Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 13:39:57 GMT From: njahnopsamejanews.com Subject: Re: 4 wheel drive
In article <72repm$916$1nopsamprod.itd.earthlink.net>, "John" <schneitmannopsamhlink.net> wrote: > I believe that Subaru has the best AWD system going. The worst part about > them is they rust out quickly because they use the thinest meatl avail. This is probably true although I was under the impression that nearly all car makers used the same gauge of steel with a notable exception being the Lada which of course is Russian. It is therefore more likely that they are scrimping with regards to the underfloor protection etc. like the sandwhich floor used on Mercedes cars. The other day I was reading an article about the Subaru Impreza 2.0 GL. In the article it was mentioned that the weight of the car was less than 1200 kg. Thats very light for a 4wd and makes me think that the amount of protection offered by such a car in an impact is dubious. > eurohaus wrote in message <3650f4c0.0nopsam.pcom.net>... > >I guess with the 9-5 wagon they are planning on competing with Volvo, > >however, the body does not seem condusive to a 4x4 platform... > >no center tube or anything that would lend itself to 4x4... > >SAABs are not 4x4s anyway...i think they should not even worry about that > >market... > >you are not really going to steal Volvo heads away from their Volvos...just > >ask Subaru!! > >Larry > >eurohausnopsam.net > >FRANK I JACKSON wrote in message > ><01be0f60$dfcec660$310f6c18nopsamlkmg.v-wave.com>... > >>Anyone know of plans by SAAB to introduce a 4 wheel drive? > >>Frank Jackson > >> Anyway if SAAB was to produce a 4wd car it would more likely be at the high performance end. A 2.3T 4wd 9-3 perhaps. The reasoning for this is clear. If you want to put alot of power down in a controllable manner the best way to do it is with 4wd. At the moment SAAB are in a situation where they cannot increase the power of their cars to much without causing side effects such as torque steer and uncontrollable wheelspin at low speeds. All kinds of other things come into play here. For instance in a high performance model you would likely want stiffly sprung suspension. However if the springs are too stiff it will increase the amount of wheelspin, the situation getting worse the more power you put through the wheels and stress you put on the chassis. I have seen this for myself in cars such as the Ford RS turbo and Mini where the extra power doesn't really equate to a corresponding increase in overall performance. In other words the driveability and handling of the car gets worse, although the straight line performance is certainly improved. My feeling is that about 200 bhp per ton (1000 kg) is the limit in an every day front wheel drive. -----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==---------- http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
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