Am I the only one who thinks this?

[zerolag]

But some days, your car just doesn't feel right, not as quick as other days... is this a perception thing, or do cars actually not perform the same in exactly the same conditions from one day to another, are they alive?  They definitely have their quirks.  You can count out air temperature, fuel type (always optimax), tyre pressure etc.

Perhaps other cars on that day are driving more quickly and hence the illusion the car isn't as quick.
This goes for all the cars I've owned to date, one time or another, which is approaching 10 now for any notable time.

I probably need to run VCDS logs on different days to actually quantify the whole thing... just interested to hear other peoples thoughts on random car performance. (not just GTI mind)

 

[RedRobin]

^^^^
Fortunately I don't find that some days my car doesn't feel right. The only difference I feel is that on a cold day she feels a bit crisper and I think it's how turbo's behave. But it's hardly significant.

Some days it's me that doesn't feel like driving fast and other days I want to be on it at every safe opportunity, especially if I haven't driven her for a week!

What is your car? And is it performance modded?

[GrayMK5GTI]

Optimax hasn't been available for years  

Shell produce Vpower now  

I do know what you mean though, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, fuel quality all affect how the car feels 

Some people will notice this more than others I believe   

Heatsoak on a hot day really affects the performance, which is why an intercooler upgrade is worthwhile over the summer months, but will make little - no difference on a cold winters day / well ventilated dyno

Gray

[zerolag]

@ Redrobin:

I think there's something in that, most of my most recent cars have all been turbo charged... perhaps all suffering from some degree of heat soak.  
I've never really gone beyond stage 1 with most cars (Currently on SC stage 1), so again this may factor into the heat side of things.

@ GrayMK5GTI:

lmao, do you know I've never really bothered calling it anything else, but of course your right.

Overall I think it's partly me never going to stage 2 fully and getting things cooler (Bringing those EGTs down), and also in my head.

[RedRobin]

^^^^
I'm running Stage 2 (Revo) without an intercooler - More needed on a hard trackday.

When you have plenty of power available it's easier to achieve what you need on the road just by how you are driving. In other words, you are driving within broader parameters of performance - A bigger envelope. Hope I make sense!

[Rachael]

I'm totally with you on this one. I regularly stress that there's something wrong with my car. Then I drive the work car which is a 1.4 Renault Megane,  get back into the golf, and everything feels right in the world again 

[zerolag]

@ RedRobin: Yes, I hear that, I used to own a stage one Saab 9-5 Aero which felt quite a bit more torquey than the Stage 1 GTI, albeit I think the Golf is a better car all round, however I definitely feel the need to go Stage 2 with it :)

@ Rachael: Could be right there... need to borrow something slower now and again, or progressively make teh Golf quicker... :