Re: 16V Scirocco (tranny blow up)

[jonas miller <sjmill@erols.com>]

wow that was nicley put man!!!!
jonas

16v Jason wrote:
> 
> Allright, I'm gonna start a war... but then again, what else is new... :)
> 
> At 10:18 AM 9/29/99 , Snow, Jason wrote:
> >1.) I have a someone following me into a curve, let's say I don't know,
> >YOU...your right on my ass, I hit the brake, because I am going faster than
> >I should, now your even closer, and let's say, my brakes lock...DOH! now we
> >are both floating around with harps...OR I downshift, let the car hold
> >itself back, and now at the end of the curve, I am stabbing the gas, AND I
> >am in a lower gear, if you use your brake, you are wondering why I am 3 or
> >four car lengths ahead of you.
> 
> HOLD ON HOLD ON!!!
> Your tires (front or rear, but in this case we're talking front) have a
> certain amount of grip that they can provide.  Once you cross that limit,
> they skid.  Whether you reach that limit with engine braking or your brake
> pedal doesn't matter none to the tires.  So asserting that using engine
> braking to slow you down more quickly is ridiculous.
> 
> And further, when you're using your engine and clutch to slow you down,
> which, by the way is horrible driving practice, you're not extracting any
> benefit from the <ahem> REAR BRAKES, which, while they're not doing 50% of
> braking, certainly help to slow the car significantly, and at the same time
> serve to maintain the balance of the vehicle.
> 
> (For the record, Jason never inserts points he can't back up. :)  I have in
> front of me test results carried about by the DOT for a car with a partial
> brake failure.  Measured in feet from 60mph, this car (a Peugeot 505 STX)
> braked from 60mph in 148 feet.  With the rear circuit non-operational, the
> car took 197 feet.  50 feet is a significant increase in stopping distance
> from 60mph... actually, it's HUGE.  And, for those of you who are curious,
> with just the rear brakes, the car (which had almost 50/50 weight
> distribution for the record) took 354 feet to stop.)
> 
> So, the reason you're 3 or 4 car lengths in front of me, Jason, is because
> you spun out off the road and flew off a cliff. :)
> 
> >2.) Downshifting into a curve is better than braking.
> 
> Bullshit.  The entire purpose of downshifting ***BEFORE*** a curve is to
> set up the engine so that it's at the optimum revs through, and after, the
> curve.  It is positively HORRENDOUS driving practice to, say, downshift
> into 2nd gear at 45mpg during a curve.  If you want to downshift, you do it
> while _entering_ the curve, and you use heel-and-toeing to match the revs
> so that the sudden weight transfer doesn't upset the balance of the
> vehicle-- especially in vehicles that tend to trailing-throttle oversteer,
> like our beloved Sciroccos.
> 
> If you're in the appropriate gear upon exiting a corner, yes, you will be
> faster than the other guy who still has yet to downshift.
> 
> Road & Track published a little tidbit on how downshifting is bad driving
> practice a few years back and created a brouhaha like they'd never had
> before-- thousands upon thousands of drivers wrote in and said "What are
> you fucking crazy?!  Do you mean to say that every F1 driver is a BAD DRIVER?"
> 
> But Road & Track won.  They are right.  The purpose of downshifting is to
> put your car in the best possible gear to leave the curve.  The main
> purpose is *not* to slow your vehicle... it's a nice little positive
> side-effect and nothing more.  Hence, slowing for a stop sign, there's no
> reason to slam your car into 2nd at 40mph and let the clutch drag your
> engine up to 4000rpm.  Leave the fucking thing in 3rd, and disengage the
> clutch at idle.
> 
> Entering a turn at 35mph, sure, make sure you're in 2nd before the curve,
> so at the apex you can slam your foot on the gas and pull through... or
> even better, if the car starts to oversteer, you have the power to pull the
> rear end through the skid using the throttle.
> 
> But for heaven's sake, don't ever, EVER downshift harshly during a curve.
> Your brakes will slow you better than any engine braking will, more quickly
> *and* more safely.  Get your car in the gear it needs to be before you turn
> in, and you'll be even faster than that Olds Delta 88 Brougham you've had
> all over your ass around those bends.
> 
> Jason
> 
> ----------
> 1987 Scirocco 16v
> 1989 Mercedes 190E Sport Euro
> 
> http://members.aol.com/rocco16v
> 
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