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  #11  
Old 04-05-2010, 03:34 AM
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Grumpy Grumpy is offline
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I tend to believe that most Americans don't care and will continue to buy vehicles 5 times too large for their needs.

We have our van to transport all five of us, our econo toyota, for the wife to make the long commute to work and our chevelle and jeep as toys.
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  #12  
Old 04-05-2010, 08:56 AM
rickr15 rickr15 is offline
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Interesing read.

http://fourwheeldrift.wordpress.com/...car-is-so-fat/
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  #13  
Old 04-05-2010, 09:20 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whoaru99 View Post
.. I'd reckon if we still made some 50 hp cars today the mileage would be higher.
For sure, I owned a 96 Metro for some time, 76 horse 1.3L I4 5 speed, it averaged 39+ mpg my driving real world.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeke View Post
Daily?

1995 Chrysler Cirrus beater with a Mitsubishi sourced V6.

In general, it reminds me of a slant-six powered 1975 Plymouth Valiant.

How? The body will fall apart LONG before the powertrain.
Lol! Good old Chrysler.

My TC seems to be doing around 17 city, 22 hwy, I'll know for sure fairly soon.

Pete
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  #14  
Old 04-05-2010, 02:52 PM
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d-ray657 d-ray657 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rickr15 View Post
It is interesting. I would want some more support for his conclusions about weight before I put a whole lot of stock in the argument. It almost seems like he is grabbing numbers out of the air, although they make some sense.

One of the points was that the more gears a car has, the heavier it is. Intuitively that makes sense, but I think if I had another gear, my mileage would improve. I drive a five speed manual. Driving at highway speed, 70 mph, it raps up at about 35k rpm. It's not sluggish at all. I think if I had a sixth gear, it would drop down to the low 20k rpm, and My gas mileage would go way up. While it would add some weight, it would be worth it.

Another thing I do is coast whenever I can. My normal exit from the expressway is about 3/4 mile long. If I can pull into that lane doing around 60 or better, I can coast all the way to the light. There are several other spots that I hit in my regular driving that I can coast for several blocks at a time. I coast by leaving the clutch in. I hope that's not why my tranny went out.

It also makes sense that the heaviest cars might not do the best on the crash tests. While thicker walls might provide more protection, they would also increase the force in a crash, velocity x mass - drag = momentum (I think, been awhile). Therefore, properly aligned bracing that does not add as much weight to the car would probably perform better, because it would decrease the force exerted on each object in the collision.

Regards,

D-Ray
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  #15  
Old 04-05-2010, 04:20 PM
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Geez D! I hope you're not turning that thing 35,000 RPM. I don't think it'll last long that way.
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  #16  
Old 04-05-2010, 04:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by d-ray657 View Post

One of the points was that the more gears a car has, the heavier it is. Intuitively that makes sense, but I think if I had another gear, my mileage would improve. I drive a five speed manual. Driving at highway speed, 70 mph, it raps up at about 35k rpm. It's not sluggish at all. I think if I had a sixth gear, it would drop down to the low 20k rpm, and My gas mileage would go way up. While it would add some weight, it would be worth it.


D-Ray
You would think so but its not always so. A motors peak efficiency is not always when its chugging along at lower RPM's
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  #17  
Old 04-05-2010, 05:49 PM
rickr15 rickr15 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Grumpy View Post
You would think so but its not always so. A motors peak efficiency is not always when its chugging along at lower RPM's

Thats where diesels rock. Throw them into OD and cruise they get about 30% better mileage than any gas motor. The new 2010 compliant ones run cleaner too.

Quote:
Driving at highway speed, 70 mph, it raps up at about 35k rpm.
Damn D-Ray if your motoring along with the motor turning 35,000 on the highway I bet they can hear you coming for miles. What you got in that thing ? Gas turbine?

Quote:
For sure, I owned a 96 Metro for some time, 76 horse 1.3L I4 5 speed, it averaged 39+ mpg my driving real world
Those things were selling for thousands a couple years ago when gas hit $4.50 probably get one cheap right now. The original Sprints with a 1.0 got even better mileage.
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  #18  
Old 04-05-2010, 09:11 PM
Charles Charles is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by d-ray657 View Post
It is interesting. I would want some more support for his conclusions about weight before I put a whole lot of stock in the argument. It almost seems like he is grabbing numbers out of the air, although they make some sense.

One of the points was that the more gears a car has, the heavier it is. Intuitively that makes sense, but I think if I had another gear, my mileage would improve. I drive a five speed manual. Driving at highway speed, 70 mph, it raps up at about 35k rpm. It's not sluggish at all. I think if I had a sixth gear, it would drop down to the low 20k rpm, and My gas mileage would go way up. While it would add some weight, it would be worth it.

Another thing I do is coast whenever I can. My normal exit from the expressway is about 3/4 mile long. If I can pull into that lane doing around 60 or better, I can coast all the way to the light. There are several other spots that I hit in my regular driving that I can coast for several blocks at a time. I coast by leaving the clutch in. I hope that's not why my tranny went out.

It also makes sense that the heaviest cars might not do the best on the crash tests. While thicker walls might provide more protection, they would also increase the force in a crash, velocity x mass - drag = momentum (I think, been awhile). Therefore, properly aligned bracing that does not add as much weight to the car would probably perform better, because it would decrease the force exerted on each object in the collision.

Regards,

D-Ray
If you're going to hit a telephone pole doing 70 MPH, would you rather be on a bicycle or in a '55 Buick? Mass has it's advantages.

Chas
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  #19  
Old 04-05-2010, 11:32 PM
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d-ray657 d-ray657 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles View Post
If you're going to hit a telephone pole doing 70 MPH, would you rather be on a bicycle or in a '55 Buick? Mass has it's advantages.

Chas
Or in an auto body designed to absorb and dissipate the crash?

Regards,

D-Ray
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  #20  
Old 04-05-2010, 11:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JJIII View Post
Geez D! I hope you're not turning that thing 35,000 RPM. I don't think it'll last long that way.
I confess to not knowing much about how engines should or should not run. I can easily be fooled. Is 35K fairly normal, or is it running at a high rate? I just noticed that the chevy I had rented ran a bit lower at highway speeds.

Regards,

D-Ray
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