Topic: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat) (Read 158892 times)

Anaxilus. · « **Reply #1030 on:** August 07, 2013, 06:07:45 PM »

I'm definitely a huge Duesenberg fan, those were the days. If only they could be brought back. It would be a monumental design task alone to capture their styling panache and bring into to today's market.

Yeah, the new RRs look like a Bimmer cuz they are. I can't get over the 7 series climate controls straight ripped from the BMW parts bin and shoved in a Rolls. I mean seriously?! Try as hard as they might, there's always something Teutonic about German luxury cars that just irks me. I think Audi does the best to reconcile that so far. Getting in a German luxury car for the most part for me is like eating a perfectly prepared dry aged Porterhouse on silk table cloth w/ silverware inside a leather lined padded cell at Treblinka. There's just a warmth and coziness missing that English cars seem to provide better. I could just sit and fall asleep inside an Aston, but I'd quickly get uncomfortable inside a Merc. I love the craftsmanship and aesthetic of the CLS interior and the new E-class, but the CLS is suffocating and the E is still too cold and utilitarian. For some reason the Swedes do better w/ utilitarian design IMHO, just more character/panache and humanity. I do like the new Porsche interiors though, they seem to be more in-tune. Maybe because Porsche was an Austrian.

Btw, Sept 10, Toyota reveals the KERS sports coupe concept, likely a future Supra is they are to be believed.

DaveBSC · « **Reply #1031 on:** August 07, 2013, 08:25:26 PM »

Yep, Duesies are very cool. The best of them were the SJ roadsters near the end of the company's run. Just astonishing performance cars for the period. The Pierce could knock on the door of 120mph, but the SJs were pushing past 150. I don't think anything after could reach that until the Benz 300SL and Jag XKs came out. Interestingly, if you adjust only for inflation, the most expensive Duesenbergs ever built would only cost about $500,000 today. More than a Phantom or Mulsanne, but a 2013 Duesenberg would be far more impressive than either of those cars. It would probably be somewhere between a Pagani and a Veyron. Unfortunately bringing back luxury brands from the '20s and '30s generally doesn't work. Maybach was a bust, and I suspect the same thing would happen to Horsch if Audi tried to bring that back. Anyone old enough to remember seeing those cars when they were new is likely not around anymore, so the name doesn't really mean anything except to classic car nerds.

There was a video on Youtube somewhere where the host brought over a new Phantom to a guy with a '30s RR, and asked him if it was a "genuine" rolls. He really didn't answer the question, which was very telling.

DaveBSC · « **Reply #1032 on:** August 07, 2013, 09:31:27 PM »

In addition to the transmission differences, I think there's some number fudging going on as well. All of Audi's recent boosted cars are very fast for the numbers they supposedly put down, even against other cars with the same ZF autobox.

Anaxilus. · « **Reply #1033 on:** August 08, 2013, 02:52:00 AM »

Do I need to watch it to know the RS6 kicks MB ass?

It's not just fudging, but how the torque curve is shaped, responisveness, how power gets to the ground, lighter components, better gearing, better electronics, etc.

Hah! To prove my point, look at the new clover rotor shape to save mass on the RS6. That idea is about 20 years old, costs money to do that. The original looked silly. Can't find the original because the pic is older than mainstream internet, but here is one on bikes:

funkmeister · « **Reply #1034 on:** August 08, 2013, 06:15:10 AM »

The GT40 was awesome but it didn't have the downforce enough to actually fully overcome the lift, so the car still got lighter as it got faster. There are goods and bads to that... but mostly bads. I also thought it was interesting to learn that the entire Le Mans race was built around odd discretions. As soon as the idea of a stock car (today's NASCAR) engine in a Le Mans body came across Ford's mind, they knew there was nothing on the track that could take it.

Odd little fact. The GT40 had the shifter in the left hand for either driver seating arrangement.

This is all from memory. I hope it's right. The Mk I was really cool. The Mk II was freakin' awesome and the one I wanted to get my hands on until the new GT came out. The Mk III had 52 units built to meet the minimum production requirements for racing in the GT class. It looked gay. The Mk IV was built to prove that we Americans don't only have a good idea once but can innovate and still whoop on the track. Point proven, the GT40 program was ended.

Anaxilus. · « **Reply #1035 on:** August 09, 2013, 05:37:44 AM »

FRS news from the sarah jessica parkers (sarah jessica parker's-lol macro) mouth himself: http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/toyota-86-to-get-power-boost-20130809-2rleu.html

Like I said, 2015 is the big year. Seems Subaru and Toyota are fighting over displacement versus Turbo. Also sounds like Toyota is sick of working w/ them and looking to sever ties in 2018 when the replacement is scheduled. Clearly, Subie wants to turbo and Toyota wants to go larger displacement and then KERS. It's also obvious the last thing Tada wants in the 86 is any sort of lag, hence the twincharger idea, also the added weight and complexity of an intercooler.

So NA looks like they are going from 197bhp to 254bhp by going to 2.5L if those numbers are right. Plus torque will be much better.

Oh, if you haven't heard, the convertible is probably back on the map, err..never left. Just undergoing revisions. That Jalopnik article was total BS which should have been obvious for those following actual developments. About the only thing they've nailed recently is the design of the new Vette. I think they got played a little bit.

Anaxilus. · « **Reply #1036 on:** August 10, 2013, 04:35:56 AM »

More FRS news. Handling pack upgrade, GTS model, track focused flagship models:

http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/tadatuned-toyota-86-prototype-review-20130809-2rmvg.html

planx · « **Reply #1037 on:** August 10, 2013, 05:21:15 AM »

Haha funny how you link Avid brakes. In the mtn biking world, Avid brakes are awful compared to the Japanese Shimano.

TBH, from experience, shedding weight from rotors is stupid. Just out of curiosity, I tried the rotors you linked above and they had limited contact surface, bent under pressure and heat easily, and lastly literally warped. Maybe it's only for mtn bikes, but I found that heavier and quality rotors definitely outperform lightweight rotors, especially with a wave shape.

Anaxilus. · « **Reply #1038 on:** August 10, 2013, 05:31:47 AM »

Lol, I didn't recommend those brakes. I don't think you should be using those for mountain biking tbh, look like street rotors for skinny tires/rims. Knobbies are too much size and weight for those little fellas. I only mentioned it in relation to Audi's choice for the RS6 in the rear. The fronts are still round for surface area, they just shed weight off the rear due to reduced bias to save weight and increase performance. Honestly I've always hated the feel of Shimano brakes when I used to ride. That's okay, my cars don't use Shimano or AVID lol. I'd be going w/ AP Racing and Carbotech.

planx · « **Reply #1039 on:** August 10, 2013, 05:53:33 AM »

Quote from: Analixus on August 10, 2013, 05:31:47 AM

Lol, I didn't recommend those brakes. I don't think you should be using those for mountain biking tbh, look like street rotors for skinny tires/rims. Knobbies are too much size and weight for those little fellas. I only mentioned it in relation to Audi's choice for the RS6 in the rear. The fronts are still round for surface area, they just shed weight off the rear due to reduced bias to save weight and increase performance. Honestly I've always hated the feel of Shimano brakes when I used to ride. That's okay, my cars don't use Shimano or AVID lol. I'd be going w/ AP Racing and Carbotech.

Lol but a lot of people do use those rotors thinking they are good. Looks cool as it looks like car brakes I guess, but structurally they are inferior to most rotors out there. I think the point Avid was going to make was with the rotor constantly spinning, the wave formation at the top and bottom creates a braking surface equivalent to round rotors, but it's impossible to forget how these small patches of metal are being constantly rubbed by the pads once the brakes are applied. Difficult to explain over text.

Yeah I know it was a reference to Audi but a mtn biking comment on a car page can't go unnoticed by me

Did you use Shimano Hydraulics? I admit that Mineral Oil feels different than brake fluid, but the versatility (you can use cooking oil as emergency fluid!) and reliability (doesn't eat away seals like brake fluid does) is unmatched IMO, especially when you're raging down mountains. I'd rather sacrifice a little bit of brake feel for reliability. I believe either Volvo or Saab (one of the Swedes) used mineral oil for their brakes for the same concept as well. Not too sure

Author Topic: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat) (Read 158892 times)

Anaxilus.

Re: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

DaveBSC

Re: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

DaveBSC

Re: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

Anaxilus.

Re: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

funkmeister

Re: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

Anaxilus.

Re: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

Anaxilus.

Re: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

planx

Re: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

Anaxilus.

Re: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

planx

Re: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat)

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Author Topic: The New Car Saga (and general auto chat) (Read 158892 times)