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Al Pettee said:
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69bossnine said:
Whenever I see 0-100kph discussions, or 0-60 mph discussions, I'm compelled to toss-in my "who cares" post. For any car with over 300 h.p., let alone 500+, 0-100 or 0-60 represents nothing more than a "launch". Let's wait to see a full 1/4 mile run, with trap speed, or 0-200 kph, to see what the real nature of the car is. Why worry about 0-100, are you planning on street racing against Honda Civics and VW Golfs?? Leave the dinky sprints for the dinky cars, 0-100 doesn't do you much good when a REAL car just reels you in and spits you out!
Yes, I agree that launch times alone won't tell the whole performance story, but a car's 0-60mph or 0-100mph or 40-110mph (a trendy measure reported more frequently) times do quantitate a car's functional power and torque, similar to 'Ring times. Knowing that a baseball pitcher can throw a 100mph fastball doesn't completely convince the scouts that he can succeed in the majors, since pitch selection, control (accuracy), and ability to change speeds (such as throwing a slider at 90mph and a hard breaking curve at 75mph with lots of movement) obviously are just as important. So, a 997TT that is ECU-limited to peak HP and Nm torque of, say, 480/640, instead of, say, 508/680, will be slower which will show up in its 0-60mph/0-100mph times, 'Ring times, as well as quarter times with trap speed. All the reason I want to see the 997TT full specs. and performance #'s.
No, 0-60 mph and 0-100 kph become exponentially worse "quantifiers of a car's functional power and torque" as power and torque increases, because the more power and torque involved, the more that those measures are affected and compromised by TRACTION. With a low-power car you have the ability to wring every last ounce of potential out of it, right from the standstill, because full throttle and full power will translate straight to the ground, with no wheelspin or clutch slip. But when you get into more powerful stuff, the launch compromises one's ability to utilize full power and potential from a dead-stop, because it can overpower the tires or the clutch if you try to launch it at the heart of its peak power. My 507 h.p. Saleen cannot go 0-60 mph ANY faster than a 300 h.p. Mustang would with the same tires and gearing, because the tires won't hold traction at full throttle up to 60 mph. So, in my S351, the 0-60 sprint is just a measure of traction, not power. 0-60 is absolutely NO indicator of how much power and torque the car REALLY has, or how fast it can accelerate once it's reached a velocity where the tires will hold firm at full-throttle. Admittedly, my Saleen is an extreme example of really disasterous traction problems, but it illustrates my point perfectly. Similarly, 0-60 in an SL65 tells you NOTHING about how the car can really pull, so for a car of its power, 0-60 is a rather worthless benchmark for comparison.
Yes, I know, if you can't hook it up, it's of very little use. But, all the same, I still look at small sprints as being primarily a test of tires and chassis, not a test of power and torque. Of course, the 997TT is AWD, so it really doesn't have the traction problem. But OTHER cars don't have AWD, so the Porsche would look deceivingly "faster" in comparison, when in fact it's advantage is not power, it's traction.
Case-in-point is how the 997S managed to wallop the C6 Corvette in 0-60 sprints. Kids reading magazines who idolize 0-60 times would deduce that the 997S is a faster car. They would then be seriously disappointed when they were riding in their uncle's 997S, and had a C6 pull up next to them on an empty highway at 45mph, and proceed to walk them like a dog.
"How is that, Uncle? Your car is faster 0-60??"
"Nephew, the answer is that 0-60 times are just the beginning of a race, and on street-tires have more to do with traction than they due all-out power potential. If your car is quick due to superior traction, you'd better make sure all your races start from a dead standstill..."
The new 997TT will no doubt have amazing 0-60 times. Probably quicker than just about EVERYTHING street legal on the road, short of a Bugatti Veyron. HOWEVER, I wouldn't start placing bets, based on 0-60 times, on whether a 997TT would win from A 30 mph ROLL against a Ford GT, or a Z06. Using 0-60 as a measure, every teenager on earth will believe that the 997TT is king of the road. Out on the road, from a roll, that won't be the case.
'Course, this is all straight-line speak, drag racing stuff. Getting into twisties is a totally different subject, and one that the 997TT will likely be unbelievable.