Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Not exactly... Im thinking more along the lines of a work-truck motor. 500lb/ft (stock) is the ante :cool: Although I hear BMW's new 3.0 diesel will be rate at 265hp and 425lb/ft :woot:
Audi/VW make good diesel motors but I want monster torque levels

you see, I was talking about 811 poundfeed of torque...
[nitpick]btw it's pounds times feet, not pounds per feet, so not lb/ft[/nitpick]
 
then just type lbft... we euros don't write N*m either, just Nm
 
I drove a Pontiac G6 yesterday. I was unbelievably surprised to learn its very good. The last Pontiac I drove was a 98 Grand Am and my expectations for the G6 were extremely low.

Its well equipped, the V6 was quite nice, the transmission was very responsive (Auto), it had very good brakes (maybe too touchy), and as I was driving on extremely windy and hilly roads it had good handling to boot.

+1 for the G6
 
I drove a Pontiac G6 yesterday. I was unbelievably surprised to learn its very good. The last Pontiac I drove was a 98 Grand Am and my expectations for the G6 were extremely low.

Its well equipped, the V6 was quite nice, the transmission was very responsive (Auto), it had very good brakes (maybe too touchy), and as I was driving on extremely windy and hilly roads it had good handling to boot.

+1 for the G6

The thing with the G6 is that the cost is very close to the Accord, Camry, Aura, Sonata, Mazda 6, Fusion etc. But it's the most bland vehicle out of them all. It's not really a bad car, but it just doesn't stand out in any one area.
 
Ahhh I never considered price.

However, not that I would want to own any of the cars you listed, but the G6 certainly isn't a bad choice.

Sorry I threw your Grand Am under the bus in my post :p
 
on the whole diesel topic, my dad got an '01 Ford F-250 a year or so ago- it has the 7.3 litre turbo-diesel V8 and it is a BEAST. Only a 3300 rpm redline, but man that big truck moves WAY faster than anything that size has business going- it's hilarious- it's factory rated at 320 hp and 580 lb ft. I've seen some modded to over 1000 hp and nearly 2000 lb ft of torque.
 
on the whole diesel topic, my dad got an '01 Ford F-250 a year or so ago- it has the 7.3 litre turbo-diesel V8 and it is a BEAST. Only a 3300 rpm redline, but man that big truck moves WAY faster than anything that size has business going- it's hilarious- it's factory rated at 320 hp and 580 lb ft. I've seen some modded to over 1000 hp and nearly 2000 lb ft of torque.

Oh yeah, those things are ridiculous. $470 or so gets you an engine programmer for the duramax that makes it good for 600+hp and 1000+lb-ft (although you need a stronger tranny, which is around $3500).
 
So exactly how fast does a 4+ tonne truck with 320hp accelerate?
 
<3 my new neighbors. I was coming home (dirt road with construction barrels) and i started weaving a bit trying to time my pendulem drifts as much as possible so that i would get the biggest swing around the barrel near my house, it worked out pretty well. Anyways i stepped out of my car and my neighbor (or one of his friends) was sitting on his porch in the pitch black and yelled "I'll give you a 8" :lol:. My old neighbors got pissed off if i drove 10 over.
 
Today I was doing full throttle off the lights in a Honda Accord.

That's not very unusual but I didn't even know I was doing full throttle at the time.

That car is seriously the slowest thing I've ever driven. I'd be surprised if it could do 120.
 
Today I was doing full throttle off the lights in a Honda Accord.

That's not very unusual but I didn't even know I was doing full throttle at the time.

That car is seriously the slowest thing I've ever driven. I'd be surprised if it could do 120.

Was it the V6? I drive the V6 Accord (240hp) every now and then and its actually not that bad.
 
^Our Accord ('99 American version) with 2.0L VTEC was very revvy and although heavy, it could accelerate quickly, and could even go up to 180km/h with 6 people (2 children, 4 adults) on board while on a very sunny day at Malaysia.

It accelerates seriously loudly, but our current Beemer E90 with also a 2.0L engine can't match it for plain acceleration.

On another note, I suddenly have a love for E36 Beemers! :D It's handsome!
 
Today I was doing full throttle off the lights in a Honda Accord.

That's not very unusual but I didn't even know I was doing full throttle at the time.

That car is seriously the slowest thing I've ever driven. I'd be surprised if it could do 120.

You haven't felt slow until you've driven a 5000 pound truck with 220hp and 290 torques. It is SLOW.
 
You haven't felt slow until you've driven a 5000 pound truck with 220hp and 290 torques. It is SLOW.

But with big trucks, you can feel the sheer momentum of them once you get up to speed. I don't know if it's just me but it gives a sense of going faster than you actually are. Light cars that are underpowered feel the slowest. My friend's Geo Prizm had a little over 100hp when it was new (long time ago) and has a 3-speed auto. It's difficult to get wheelspin on a dirt roadif you floor it from a standstill.
 
Speaking of diesel trucks

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y210NRGehlI[/YOUTUBE]
 
Corvette Grand Sports absolutely howl. My spine is still shivering.

Rolex Vintage Festival pics coming soon!
 
Why make a naturally-aspirated diesel, though?
The only ones I've seen here were in light industrial applications; generators, forklifts, etc. They make for a fantastically reliable and utterly unkillable power supply when good fuel consumption and longevity is needed and power isn't.

I wouldn't mind a little 1/4 ton pickup with a 4 cylinder NA diesel.
 
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