Yes, a good-running 2.0L does have decent torque from ~2000 up. However,
compared to a large-displacement motor that has a non-peaky powerband, it's
not as impressive.
At 2000 rpm, maybe. At 6000 rpm, let's see who's impressive.
The thing I notice is that many people just are not accustomed to driving a
car around at 4k+ rpms, regardless of gearing. My 240Z did not have as
much torque as my GLI at low rpm's but was fast, fun, etc. You just have
to change the way you shift gears. Passing does not always require a
downshift, it only does if you are cruising way below the torque
curve. Same is true for any motor, regardless of the torque curve.
So what you seem to be saying is that you don't like driving the car at
higher rpms, so you'd rather have a car that makes the power at the lower
rpms. That's ok, just remember, you make more power at higher rpms, all
else being equal. So to get that low-end grunt requires big & heavy,
compromises in handling, etc. There's a reason why 1000+ hp formula 1 cars
do not employ 7.0L V-12's that make the peak torque at 1500 rpm. I would
venture to say that even you would not think of one of these cars as slow,
regardless of the torque band.
I think it's the SOUND of the engine that bugs people, they think when it
makes the sound of revving high, that it's "about to die". This is the
exact comment I hear all the time. Like you are making the engine do
something it does not like to do.
Again I should have clarified. I want to be able to control the rear end
with the throttle and the front with the steering wheel.
In a corner, in either type of car, the steering characteristic is
controlled with the throttle. The steering wheel merely changes the
on-balance attitude. With both types of car, up until you get to the limit
of adhesion by applying too much throttle, more throttle causes weight
transfer to the rear, which causes more understeer, and less throttle or
some brake causes weight transfer to the front, which causes more oversteer.
If you "spin out", spin the tires, that is get enough power to the wheels
to cause them to lose traction, then a front drive car will understeer and
a rear drive car will oversteer. I don't think this is the behavior you
want to exact from the car most of the time. If the car is even remotely
balanced, then you will want to drive it well below the threshold where you
begin to completely lose traction at one end. With a balanced 240Z, when
you get enough throttle to break it loose, it spins immediately. With my
GLI, when you get enough throttle to break it loose, you are going in a
dead-straight line no matter where the steering wheel. This is an
out-of-control situation.
Below this point, they act the same way. The only difference from a
driver's standpoint is knowing that more throttle on a FWD car will always
cause it to understeer, until it breaks loose and goes straight. With RWD,
more throttle causes understeer until a point, if you're totally awesome
you can get in a little window of 4-wheel drift, and then you're way into
oversteer. It's the radical change of characteristic from big understeer
to big oversteer that makes the RWD unpredictable, and I think that's why
more people are comfortable with FWD cars.
Also, FWD drivetrain is generally more efficient, smaller, lighter,
consumes less cargo space thus requires a smaller car (which can be
lighter), so in all, the tradeoffs are in favor of FWD for all but a select
few performance cars.
My main beef with FWD cars is the torque steer. My main beef with my Z was
the outrageous oversteer when the roads were wet. At least in the VW, when
the streets are wet and you get on it too hard at a stop light, you just
spin out and keep going in the direction you were going. With my Z, you'd
get a little wheelspin and then do a 180 immediately.
-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Josh Karnes <>< "As long as the devil gives you slack in Austin TX
your chain, you think you are free."
- Dick Brown
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