10-27-2007, 06:11 PM | #23 |
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you gotta be kidding.........
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10-27-2007, 06:13 PM | #25 |
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i dont get why people always believe the numbers magazines give, regarding quarter mile times and 0-60 times? they are always underrated or overrated - most of the time, not even accurate. go to a real drag strip or something.... i dunno
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10-27-2007, 06:14 PM | #26 |
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of course it will, just ask that guy with the stock 335 who killed a Z06, a modded EVO, a Dinan M5 and a modded 427 Mustang all in one week....
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10-27-2007, 07:39 PM | #27 |
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30-50 and even 50-70 roll on tests in TOP GEAR are pretty much pointless and meaningless, since you'd NEVER do that if you wanted to accelerate quickly.
To this day, I have NO CLUE as to why Car and Driver continues doing that test. I've said for YEARS and have written them about it but they need to do roll on tests from like 20-60 starting in 2nd and 40-100 starting in 3rd to get a better idea of passing power in street cars. |
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10-27-2007, 07:45 PM | #28 |
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Seems that those are typical ranges for how the car would perform on the public roads. Say you were following some jerk going 30 in a 45, you get into the passing lane and he floors it.
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10-27-2007, 07:46 PM | #29 |
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Top Gear tests shows engine tractability, because most manufacturers don't go super steep in top gear like the Corvette. Engines with plenty of grunt can accomplish the feat easily, whereas some engines don't provide enough torque, so a down shift is necessary. It's not bad having the test, since the car is there you may as well throw it through the ringer and get plenty of data.
Yes, gearing can change all of it, but the test regimen used is to be applicable to all sorts of cars, not just sports cars. If you have enough bottom-end to pass a car on the highway without down shifting, I would consider it a plus. Now, I've been known to pass a couple of cars in my day, but I know I don't always need to drop it a couple of gears to do so for a simple 5 MPH excursion beyond the vehicle in front of me. |
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10-27-2007, 08:18 PM | #30 | |
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You downshift because chances are if he was going to be a d1ck and try to keep you from passing he would downshift too, if not and he's severly lugging his engine in 5th or 6th at 30 mph you'll wrap around him faster than a starving vegan"s hands on a tofu lettuce wrap Have you ever tried passing someone in top gear (often 6th nowadays) at 30 mph? What about 50 mph? I disagree that it's important to show the engine's tractability in this test too. I can vaguely see the 50-70 mph top gear test as there are some people who might want to know how quickly their car can accelerate from those speeds if they are too lazy to downshift if they really want to go from 50-70 swiftly. A top gear test from 30-50 is a better test to check for a knocking engine. LOL j/k...even though it would be. Lugging an engine at 900 rpms in on overdrive gear doesn't really show tractability since nobody drives like that. That test is like doing a braking test from 90-60 mph and from 50-20 mph using engine braking only to show how good a car can stop with the engine. Nobody drives like that either and therefore nobody would care about that test either. When looking at a spec sheet or factoring in a performance point when you (or anybody) buys a car, do you (or anybody) look at how well the car can accelerate from 30-50 mph in it's top overdrive gear?? If so, then maybe I'm missing a huge important point in factoring the performance of a car. |
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10-27-2007, 09:48 PM | #31 |
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The Atom is cheaper than a Z06.
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10-28-2007, 01:57 AM | #32 |
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If I didn't care about about top gear acceleration, I wouldn't care about torque. Then I could just go for a high-boost/high-lag engine or a NA/high-RPM screamer. Then I could just say I'll just down shift. Really, a lot of people don't down shift to pass. Some don't even go to the kick down point on an automatic transmission.
People love the 0-60 time, but it's really a measurement of traction. Even then, nobody nails 60 from a dead stop all of the time and most people don't do more than brisk acceleration from a roll. This is why there is a 5-60 time given for car measurement. I personally don't down shift all of the time to pass somebody on the highway. Normally, I could just give it a bit more throttle and pass a semi-truck. If I wanted to absolutely ensure that I get past somebody, I will definitely choose a lower gear, but if I have plenty of highway, I can let the torque do its job. Admittedly, the 30-50 time isn't really too useful. I will go to 6th gear when I reach 43 MPH (~1500 RPM in 6th), but if I'm on a surface street, it will probably stay in fifth gear. It's not lugging the engine, because the engine can easily handle the load at that gearing and RPM, so long as no hills are involved. |
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10-28-2007, 02:01 AM | #33 |
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10-28-2007, 02:04 AM | #34 |
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that would be true if most people were in 6th gear at 30 mph...show me a person who cruises on a public road in 6th gear at 30 mph and I'll show you someone who has no idea how to drive a car with a 6 spd. tranny...
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10-28-2007, 02:30 AM | #35 | |
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10-28-2007, 03:25 AM | #36 |
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Add a helmet, still cheaper.
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10-28-2007, 07:47 AM | #37 |
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10-28-2007, 10:39 AM | #39 |
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10-28-2007, 10:42 AM | #40 |
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10-28-2007, 11:14 AM | #41 |
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That Murc owner probably didn't realize that having AWD doesn't give the car the ability to go off-road.
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10-28-2007, 01:26 PM | #42 |
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you're looking at their "costs" the wrong way....
Atom - ~$50-70K add a Helmet to not get killed by june bug - $500 Z06 - ~$75K having doors and a roof so no one can just walk up and immediately start beating the shit out of you and your helmet - priceless... |
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10-28-2007, 01:28 PM | #43 |
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But there isn't any metal to take a baseball bat to or windows to break on the Atom.
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10-28-2007, 03:32 PM | #44 |
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