It's really up to your definition of the terms, and what you want to get from the car. It also depends on whether you're talking about having an actual power decrease or just not getting an increase in the top end.
To me for a performance car, which I hope is the aim of the car, having the maximum possible torque and power for the entire usable band of revs should be the aim.
If you can increase the power in say the 2500-5500RPM band by 20 horse power then the car will be a lot faster than if the mid range stays standard but at 5500-6500 you have an extra 40HP. On the other hand while the first car would be faster a lot of people would enjoy the rush of the second setup, personal prefference again but if the aim is quickness the strong midrange wins every time.
Yes it is possible to setup the car to not leave the rev band where it makes good power but for drivability on the street having to leave the lights with a few thousand revs on board isn't much fun.
The aim really should be to be able to apply the largest amount of power/torque for the longest possible time. That's how to make a driveable performance car in my opinion. Now of course therer are limits to that theory, if you have a car that makes say 500Nm+ from 1000rpm up then it's going to be a bit tough for the car to be "Drivable" unless you're running slicks. That is a problem I don't see a lot of people having though.
Mon, 16 February 2004 02:24
