Re:164 L v S, can you imagine? AD #749

[C M Smith <cmsmith@domain.elided>]

Hey

Don't trash my 164L, grocery getter indeed. The S was clearly a marketing
ploy in N A. Torque is needed for acceleration, hp doesn't mean a thing.
Gearing is the cheap and nasty way to get acceleration. The S has 2% more
torque and 3% more weight. Figure that one out. It accelerates more quickly
because it has 10% shorter gearing,  period. Put the final drive for an S
into an L and the L  will go even quicker, so there.

Properly designed cars will pull their maximum rpm in top gear, which
should also equate to the maximum attainable speed for that particular
vehicle, that's the way to set up a gearbox. Then the gear ratios should be
spread so as to achieve progressive and efficient acceleration over the
entire useable torque curve for the engine. The S does neither, sacrificing
elegance for stop light GP's, which North American's equate to performance. 

Ever wondered why NA designed cars are so irritating to try and drive
smoothly? Because NA engineers, and apparently their customers, believe in
something called "tip in". That's the lurch you feel off the line no matter
how smoothly you attempt to accelerate. NA buyers actually believe that
makes the car more "powerful". To me it's just endlessly irritating, as
well as pretty stupid when traction gets down to near zero in the snow and
ice of our winters. Also, by the time the engine actually hooks up on Mr
Chevrolet I'm usually lengths ahead in my silly little european car. Even
the Japanese have succumbed to this silly idea with accelerator pedals that
are extremely non linear.

Ok, sorry, but to claim the S is superior when it really isn't is a bit
much. Yes, I've driven both and yes I could have bought either, but I
couldn't bring myself to spend the extra on what amounts to a mere poseur.
The annoying thing is Alfa did the same routine with the GTV6, fiddling
with final drive ratios so as to curry favour with the NA motoring (sorry)
automobile press. Who cares who gets to the other side of the intersection
first? Just about any NA half ton truck will beat you there. What's really
satisfying is the downshift into second at 50 mph with legs left to take
you out of the corner accelerating hard into the next one, or a shift from
third to fourth as you are already well above our Mickey Mouse speed limits
and on your way past 130 mph, still accelerating hard.

The S is a great car and fun to drive, but the L is the better value. Did
you know that the catalyst on the S is essentially the same as on the L
except it has two outlets which join into one pipe right at the outlets?
The freer breathing is due to the cam timing. Who needs freer breathing
when you don't have the gearing to use it?

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