explain thie ghetto race...

ok here are my two cars

http://auto.consumerguide.com/Auto/U...arreviewspecs/ (http://auto.consumerguide.com/Auto/Used/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/2164/act/usedcarreviewspecs/)


http://auto.consumerguide.com/Auto/U...arreviewspecs/ (http://auto.consumerguide.com/Auto/Used/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/2200/act/usedcarreviewspecs/)



ok 55 hp 1700 pounds 30.1 pounds per horsepower

92 hp 2400 pounds 26 pounds per horsepower ok so technically it is suppose to be faster.

but actually these two things are not that greatly different. I think the difference in torque favors the mazda more.

In reality though, this race is ridiculous. The metro keeps up in the 0-15 range, in the low from stop area but it gets ridiculous behind after that. Metro gets to 4th gear to get to 40 mph while the mazda is probably going around 65 or more by then. Both are five speeds but the metros 5th gear is not in any normal prgression its like a overdrive.

Top speed on the metro is like oh 80 mph if you feel brave. I think my protege would get to 120.

Anyway I have no stats beyond the ones i linked and the feeling that its going like twice as fast. not like a little faster its zoom zoom.

both cars have similar miles on them and are in good tune. The metro actually burns 0 oil and the mazda Im just getting a feel on but it burns some. Try one quart per 5000 miles....

my whole point of this ok, is that the metro is sohc and the protege is something new for me as far as a car I owned, its dohc and it seems to make a huge difference in reality. at 4000 rpms its pushing more not dying off. both these cars have tachs too.

Any thoughts? pull out your street racer calculator

You may have already seen this page but it will do many of the calculations.

http://www.wallaceracing.com/Calculators.htm

Well, DOHC cars by nature have more torque. And if you're only going 40 in 4th, you're not revving the car at all. My vert goes about 68 in 2nd at 9200RPM's, so you should be able to pull off at least 45-50mph in 2nd on the 3 cyl. Now, as for power.. Power is what will make a car have a higher top speed, not weight. Low weight only matters below 60mph. By the time you hit 60, your engine is facing massive wind resistance. So, that mazda could weigh 3800lbs, and it would still be faster in the top end. Utilizing DOHC or turbos also adds power, and the ability to rev the engine higher(in DOHC cars), utilizing the added airflow, converting it to even more power. Now, the 1.0L turbo motors that came in the chevy sprint and pontiac firefly have over twice as much torque as the regular N/A 1.0 does. And yes, they do well over 100mph no problem.

So, wind resistance is the #1 enemy in top speed. Wind resistance also varies depending on the vehicle's drag coefficient.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_(physics)

you know whats weird

Is I deliver pizza in my geo metro. If there were a nascar for geo metros I think Id be jeff gordon.

But no, I dont go to 40 in 2nd gear. After 4500 rpms the engine isnt driving the car lol it surely is revving though. I learned to drive my metro just by using the tach and shifting when the torque is at maximum. within the chiltons manual it shows you the torque curve by gear. I mean you can be at 7000 rpm in 2nd gear but Im going to be blowing you away at 4500 rpm in 3rd gear. Something is not right here you have given me the impression you might not know how to shift gears. Ill assume im mistaken.

I must say, in my job, for the most part the geo is faster. The one block runs and cornering stops signs without stopping are what makes it the ferrari. The surface roads though the protege is much faster.

Ive revved the thing all the way to the red line limit though and it was fine, very precsion. My dodge b250 is shaking and 5000 rpm its no precision machine....

what Im commenting on on the dohc is that the engine itself feels like it shifts at 4500 rpm right at the dead point before the shift. I could be wrong Im getting a feel for it.

Top speed on the metro is like oh 80 mph if you feel brave.

Hmm, you're not very brave then. I've had my 95 3 cyl. to 95, and I know that another here got his to 100. It's actually very stable at this speed, and I was able to drive for about two hours in the 130 to 140 (81 to 87) range, only getting slowed down by the hills.

Not bragging, just sharing my experience.

Jai

Yep I've got mine to over 100mph although it is the 1.3L 4 cyl. I'm guessing the manual could go faster - mine's auto. What does "ghetto" mean in connection with this discussion?

heh, it means that both my cars are pretty slow. they are both ghetto.

Oh I think Ive done 90 with my metro. the speedometer goes to 85 though. No its not stable or safe I dont agree with you.

eventually you can get to 100 im sure. I mean Im going back to my teenage years but im pretty sure i did 100 with some vehicles that make the geo metro look like a greyhound. i mean in reality though, youre not doing 100 with a geo metro unless you find a straight spot with about 30 vacant miles to pick up speed.

i once had a 68 vw bus. now that thing was about 60 hp and 4000 pounds. It would not do 100 no. its on the wrong side of that curve im positive.

The only reason a car is unstable at high speed is when parts are out of balance. Mine drives perfectly smooth and straight at over 125. All I really did was put lowering springs on it, 15" rims, and Z rated tires. If your tires are out of balance, it'll feel very unstable. If they're in good shape, balanced properly, and the suspension is tight, it'll feel just fine going 100. If your tires are half bald, out of balance, and you have old struts and a sloppy ball joint.. yea, it's going to be very unstable.

As for shifting, you want to shift the car not in the peak torque, but just as you feel it flatten out. When you shift, the RPM's will drop right in the powerband. From my experience with 1.0's, mine have all had good power all the way up to about 5500RPM's. On the 1.3L that I run, if you shift before 5000RPM's, you're not utilizing the engine at all. All of a DOHC engine's power is past 5k to the redline.

Yes, it's true the speedo only shows upto 85 and then not much after that. I used my GPS navigator to validate the actual speed. Yes, I also agree with the comments about things being in balance. I had tires that went out of balance a while back and got a bad vibration and it was pretty impossible to drive above about 70. Decided to get new tires at tha point as they were going a bit bald anyway and the new tires + balancing fixed it and it is pretty stable now all the way to max speed.

oh yes my struts are shot on my metro. That is true. Probably be much safer at speed with those..... The width of the car vs height and the weight of the car would make it among the least stable cars on the road at speed though.

I may be confusing you. This ghetto race includes my particular metro. not your cool suzuki swift.

In this particular comparison of two cars, 95 is a new engine type for mazda, its 1.5 becomes dohc, .1 liter smaller and 3 hp more. this is the last year I think of the suzukis tbi injection. If not it was introduced in 89 at least its 5 years old already

If you compare the 1.5 liter mazda to the 1.3 liter dohc 4 that comes out eventually doesnt suzuki kick all ass over mazda? Heh I dont want to sound like a geo expatriate, suzuki engine is pretty cool.

Im just comparing my particular situation and decision about my two cars.

for displacement vs horsepower a mazda dohc 4 is like a suzuki sohc 4

Hmm. Interesting that the guage in the states stops at 85. Here in Canada, all the guages I have seen (at the parts yard mostly) go up to 100. Of course, that's on the inside ring. The metric is larger and on the outside. That guage reads 160. Sounds a lot faster, but same as 100 MPH. I can't imagine I could get mine to that mark without a long hill. Going 95 wasn't on a flat piece of road, but it was by no means empty.

Jai

My LSi (1.3L auto) has been up around 100 mph...it hits 90 almost daily on the interstate. It feels stable at high speeds, although I do feel some considerable leaning on a hard curve.
Wish I had an overdrive gear though, at those high speeds it sounds like a nest of bumblebees on cocaine under the hood :)
bam

Yes, I wonder why they could not have designed a 4spd for the auto - the engine noise is terrrible above about 70mph. Unfortunately the auto is based on a very simple Simpson type planetary gearset. Not sure if it is just poor sound insulation between the engine and the cabin, a noisy engine or both.