sselway

Owning a convertible in Europe is not my cup-o-tea unfortunatly. With the top down doing 120 mph on the autobahn it gets far to noisey. This has nothing to do with the vehicle being a 350Z more that it's a convertible. Also perhaps I need something faster... for example, when I am rowing thru the gears going from 60 to 130 mph there was a Volvo glued to my azz the entire time. What's up with that!? My car was fun and fast in the states but here it gets whooped up on by the average $30,000 Mercedes.

Cheers mates -

Netko350Z

iTrader: (8)

Let us know what you get!

John Boy

Ever try putting the top up. At least here in the US that substantially reduces the wind noise

aznmojo

which 30k Benz whooped you?

zland

That is why they sell turbo and SC kits.

ohw

... and SC and turbos for Volvo's too. Just because it's a Volvo, does not mean it cannot be fast. We could have a Neon glue to our/your azz for even less money. High speed top down for a long stretch can be annoying. But we can always put the top up. For sure, convertibles are not for everyone. May be that's why there are less of them around.

sq40

iTrader: (4)

Dude, Ive got a Volvo that will keep up with the Z.. They are one hell of a sleeper car.

Z33Concept

S65 Amg Googogog

Paul_BB_Guy

Native European cars are geared differently in Europe. I was in a Golf that was flying on the highway between Lisbon and Fatima and the guy wasn't really pushing it either. He would have been revving the crap out of it to get those speeds in an American version Golf.

The Mike

I think you are imagining things. For the little engines they must rev it to ge the hp needed for high acceleration / high speeds. What else is there except a larger engine which they don't have. Gears don't magically make a car faster if the engine can't support it. Super/Turbo's, ect... those are extra's we have in the US also.

Paul_BB_Guy

Yes, you're right I must have been imagining it...

There's nothing magical about changing gear ratios to get a higher top speed (think autobahn vs. I90). As for the need for power to get very high speeds, you're absolutely correct. However, we're not talking about moving a 5000lb square box past 150mph. We're talking about a lightweight golf going about 125mph (200km/h).

In summation, many vehicles in Europe have different transmissions than in US/Canada.

I'll thank you NOT to surmise my imaginings..

The Mike

So in summation... strapping a lawnmower engine *european of course * to my bicycle will take me to 125mph also eh'? Oh.. and the most important part... it won't even have to rev much to do it hehe.. I don't want a flame war but seriously... 1+1 should always = 2. Just keeping it logical. Even the lightweight golf with its tiny engine is going to be reving its a** off to get up to speed.

Paul_BB_Guy

I don't flame but I'm happy to debate. However, you're going to need to come up with a more appropriate analogy. Your "bicycle" wouldn't be able to withstand 125mph.

As for the lawnmower engine, if you had a zero-weight transmission with 25 gears, you probably COULD get it up to 125mph. That's not realistic however because that many gears will weigh more than the engine could push along.

Here's a better analogy:
125cc 6-Speed shifter carts can exceed 100mph and with under 50 Horsepower.

This thread started with someone complaining that on the autobahn their car is not fast enough (i.e. Volvo kept up no problem) to which I replied, European cars are often geared differently.

Lowering the gear ratio on the 6th gear of any car will result in lower RPM for equal speed. Of course there is a ratio at which the engine will not be able to turn the transmission. The whole point of having a transmission is to get the vehicle up to speed in a manner which the engine is capable of handling.

Look at it this way:
Why does an automatic car rev at 4400rpm to go 65mph when the same car with a six speed is doing 65mph but only running 3600rpm. It's because the gear ratios are different. You typically only have 3 or 4 gears in an automatic and you need to design it such that you get the best ratios appropriate for the average driver.

Not to get personal, but whenever debating online, I always look at the person I'm debating with... I did a search on what you've posted on these forums and at present you've got 127 posts and a good number of them aren't that positive:
I won't debate with a troll.

The Mike

Participating in discussion is what the forums is all about. IF that's a troll then great. Sometimes posts are positive and sometimes they are negative but all in an effort to find truth on whatever subject happens to be up for discussion. Getting personal was exactly why you mentioned my previous posts but that doesn't bother me at all.. once something is out for the public to read then it stands for itself and for its author and can't be taken back. As for your reply explaining the fundamentals of gearing related to the torque the engine is putting out you really weren't making a point. The point is that the small engine is either going to be geared to accelerate fast by revving for its life *short gears*, or is going to accelerate like a snail (tall gearing) but have a higher relative top speed. If your "golf" point was the latter mentioned then great.. but it must of taken him the better half of an hour *only a slight exaggeration* to get up to speed and he definately had his foot nailed to the floor the whole time so I'd consider that pushing it.
Lastly, the name calling is a bit immature.. I expected better

Paul_BB_Guy

You're right. The troll comment was out of line. I apologize.