928 wins....again

[Normy]

Well, it is obvious that Jermemy Clarkson purposely lost the burnout competition. He and the 928 would have won the whole thing right there-

N!

YouTube - BBC: £1500 Porsche Challenge - Top Gear

[Maleficio]

What?

[B-Man100]

I reject your reality and substitute my own!

[Normy]

I really don't understand several things. First of all, the 300 hp ROW car in that competition should be able to leave at least 100 feet of rubber from both rear tires, especially a 5 speed car. That would have won the competition right there. But now we have this situation where a 3000 pound car with 160 hp was able to turn a 1:43 lap time on a tight course, against a 3300 pound car with 300 hp and its' 1:45 lap time.

Anyone else see a problem with this?

Lets break that down. Apparently, a 300 pound weight advantage can overcome a 140 hp power advantage. That means that a 10% weight loss makes a car faster than an 87% increase in power.

Hello?

YEAH...if we were talking about a Lotus Elise versus a '69 Dodge Charger hemi on a road course, I could see it. Hell, a well-sorted 90 hp '84 VW Rabbit GTI on a good road course could probably keep up with that 435 hp '69 charger. On a road course.

But the difference between a 944 and a 928 is NO WHERE NEAR as extreme! The advantage between well-sorted 944's and well-sorted 928's is minute. The power advantage of the 928 would seem to handily defeat that slight advantage in handling.

N!

[riber.bentsen]

Did you not watch the video? Or skipped through?

First of all, Jeremys 928 wasn't excactly what you would call mechanically sound - leaving bits of engine and smoke everywhere.

Second, the car is not a 5speed, it's not even a 4 speed. It's a dodgy old 3speed slushbox.. The car has probably done a million miles, not had an oil change in years, and the trans is slipping. (probably).

Yes, it had 300bhp when new, brand spanking out-of-Stuttgart new. But years of abuse takes it's toll on all engines, and maybe, at some point in it's miserable life did the timing belt break on this interference motor and a few valves bent. What power is left in a V8 that has had that life? 200? 180? 140 when passed through a neglected tranny?

I think its genuine.

[Dan951]

In the words of Clarkson, I believe his 8 cylinder ended up being a 7 3/4 cylinder.

[Normy]

Originally Posted by riber.bentsen

Did you not watch the video? Or skipped through?

First of all, Jeremys 928 wasn't excactly what you would call mechanically sound - leaving bits of engine and smoke everywhere.

Second, the car is not a 5speed, it's not even a 4 speed. It's a dodgy old 3speed slushbox.. The car has probably done a million miles, not had an oil change in years, and the trans is slipping. (probably).

Yes, it had 300bhp when new, brand spanking out-of-Stuttgart new. But years of abuse takes it's toll on all engines, and maybe, at some point in it's miserable life did the timing belt break on this interference motor and a few valves bent. What power is left in a V8 that has had that life? 200? 180? 140 when passed through a neglected tranny?

I think its genuine.

Hello?

Where do you live? That car probably wasn't running right at all. But an M28 V8 engine crankshaft weighs over 52 pounds; put this and all the weight of the connecting rods, the pins, the pistons...and everything else and you wind up with an enormous amount of reciprocating metal. All this was worked out in the early 1970's in Stuttgart.

The varius 928's:

'78 to '80: These are typically junk cars. If you buy one, change the aluminum ball joints out for later steel parts. Several 928-iacs have been injured when these ball joints failed and the car went out of control. There was an actual federal recall for this problem.

N!

[riber.bentsen]

It had a broken piston ring, eating the engine for christ sake.