Quote:
Originally Posted by m3alabama
This is neglecting taking into account a car's powerband when under heavy throttle which is when most people care about wanting more torque and to go faster.
Its actually pretty simple. Large displacement or FI engines produce a lot of ENGINE torque at much lower RPMS. So that is why this is considered "lazy" in that you can be at the bottom RPMS and still have a decent amount of torque.
However when you plant the throttle in an m3 for example, the revs never dip below 6k (or barely) So the "low end" lack of torque is meaningless because when you want to move fast and plant the throttle, you live above 6k inherently due to its powerband. At 6k and above, the engine output combined with the gearing puts down the torque throughout its whole power band.
What you need to do, which I have done, is compare the AUC for each cars powerband.
A vette for example may have a lot of torque at 1.5-4k but under throttle you will never see under 4k and will be living at 5k-7k. It has good torque there as well but that is the torque you would compare at the wheels to the m3's torque in its power band.
Quite frankly I could care less when I am at part throttle if I have 500 foot pounds of torque. When I plant the throttle 3/4 the way or more, than I want access to power and that is what you get in any car-put it into its power band as long as you shift and are in the right gear.
That is reason a 335 has a bit more torque down lower than the m3, but niether car lives down there when under throttle except for being initially off the line. Look at the powerband of 5-7k of the 335 and realize its torque curve is falling off fast.
If someone had a mathmetical program I wish they could accurately give you an example comparing the c63, vette and the m3. I believe the c63 will still put down more wheel torque than the m3 even with all the gearing and powerband into account but it would not be much. And I know from my own calculations the m3 does put down more wheel torque than the vette in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. After that its closer.
I realized this is an arguement that I will never win and there are so few people that really "get" this but oh well!
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There are at least two of us on the boards who get it
Cheers,
e46e92