Slalom vs. Skidpad

[moslerporschefreak]

Quite right. There is a breaking point in which the numbers do clearly reflect something, but get any closer to that point and they start to lose a lot of meaning very quickly. That's the main reason why I read evo and Car now instead of R&T and CD. The british mags seem to do more subjective comparative testing not just relying on numbers to state their case. And since the cars that I'm really interested in reading about are all so close in the numbers, evo is the only thing to really scratch that itch.

[Kurtdg19]

Their are a lot of different areas that contribute to the handling characteristics of a car. Chasis, weight distribution, suspension setup, transmission/engine systems, tyres, aerodynamics, and steering (I may be forgetting others) all play roles on how a car handles. All of these factors need to be compensated to achieve the desired outcome.

Using a skidpad to measure handling is very controversal in which most skidpads have preset parameters (300foot or whatever test). This doesn't relate to any type of dynamic conditions that could be faced. Conditions such as cornering at various degrees, different surfaces, whether or not they are under loads of acceleration/braking, etc. In this sense a skidpad (that you would get from a C&D or whatnot) will only tell you how well it will do in that particular situation. The same can apply with the slalom. Its almost like taking a math test. It will only test what you know in that particular study. It does not exactly determine how smart (IQ) the test taker is.

As others said, the best way to determine the feel of a car is to drive it, and test it under dynamic conditions.