Re: 164 S vs. 164 L

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I believe this thread started out from the posting "Difference between L V6
and S V6 engines" by Charlie DiMarco. His post does not state anything about
looking for a car, just an engine to rebuild (although a 164 would be an
obvious place to put the rebuilt engine).

However, as it has developed into a discussion of the relative virtues of the
S and L models, I might add that the S has a quicker steering ratio. 

It also has sportier front seats with matching "executive seating" in the rear
(optimized for two, rather than three persons). There is also a Recaro seating
option, which may or may not have been available on both models, but it is
probably more common on S models.

The front subframe is different on the S and the L. They have different tow
hooks because the L tow hooks are too high for the deep spoiler. Somebody also
stated that the S makes for a slightly lower engine position, but I believe
that might be a mistake based on changes that were made during 1990 across the
range to alleviate torque steer and coincided with the introduction of the 3.0
V6 Quadrifoglio in Europe (S in the US).

The 1990 European Quadrifoglio (with the same front spoiler, side and rear
aprons as the S but no rear spoiler) has a marginally lower drag coefficient
than the original design (i.e., the L). I don't know the drag coefficient of
the US "S" models, equipped as they are with a rear spoiler.

Sonny
91 164S Baltimore MD
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