Top Speed Question! (8v & 16v)

[Jason <jason@scirocco.org>]

At 05:11 AM 9/7/98 -0700, jason. miller wrote:
>I just got some black ABT mats with red lettering put in my Rocco 16V.  I
think
>that they're pretty cool!  Strangly enough, I've also top-speed ran my car.
>Listen to this!  I can pull up to 170/180km/h FAST, then it crawls up to
maybe
>195km/h and at that point, I was running out of safe road, so I only
pushed it
>a little further...  I'd say that I didn't even hit 200km/h.  Considering my
	
	Even after pushing many a car to its engine's limits on Germany's precious
Autobahnen, I have never, ever witnessed a 4-cylinder car that pulls from
130 to 160km/h (80 to 100mph) as quickly as my 16v Scirocco.  It's a tough
race for thoroughbred modern sports sedans; try racing a 325i from those
speeds, and he'll wince painfully as his beaultiful 190+hp 6-cylinder
screams toward redline, without the Scirocco fading from his rear view.  I
don't know what it is; with a 0.38 Coefficient of drag, there's no reason
our cars should be as fast as they are at those speeds, but I am not one to
complain...  I just make use of it.  5th to 4th downshifts at 130km/h
(80mph) just lend a relentless surge of acceleration that leaves me smiling
every time.

	But now for the figures... I dug out Road & Track's 8/86 test of the
16v... which also contains the test results from their 1983 8v test.    Top
speed was noted as 109 on the '83, and estimated at 125 for the 16v.  For
the record (because the weight thread is going around), the 16v's curb
weight was 2,365 compared to the 2,170lb 1983.  

	By the way, I have also figured out why Car and Driver got a 0-60 time of
8.0 seconds, which is significantly longer than Road & Track's 7.7.  Car
and Driver shifted into 3rd gear at 59mph (7000rpm), where Road & Track
stuck it out to 60 (7200)... The extra 0.3sec is no doubt because of the
time needed to shift.  Ha! The mystery is solved! :)

		HTH Someone... :)
			Jason


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