll be really big money to repair and R8s will probably rise too because of their value as donor cars. Jean Yves Lardinois told me once the 17G/TS is almost impossible to find in Europe because they have been cannibalised for their running gear by people restoring 12Gs.

 

[Kim Luck]

A lot of people accidentally "drifted" rear engine Renaults into the inverted position..........

 

[schlitzaugen]

I can see that happening especially if you didn't have the straps. Mine did, fortunately. I found out early the car was very tail happy and learnt to drive it in the wet, mud and so on. In my four years of ownership I don't think it spent a day without being driven and I never had any incidents with it.

But in snow nothing matters anyway, the car won't roll before it drifts simply because there's no side (or any other kind of) grip. Brilliant! 40-ish horsepower is all you need for a lot of fun. Boy, I remember that car with fondness.

 

[Bowie]

I found some old footage of you heading to the shops!

 

[schlitzaugen]

Hehehe! I wish. My poor old 10 had what? 1/4 of the power? maybe 1/3?

But. All things considered old school RER are very well behaved as you can see in that video.

 

[Gordini Pervert]

But. All things considered old school RER are very well behaved as you can see in that video.

I rolled mine (10) when I was a P plater: corner Fitzgerald and Walcott street Perth.

I booted it in 3rd through a yellow light, lost the rear end, bit The road and then flipped twice in the air. Almost hitting a telephone pole!!

Was pretty surreal. Everything moved slowly, I saw floating bits of glass as I shoved myself back into the lumber supported fuego seats.

That day I learnt about oversteer. I learnt im not Colin McRae, I learnt you can kill yourself with 50HP!! I’m lucky to be here!

Dad wasn’t very impressed!!

 

[GRAHAM WALLIS]

A mate had an R10 after driving a 403. He got very frustrated with the number of times he spun the 10.

 

[Armidillo]

I rolled mine (10) when I was a P plater: corner Fitzgerald and Walcott street Perth.

I booted it in 3rd through a yellow light, lost the rear end, bit The road and then flipped twice in the air. Almost hitting a telephone pole!!

Was pretty surreal. Everything moved slowly, I saw floating bits of glass as I shoved myself back into the lumber supported fuego seats.

That day I learnt about oversteer. I learnt im not Colin McRae, I learnt you can kill yourself with 50HP!! I’m lucky to be here!

Dad wasn’t very impressed!!

Which way up did you land?

 

[Gordini Pervert]

Which way up did you land?

wish I took photos (dad may have done?) I landed on my passenger side!!

 

[pugwash]

thats the way to drive an 8g .lift off oversteer ,notice they way they give the steering wheel a little extra ,and lift off to get the rear end out then back on the gas and opposite lock ,balancing the car on the steering wheel and the loud pedal .its not just horsepower ,its a broad flat torque curve that allows you to pull out of corners ,and that 5 speed has just the right gear for every situation ,the old boy knew a thing or two about racing with small engines ,keep up speed average by not slowing down for corners ,different features of a g can be added to an 8 or 10 but its the complete package that makes a huge difference ,pugs

 

[schlitzaugen]

wish I took photos (dad may have done?) I landed on my passenger side!!

Without prejudice, I am going to comment I think this is one of the undesirable consequences of not being accustomed to having snow. Low grip teaches you a lot about driving cars, or at least it did teach me and risks are not that great.

I learnt driving in a R12 in a cold country where snow is normal (or was) for three months or more every year. The driving test was serious business and people with little confidence were not able to pass. You were tested against time too, so you needed to know what you were doing and capable of doing it quickly and correctly (parking-all versions, slalom, ramp start, extended reverse, three point turn). It was pretty much like a motorkhana event, each manouver once and each subject to immediate failure plus time limit, (again a failure if exceeded). This was outside, rain or shine, snow or whatever.

After that, day time driving in traffic and night time driving in traffic. Again, rain or shine.

Police officer in the car both occasions was giving instructions and you had to decide if it was right, wrong or impractical and act accordingly. They then wrote a report and recommended whether you were a pass or a fail based on your general driving behaviour.

Add to these three practical tests the theoretical examination, medical examination, psychological examination and hand to eye coordination test all before even starting driving school. Driver instructor decided when you were ready and they had to recommend you to the traffic authority to sit the exam. Without that, you couldn't even get there and it was entirely up to them to decide when you were ready.

I did all that without having ever sat in the driver seat of a car before, so basically from zero and I think it was a very good system. If you paid attention and did your exercises you learnt to drive quite well after that. The climate and weather conditions were what they were, you had to deal with it and they did prepare you for it.

The change from FWD to RWD about a year later was a little bit of a learning curve, but I had the basics covered and was aware (at least theoretically) of what could happen and how to deal with it. Pushing the boundary a little bit at a time helps develop the skill and today after over 35 years of driving across three continents with no issues I am still using the things I learnt back then.

I think it was fun.

And I don't think I am anything special, but every time I drive in a new country I can tell if they think like I was taught or not, I can feel immediately if I am at home or I need to adjust to something different.

 

[schlitzaugen]

thats the way to drive an 8g .lift off oversteer ,notice they way they give the steering wheel a little extra ,and lift off to get the rear end out then back on the gas and opposite lock ,balancing the car on the steering wheel and the loud pedal .its not just horsepower ,its a broad flat torque curve that allows you to pull out of corners ,and that 5 speed has just the right gear for every situation ,the old boy knew a thing or two about racing with small engines ,keep up speed average by not slowing down for corners ,different features of a g can be added to an 8 or 10 but its the complete package that makes a huge difference ,pugs

I doubt you will find lift off oversteer in a RE Renault (at least). They start to oversteer immediately (on throttle) when you show them a corner. They are however progressive (at least the low powered cars I have driven). Lift off and they self correct.

Different story in low grip conditions (snow, water, etc), when the rear end is going to dance around on throttle and you have to catch it if you can using both throttle and steering. On lift off it will probably overtake you.

It is a different story with FWD Renaults. A R12 or 17 (the cars I can talk about from personal experience) will understeer if you're slow but will happily oversteer if you brutalise it a bit, but with a lot of warning in the form of body roll.

A 205GTI will snap oversteer on lift off. If you're a bit delicate, you can feel it trying to go before it happens, but it's a much more narrow window and you have nearly no body roll.

With a 12/17 you feel the roll. That'll let you know when you're oversteering and you can deal with it. It is a slow reacting car.

With a 8/10 you feel the back end going almost instantly, but you can control it.

 

[Mike Tippett]

My former Dauphine 1300 (home modification) was fun to drift in the rain. First time it bit me was in the snow when it understeered like a pig into a curb, bending the stub axle.....it would not oversteer at that moment despite me booting it. The oversteer was more entertaining but one day in the rain it got the best of me and I impaled it on a parked TR-6 (which was undamaged despite the Dauphine being badly stoved in).

A friend had this 8G and he was a very keen driver who tracked it but he too got bitten one day and oversteered over a median into a short wall near Stanley Park in Vancouver.

 

[JohnW]

I can relate to quite a few of those comments. I can guarantee that you can slide a standard R8 on wet bitumen in Perth at 20 mph. Slow motion barely says it. Plenty of tread but 135-15 Michelin ZX tyres, 14 years old. The trick to not rolling it is not to hit anything sideways. I wouldn't dare lift off the loud pedal when sliding. Perth roads can be very slippery.

More power and more grip? Dunno from personal experience but there are some good Youtube videos out there with R8 Gs at speed on bitumen. Axles swing wildly......

 

[nauli]

I can relate to quite a few of those comments. I can guarantee that you can slide a standard R8 on wet bitumen in Perth at 20 mph. Slow motion barely says it. Plenty of tread but 135-15 Michelin ZX tyres, 14 years old. The trick to not rolling it is not to hit anything sideways. I wouldn't dare lift off the loud pedal when sliding. Perth roads can be very slippery.

More power and more grip? Dunno from personal experience but there are some good Youtube videos out there with R8 Gs at speed on bitumen. Axles swing wildly......

Bloody hoons!!