How many HP can a skilled driver give up and still win?

[4u2nvinmtl]

I got beat by a four-door Toyota Echo in my Jeep SRT8. Here`s the story (not what you think, I`m sure):

...A few months back I caught someone following me home. I take a very specific route that`s out of the way for anyone living on my street, so I can check if I`m being followed a few blocks from home (yeah it`s extreme but I rather not get my pride and joy stolen).

The first thing I did when I noticed I was being followed was, slow way down (from 40mph to 15mph) and they slowed down too, to keep a constant distance of about 100 yards. Then I pulled over like I was going to park and they pulled over to park as well (still about 100 yards behind me). I played with my phone for a few minutes and noticed they pulled out and crept by really slow (5-10mph) but the driver and passenger didn`t look at me when they passed but I staired hard (to memorize their faces as much as possible). I pulled out behind them in a very obvious way because I want them to know I noticed them (to see how they would react). They turned right and then went out of the way to turn (right) down my street (could have turned on two other streets before mine, if they were lost or looking for parking). I followed them down my block debating to myself if I was just crazy, just then the driver booted it and burned the stop sign at the end of my block and almost got T-boned by another car who didn`t have a stop! I pushed the gas pedal down and quickly caught up (SRT8 ftw). Oddly they turned right and right again to doubled back onto the same one-way street I cought them following me but this time, they were ripping doing 55mph+ in a ~30mph zone (it was a small Toyota Echo and I could hear the RMP`s were high and he was starting to try to lose me). When they got to the end of that same street they turned right again (this completed a full trip around these 3 blocks), and I gunned just after the turn to keep up. I started thinking to myself "damn this guy is a good driver" because my SRT8 had to put down so much power just to keep up. Just then the Toyota Echo pulls over in front of a church I rush in to confront them (going at least, 80mph in a 25mph zone) and when I`m about 1 car length from pulling up beside them the driver pulls an insane U-turn with another car coming the opposite direction with less than 1 foot to spare from a serious accident on either side (me and the driver coming the other way). This causes the car to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting the Echo (I had to do the same). I pulled over to U-turn and rolled down my window. With the window down I could hear the Echo`s tires squeal as he took the next two turns while I waited for the traffic caused by his insane U-turn to clear (pedestrians and drivers were still in shock). I turn the same way he did but he lost me. I never thought a Toyota Echo could dust me but he did. There was nothing I could do...

After the whole thing was over I sat and thought about it for a long time, a couple of things came to mind:
A: The driver had training and so did the passenger because I saw their faces again during the U-Turn and they were both calm despite the super close call on both sides.
B: They never looked at me once (very odd no matter the case at this point)
C: They had no fear of breaking the law, zero apprehension, and the driver clearly waited for the last second to make that U-turn so I couldn`t catch them (wasn`t his first time losing a faster car)
D: They had no fear of getting into a car accident and they didn`t call anyone or even pull out a phone to take pictures/video (clearly I was right and they were following me or they would have tried to take pictures and video)
E: The passenger (woman) was way to calm considering the situation and didn`t look around or panic at any point (my wife would have peed herself if she was in their car or mine)

Mistakes I made:
1. I let the car drive past me when I could have blocked the one way and confronted them right way (I wasn`t 100% sure they were following me at that point, I was only 99% sure, lol)
2. I never took down the plate number (when you adrenaline starts flowing and your mind is racing trying to figure out why someone is following you it`s hard to remember the plate number)
3. I never called the cops, I took things into my own hands (bad idea, no matter the case)
4. I should have played it cool and not let them realize I caught them following me (could have taken them on a wild goose chase at least)

I concluded it`s most likely just the cops following me probably because of someone I know or because of my inlaws. I have nothing to hide from police so it was a relief to come to that conclusion. Just happy it didn`t turn into an attempted carjacking at my home.

In this case I would say the Toyota Echo has roughly 300HP less than my mod`ed Jeep SRT8!

[4u2nvinmtl]

Yup yup. I`m far from a pro, but in my somewhat modified CRX, and about 185 bhp, I was able to pass up a few cars at the track.

edit: Not the best thing to watch, even a bit boring. And. This was me NOT going all out.

Very cool! I want to get into Autocross this year

[JustJesus]

4u2nvi: A toyota Echo is quite similar to my Toyota Yaris. And I can tell you with certainty, it can be a capable car in the right hands. Throw some mods into it, suspension, LSD, and some go fast bits (they do have turbo kits that can be made to work) and it becomes a little beast. With me behind the wheel, I`ve danced around lessor drivers in better cars.

But those SRT8s aren`t no joke! At that same track from the video, an SRT8 was there and was hitting, I believe the guy said 160. I couldn`t keep up with him in that back straight (my CRX speed governed to about 123), but I`d make up for it in the twisty sections.

Be careful out there! Sounds like an adrenaline filled night, but scary at the same time!


And an SRT8 at autoX. Can`t say I`ve seen that. I`d be curious to see it, though! (Take video)

[512detail]

I did the dodge srt experience back in 2010 and the jeep srt8 was the most fun on the road course at vegas motor speedway.

[Accumulator]

4u2nvinmetl- Interesting story! Glad it didn`t, uhm...end badly. And yeah, my guess would also be that they were LEOs. The way they remained calm indicates Training.

Heh heh, note that plenty of LE agencies train at the place I`m always posting about (LINK: Vehicle Dynamics Institute - Advanced Driver Training - Vehicle Dynamics Institute ).

I don`t want to derail the thread any more than I always seem to by going over how to handle such situations, but:
-yeah, get the plate
-NO, don`t escalate the situation by confronting them
-yeah, call 911
-drive to a Hospital/Fire Dept./Police Dept. and make a lot of noise with your horn as you pull in. DON`T go home

And please get your wife squared away...ya never know what she might have to deal with. Accumulatorette had to cope with armed guys trying to accost her on a deserted highway at night- she had to deal with it properly and immediately. When TSHTF (in her case, when the window came down and a gun came out), you simply gotta TCB and it *DOES* happen to normal people, especially female normal people who are all alone.