Ok to continue from the RL picture thread to return it to its regularly scheduald program I made this thread for us gear heads.


Back to engines. As a Dodge Hemi owner I love this thing. BUT! The damn thing is fly by wire. There isnt even a throttle cable in it. The comp monitors engine output and maximizes the power with economy based on driving habits. Also the comp in the tranny torq manages tosavete wear and tear on it. Lots of Hemmi owners are not amused that there 345HP monster Hemi cant even spin the tires anymore. The solution is to pull a certain wire from the tranny PCM so it can' remember torq curves.

I'm probably wrong, but with Dodge trucks, I think there is something called a governor or governing chip that is put in by the factory to regulate the amount of horsepower output at once... You can take it out, but I have no clue how, or if the thing exists, it's just a dirty rumor. I drive a 4-banger rice rocket so don't listen to me.

i think all america cars have that shit, or a tuned down version of it...

the dodge neon srt4 makes me think twice though...same speed as the 95 m3...not bad for american trash.

Either way, WRX/STi/Lancer/etc with 3 less catbacks will whoop american shit.

Well not exactly shew. The PCM does manage economy with how you drive it. It learns your driving style them maximizes the fuel economy. Now the truck is goverend NOT to go past 105 MPH how ever.

Like most trucks/cars you can purchase an after market chip to take care of that. Just take it out and put the old back in during warranty work. Put a chip in a 2002 F250 Super Duty Turbo Diesel and it is fricken unstoppable power. Night and day difference from stock to paying $500.00 for the chip. The shifting is even smoother and with minimal loss of RPM'S between shifts.

I am sure dodge will have something soon if not already.

Drive by wire fucking SUCKS. My car had it, until I got pissed two weeks later and had it retrofitted back to a mechanical/cable system.

It was like having bad lag while driving.

My friend has an Neon SRT4 with a bunch of mods and upgraded turbo parts. That car is one fast little bastard. I'd still take an STI over it though.

There really isnt a reliable chop package yet for the hemi. the 1st generation is just now hitting the market. It's a shame really. it's the com that really hinders this hemi. adding headers larger throttle bodies and cams is all well and good but it still will not defeat the computer. I miss the old days of sitting INSIDE the engine bay of a camero and turning wrenches. Fuck technology and modern vehicles. Calgon take me away to 1969 where real HP lives.

From the other thread regarding no replacement for displacement:
Tell that to the 1.3L 3rd gen RX-7 that would smoke your mustang.

Love the FD, pity all I could afford was an FC.

Still, a 20b beats a 13b, proving that there is no replacement for displacement if you are looking for *potential* horsepower. You can wrest every bit of power out of a 13b (to the point where you are collapsing the rotors themselves) and it still wouldn't match a 20b with every bit of power extracted from it.

As Marz and others have said: there is a lot more to being a good driver than going fast in a straight line.

As Marz and others have said: there is a lot more to being a good driver than going fast in a straight line.Amen to that. Wheeee, I can shift!

Certainly not a racer, but that doesn't mean I don't like to have a little fun during my everyday routine:

The first month or 2 I had my Mach 1 I babied it, didn't want to push it too far, because I LOVE that car. I knew it could do more than my old 'Venge, so I just drove it like I drove that, figuring it'd be safe - crank the wheel and give it a good gulp of gas.

Yeah, not a good idea in a rear-wheel drive with over 300 lb/ft of Torque. Trac control kicked in constantly. Turned it off a few times to see what I was doing wrong... one day it really cost me.

After a $14k wreck caused by a lane-change in the rain gone horribly wrong, I babied it for another month or so before I started seeing what it could do. (though I'm the most paranoid driver you'll see in the rain now)

In a week or so I figured out what I had to do to get the turns I wanted. A little gas gives your wheels extra bite around the turn, but a tad too much and that ass-end is comin around.

After awhile I was making what would previously be considered 'insane' turns without a chirp.

Rain does horrible things to traction- I spun my first RX-7 on an entrance ramp the first week I had it. Luckily, nobody was behind me.

Remember: Controlled oversteer is your friend!

:lol

that`s a matter of opinion :D

It beats understeer any day of the week, though.

The first 17 years of my life, I lived exactly 1 mile down a gravel road that was mostly deserted. For whatever reason, I would always drive ~50 down it, sliding from one side to the other on every turn. That saved my ass soooo many times later on. After you understand how to drive, oversteer is your friend. Understeer is the devil. Front wheel drive should be banned. :(

Still, a 20b beats a 13b, proving that there is no replacement for displacement if you are looking for *potential* horsepower. You can wrest every bit of power out of a 13b (to the point where you are collapsing the rotors themselves) and it still wouldn't match a 20b with every bit of power extracted from it.
Yeah, of course a higher displacement engine of the same design will usually produce more power. That still doesn't make the general statement correct.

As 'Bat said, Controlled oversteer is much more tangible than understeer.

Id rather oversteer and be able recover from it, rather than understeer and slam into something.

That still doesn't make the general statement correct.

Which is why I qualified it.

Going fast doesn't do any good if you can't stop, or steer. There are some cars that could turn a respectable time around a road course that aren't pavement burning horsepower machines.