It begins! 3.0L 5-speed AWD Caravan Project

[kreel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by knightmoves long time Bro!!!! glad to know that 5 speed AWD is still in the making! now how anout a 3.5DOHC 5 speed AWD!!!LOL!!

Hehe, I have a a 3.8 MiVEC sitting on the ground right now that's begging to go into something

[phantomrt]

It'll be interesting to see how the MIVEC goes in. I'm debating whether to buy a good one or a core to build--that way, it'll get forged pistons and stuff to handle some more oopsies.

[knightmoves]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kreel Hehe, I have a a 3.8 MiVEC sitting on the ground right now that's begging to go into something

don't you dare play with my emotions!!!!LOL you need TO DO IT!!!!!

[phantomrt]

I was purging some old crap at home, and I found an AutoWeek article from Sept. 10, 1990 that should bring an eye roll to many of us. In it, they discuss the 1991 Chrysler minivans. At the end of the article, it briefly describes the AWD system function;

"The system works imperceptibly through wheel sensors that detect loss of traction at the front wheels. Power is progressively shifted to the rear wheels with a maximum split of 55 percent front and 45 percent rear.
Chrysler engineers estimate a 1.5 mpg penalty in fuel economy as a result of the system...."

This is why I pretty much never read magazines such as Motor Trend and such.

[Reaper1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phantomrt I was purging some old crap at home, and I found an AutoWeek article from Sept. 10, 1990 that should bring an eye roll to many of us. In it, they discuss the 1991 Chrysler minivans. At the end of the article, it briefly describes the AWD system function; "The system works imperceptibly through wheel sensors that detect loss of traction at the front wheels. Power is progressively shifted to the rear wheels with a maximum split of 55 percent front and 45 percent rear. Chrysler engineers estimate a 1.5 mpg penalty in fuel economy as a result of the system...." This is why I pretty much never read magazines such as Motor Trend and such.

WTF!? Where did they get that load of horsecrap!?

Then again we are talking about the same people who b*tched about the Spirit R/T shifter as being "bulky", but LOVED the Taurus SHO shifter! REALLY!? :

For those that have never driven a 5-speed SHO...the shifter throw is longer than a semi's and is so inaccurate it reminded me of an old air-cooled VW!! That's BAD!

[phantomrt]

YUP! Those who write those magazine articles ought to be shot. I can't remember where it came from, but I do remember reading an article that stated that the Daytona's rear spoiler hindered rearward visibility. Again, bull crap. There is no way.

The 523/568/543 shifters in the Daytonas and Spirits are among the best. In fact, other than what you find in very substantially more expensive cars, what is there that is better? The cable setup, even with shot shifter bushings, still works fascinatingly well. Then you get a comparable Japanese inspired shifter setup where the rubber shifter mount bushing tears and causes the shifter to fall through the floor of the car and rests on the exhaust. Riiiight. FAIL!

Would a magazine ever put the fastest Daytona up against the fastest Ford Probe? Hell, no they wouldn't. An IROC R/T would kick the snot out of any Ford Probe GT. In fact, any T-II/T-III/T-IV Daytona could beat any Probe GT. And the power band of the Ford Vulcan V-6 in 1990 doesn't compare to the Mitsubishi 3.0, but Motor Trend figured that the Probe was faster. Maybe off the line (which is where most races are won), but the advantage ends there.

Consequently, I pretty much just look at pictures if I get bored or curious enough to crack open one of these magazines.

Then, a number of years ago, I watched something (I believe on the SPEED channel) where they put the Ford GT with a highly experienced drag racer up against a Viper with someone who has never raced before. Both cars are equally impressive, but the guy with the viper ran something stupid like a 14.7s quarter mile, then managed to beat the GT in the 2nd race with times in the 12's, and then the Viper driver botched the 3rd run as well. The details are fuzzy, but the commentators went on to brag about how much faster the GT was. The fact that someone who has never raced before was able to beat an experienced guy who had a very similar car performance-wise is something to be said. Running a 14.x time in the quarter with a Viper is just stupid.

[TheCanadian007]

Glad to hear you're still around, Adam! Keep us informed :)