Honda put the rev limiter where they did for a reason as long as you stay below the redline it doesnt make a difference

 

It's a good thing too, 'cause my car's rev limiter gets a lot of use.

 

Without checking your numbers, I will point out that this is unsurprising. The limit for thrust from a standing start is the grip of the tires. There's no point to designing the gear ratios in a high power car like a Viper such that you have a stupendous thrust, because all you will do is spin the tires. (Drag cars use various tricks to get around this.)

AWD cars have a clear advantage in this respect.

 

 

i've read a lot of posts from redmx5 with the short time i've been here.. so reading ace123's post, calling on mx5, i knew he'll be flamed by other members who respect mx5's posts here... i was just waiting for explanation..


even if i didn't understood half of what you said


slow or fast.. it's all good for me... if my s happens to be slow.. that's just more time for other people to notice i'm passing by...

 

sorry ruprecht.. but i don't think this will go anywhere..... that prolly is making more downforce than an F1 machine.. i'll bet it makes enough downforce at 25mph to theoretically run upsidedown in a tunnel.

 

Exactly Mike, it's totally unsurprising.

 

Notice the difference between ace123's response and what Mike Garrison had to say. Mike, who is extremely knowledgable, finds it "unsurprising." He then gives a nice, brief, explination as to why he finds it unsurprising. Confusion over the force that produces acceleration in an automobile is also unsurprising, because confusion is more common than understanding. When was the last time you saw the word "thrust" used in an article discussing automotive performance (outside it's use as a superlative)? We experience the change in thrust caused by gearing every time we change gears in our cars, and yet somehow people forget the role of gearing when it comes to acceleration.

If a Viper had the gearing of an S2000, first gear would be totally useless, because there would be far more thrust than you could use. You'd never be able to floor the car in first gear without boiling the tires. The S2000 has much greater torque multiplication, so it produces quite respectable thrust, especially in VTEC and first gear. It just doesn't produce that thrust for very long.

Anyway, I never said that an S2000 was quicker than a Viper, under any circumstances, but when the S2000 is in first gear, and between 6k and 9k RPM, the difference is small, especially compared to the huge difference in engine torque. Even if the Viper produced 50% more thrust than an S2000 (in first and VTEC), people who don't understand the importance of gearing would call BS, because the Vipers make over three times as much torque as an S2000, and without understanding the importance of gearing, the comparison seems ludicrous. But, as Mike noted, it's not ludicrous, and in fact, it's not even surprising, IF one understands the role gears play.

 

[QUOTE=RED MX5,Apr 5 2008, 08:31 PM]Notice the difference between ace123's response and what Mike Garrison had to say.

 

It is always amazing when I see people bench racing cars, without looking at the whole picture.

The e46 M3 vs vette, there is a nice midrange area where the "underpowered" m3 kicks the vette, just on gearing what it does have. Also there is a turbo sube family wagon with stock tall gears (and awd of course) that in first, pulls 0-30 much faster than many cars.