4 ms·

> What is the significance of Nurburgring? It's both old and good. Almost a century of racing, setting and breaking records went down on it. (Also you can driv

> What is the significance of Nurburgring? It's both old and good. Almost a century of racing, setting and breaking records went down on it. (Also you can drive on it yourself w/ your own car).

sandworm101 8y ago
It is also not a tiny circuit with only a handful of corners. It is harder to tune a car for nurburgring than a nascar oval. So the theory goes that nurburgring results are more representative of overall (realworld) performance.
- pmontra 8y ago
  It's also very bumpy. More like a normal road than a race track. A team manager once told me that not every driver can go full throttle on the longest straight because of the bumps.
  - KozmoNau7 8y ago
    It may even be bumpier than the current standard for German public roads, which are generally of exceedingly high quality. Most people know about the unrestricted sections of the autobahn, and it is certainly fun to flog a rental Opel Corsa with a 1.0L 3-cylinder engine to 160kph, while being overtaken like you were standing still by various Porsches and big BMW/Mercedes/Audis. But the real fun is that the general speed limit is 100kph (62mph) off the autobahn and outside of towns, even for relatively small and curvy roads. Couple this with the generally very high standard of German roads, and you can have a hell of a lot of fun within the speed limit. I'm in southern Germany at the moment, visiting my girlfriend's family. The winding roads in the Schwarzwald area are absolutely amazing to drive, even in the little Corsa we're renting. You have to really flog it in second gear to get any speed going uphill, but it is so damn rewarding. And you notice so many other people doing the same, in all kinds of cars and on motorbikes. I know it's a bit of a cliché, but driving enjoyment really is part of the German mentality.
    - blattimwind 8y ago
      > It may even be bumpier than the current standard for German public roads, which are generally of exceedingly high quality. http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/794/698/475.png http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/794/698/475... > But the real fun is that the general speed limit is 100kph (62mph) off the autobahn and outside of towns, even for relatively small and curvy roads. Well they certainly remain to exist, but sadly there is a tendency since ~10 years or so to stick a 70 speed limit anywhere where the road deviates the tiniest bit from a ruler. Nowadays they are often coupled with "no overtaking" signs. Apparently the level of driving skill has sunk so low, that people neither know how fast they can drive through a curve, nor can they realize for themselves that overtaking in a curve is forbidden anyway and they shouldn't need signs to remind them of that. > I'm in southern Germany at the moment, visiting my girlfriend's family. In the south road conditions are a bit better, but still many municipal and country roads are in either poor or piss poor condition.
      - KozmoNau7 8y ago
        Up north, I expect the roads to be more similar to the ones in Denmark that I'm used to, ie. potholed, frost damaged and sort-of repaired. Honestly, you have no idea how good you have it road-wise, compared to Denmark or the UK or especially the US. Down here in the Schwarzwald/Schwaben area, they really are in amazing condition and the majority of roads are still 100kph or at least 80kph in the trickier sections. Sure, there are a few villages with blanket 30kph limits (WTF) and the occasional 70kph sections around tricky intersections. But other than that, it's very good still, and 100kph on some surprisingly curving roads. Mostly unlimited autobahn too, although I know they're reigning that in as well.
        sandworm101 8y ago
        >> Honestly, you have no idea how good you have it road-wise, compared to Denmark or the UK or especially the US. But roads are easy when in a small country with a dense population like Germany. Heck, you can drive from one side of Germany to the other in a single tank of gas. Compare that to properly large roads like those in Canada, or Russia. (I'd add Australia but the weather is so good there that they have no word for pothole.) How small Germany is compared to one of Canada's medium-sized provinces. https://mapfight.appspot.com/de-vs-british.columbia/germany-british-columbia-size-comparison https://mapfight.appspot.com/de-vs-british.columbia/germany-...

> What is the significance of Nurburgring? It's both old and good. Almost a century of racing, setting and breaking records went down on it. (Also you can drive on it yourself w/ your own car).

sandworm101 8y ago

It is also not a tiny circuit with only a handful of corners. It is harder to tune a car for nurburgring than a nascar oval. So the theory goes that nurburgring results are more representative of overall (realworld) performance.

pmontra 8y ago
It's also very bumpy. More like a normal road than a race track. A team manager once told me that not every driver can go full throttle on the longest straight because of the bumps.
- KozmoNau7 8y ago
  It may even be bumpier than the current standard for German public roads, which are generally of exceedingly high quality. Most people know about the unrestricted sections of the autobahn, and it is certainly fun to flog a rental Opel Corsa with a 1.0L 3-cylinder engine to 160kph, while being overtaken like you were standing still by various Porsches and big BMW/Mercedes/Audis. But the real fun is that the general speed limit is 100kph (62mph) off the autobahn and outside of towns, even for relatively small and curvy roads. Couple this with the generally very high standard of German roads, and you can have a hell of a lot of fun within the speed limit. I'm in southern Germany at the moment, visiting my girlfriend's family. The winding roads in the Schwarzwald area are absolutely amazing to drive, even in the little Corsa we're renting. You have to really flog it in second gear to get any speed going uphill, but it is so damn rewarding. And you notice so many other people doing the same, in all kinds of cars and on motorbikes. I know it's a bit of a cliché, but driving enjoyment really is part of the German mentality.
  - blattimwind 8y ago
    > It may even be bumpier than the current standard for German public roads, which are generally of exceedingly high quality. http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/794/698/475.png http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/794/698/475... > But the real fun is that the general speed limit is 100kph (62mph) off the autobahn and outside of towns, even for relatively small and curvy roads. Well they certainly remain to exist, but sadly there is a tendency since ~10 years or so to stick a 70 speed limit anywhere where the road deviates the tiniest bit from a ruler. Nowadays they are often coupled with "no overtaking" signs. Apparently the level of driving skill has sunk so low, that people neither know how fast they can drive through a curve, nor can they realize for themselves that overtaking in a curve is forbidden anyway and they shouldn't need signs to remind them of that. > I'm in southern Germany at the moment, visiting my girlfriend's family. In the south road conditions are a bit better, but still many municipal and country roads are in either poor or piss poor condition.
    - KozmoNau7 8y ago
      Up north, I expect the roads to be more similar to the ones in Denmark that I'm used to, ie. potholed, frost damaged and sort-of repaired. Honestly, you have no idea how good you have it road-wise, compared to Denmark or the UK or especially the US. Down here in the Schwarzwald/Schwaben area, they really are in amazing condition and the majority of roads are still 100kph or at least 80kph in the trickier sections. Sure, there are a few villages with blanket 30kph limits (WTF) and the occasional 70kph sections around tricky intersections. But other than that, it's very good still, and 100kph on some surprisingly curving roads. Mostly unlimited autobahn too, although I know they're reigning that in as well.
      - sandworm101 8y ago
        >> Honestly, you have no idea how good you have it road-wise, compared to Denmark or the UK or especially the US. But roads are easy when in a small country with a dense population like Germany. Heck, you can drive from one side of Germany to the other in a single tank of gas. Compare that to properly large roads like those in Canada, or Russia. (I'd add Australia but the weather is so good there that they have no word for pothole.) How small Germany is compared to one of Canada's medium-sized provinces. https://mapfight.appspot.com/de-vs-british.columbia/germany-british-columbia-size-comparison https://mapfight.appspot.com/de-vs-british.columbia/germany-...