[geeks] my (hopefully) last note on these car threads...

[David Passmore]

On Fri, May 17, 2002 at 10:35:18PM -0400, alex j avriette wrote:

> I feel that my knowledge of mechanics and specifically the cars being 
> discussed (the 350 and 454 V8, as well as the ford 4.6 SOHC and DOHC 
> motor and the ubiquitous 5.0) makes me exceptionally qualified to judge 
> the capabilities of almost any given car on the road. Even without 
> driving it. Because for years it was my profession (and indeed hobby 
> being a racer) to know what was under the hood, and what options 
> packages were available. Being a racer, I also understand the advantages 
> to be had by various aftermarket additions to production vehicles 
> (intake, exhaust, heads, cams, chips, blowers, nitrous, etc).

I like you, but you have to remember (and people on this list often make
this mistake) that you might not be the only (or most) competent or qualified
person on this list for the topic you're discussing, despite whatever
experience you might have.

Personally, I can tell a lot about a car by driving it. You can tell a lot
about the cam by listening to the car at idle. You can get a good idea of
the rear-end gearing by watching RPM in comparison to speed-- on the vast
majority of cars, the last transmission gear is 1:1, unless the car has
overdrive, in which case it is the next to last gear. Simple math. If you're
fairly proficient you can usually guess a pretty accurate weight range for
the car, which combined with measurements like quarter mile can give you a
decent idea of the torque, and of course you can calculate horsepower from
torque and RPM (taking into account gearing). All without lifting the hood.

David