Power Happy Median

[SCRIBR]

RAP1D I like your thinking with the higher reving to get out of the big torque!

iv been changing mine @ 5 and I got back into the 3000 range (duno where.. I havent looked haha).. and that's where its making peak torque.. so the clutch doesnt like it!

Keep the ideas/comments coming

[dingah2]

Totally agree with MS700, when your standard of tune starts to drive quirky behaviours - hard startig, poor idling, stalling, traction control re-setting, cruise control not functioning correctl..... such that you can no longer invite anyone else to longer jump in and drive it without having to brief them to beware of this, that and the other is when you have crossed the good sense and engineering boundaries in my view.

Dingah

[Paul@eliteauto]

An auto would smooth out the power delivery a little. I would also think that my power in an auto would be a little less brutal and easier just to toddle around in. You only need to breathe on the throttle in the lower gears in mine for it to just tear to the revlimit in wheelspin.

I would love to see what the 6 speed ZF would feel like behind my motor........ for the ten minutes it would probably last.

I agree with Shane but my my T is quite drivable with and cruise and everything works!

I have no hesitation giving to my wife to pick up our kids from school. Its a great car to drive and even last year drove it with the family Melbourne and then up to the snow and back home.No quirky behavior.

I would expect my wiife to drive it at wide open throttle, then it would become a hand full for a novice. Its well and good to want the power but do you have the stopping power to match.

Cheers Paul

[Kimberley Scott]

This forum mainly concerns itself with power (nothing wrong with power), but the question was drivability, depends wheel and tyre combos, suspension, BRAKES, drivelin etc, we all know, or can pay someone who knows, howto get good power out of these things, but what about the rest of the package.

May I suggest get a stock T take it to the skid pan have a ball, do that several times a year, cheaper than mods, leagl and a hell of alot of fun.

My thoughts.

Scotty

[Kimberley Scott]

This forum mainly concerns itself with power (nothing wrong with power), but the question was drivability, depends wheel and tyre combos, suspension, BRAKES, driveline etc, we all know, or can pay someone who knows, how to get good power out of these things, but what about the rest of the package.

May I suggest get a stock T take it to the skid pan have a ball, do that several times a year, cheaper than mods, leagl and a hell of alot of fun.

My thoughts.

Scotty

[sixfan]

This forum mainly concerns itself with power (nothing wrong with power), but the question was drivability, depends wheel and tyre combos, suspension, BRAKES, driveline etc, we all know, or can pay someone who knows, how to get good power out of these things, but what about the rest of the package.

May I suggest get a stock T take it to the skid pan have a ball, do that several times a year, cheaper than mods, leagl and a hell of alot of fun.

My thoughts.

Scotty

Was wondering if someone was going to mention "the rest of the package"

[MrBean]

They fixed that in the bf

Nope, it still goes sideways with TC on in the wet, feels like there's no TC active

I have "only" 360+rwkw's, and at this level it is dangerous in the wet. Once you hit boost at any gear 80kph, she will let go.

I am use to the UTE now, anticipate break of traction, and I can also control kickdown, so no problem. The point is getting used to the car before you play, remember it will bite you if it can.

I would say 300-350rwkw is a max for reliable street use, the lower limit safer for allround conditions, while approaching 350rwkw is getting on the wrong side of silly

Be careful with this power, and in a UTE with live rear and LSD, be extra careful.

Have fun, post us your expereince when you do the upgrade.

Br,

Beanie

[SHOWDOWN]

Hi Guys, top post, top replies, I've had my T for a week now and this is exactly the info I was after.

I don't have the big bucks to spend on mods but would like to do something to make it more fuel effecient and give it a bit more balls.

Tell me this is 250rwkws enough for a daily driven car with no intentions of racing, that doesn't go through a tank full of juice every week and can be driven by the missus in the wet?

[SCRIBR]

my girlfriend can drive mine (off boost unless very drive,not bumpy & straight road) fine but I use 1 tank of petrol a week but I do >25,000km a year.

Depends on your driving of course. 250 is good power to overtake and the occasional squirt! it will keep u smiling.. until u notice another $1000 in your bank and wonder what u can spend it on

[aiboart]

Drivability has much to do with the shape of the torque curve, or torque surface if we consider lag and threshold and other variables. Drivability is directly related to the shape of the torque surface and only indirectly related to peak power.

If you mod and tune your T so that the torque curve is as flat as the stock factory curve and the lag is as short as the factory setting, you will notice no loss of drivability, you will notice you drive with lesser throttle openings.

Some of our modded T's have spiky torque curves, for various reasons. The peak power values occur low, very low in the rev range... to put it another way, they have fantastic peak torque numbers... that occur suddenly, after a…… delay! These peak torques break things in the car, they break the adhesion that the tyres have with the road and they do wondrous things to the auto box kick down which then exacerbates the loss of traction.

An auto stock T with a flat torque curve and TC on sticks wonderfully in the wet. It is dead set docile and sticky and fast.

The predictable peak (plateau) torque enables the driver to reliably estimate torque output and modulate torque output (if required). The time component in the torque curve (or surface) enables the chassis to transfer weight to the rear increasing rear wheel adhesion. The torque converter smoothes out minor torque spikes. The TC catches any leftovers.

By keeping the torque surface flat and the reasonably lag short you could ramp up peak power to very considerable levels before traction issues become a problem. No idea what that level is, but I do have an idea that it is something that is seriously obscene.

The trick is to keep it flat, and reasonably lag free (some lag adding ability of the chassis to handle a larger peak torque number). High revving NA engines employ a form of time based torque damping.... they have to wait for the engine to rev to 8K to access peak torque).

Regards

aa

Edited 09/07/07 06:41 AM by aiboart