I disagree, because of the fundamental advantage an all wheel drive car has at the start with upward of 350bhp because of traction available to it. I would say DSG and Manual are comparable than front vs AWD on the 1/4 mile. Also, when you look at "normal" tuned edition 30's and not ones with the bumper bars, interior and anything not necessary that weighs something all but removed, the times are clearly slower. 4x4 cars will eventually be the leaders once some of them decide to dump seats, spare wheels and other things that weigh any amount of weight - just wait and see
.
Why? When you consider a 1.7 second 60 foot time is available on a 4 wheel drive car, this is 0.5 seconds (approx) quicker than a good launch on front wheel drive. Comparing 60 foot and 1/4 mile times thereafter, you can see the following;
4x4 (David)
60 foot = 1.7
Calculated average speed over 60 foot = 24mph
1/4 mile = 12.7
1/4 mile terminal = 108mph
FWD (my car with similar spec)
60 foot = 2.2
Calculated average speed over 60 foot = 18mph
1/4 mile = 13.2
1/4 mile terminal = 114mph
The time taken from the 60 foot point to the end of the 1/4 mile is exactly the same despite the FWD's better terminal speed because the 4x4 car was going much faster at the 60 foot point than the FWD car was due to its ability to put down its power and get there sooner. In other words, if my maths is correct, the front drive car will only be at 40 foot when the 4x4 is at 60 foot.
The 11 seconds from the 60 foot point looks the same, but the FWD car plays catch up, but it plays catch up from behind starting from a lower speed. Therefore over the remaining 5220 feet on the 1/4 mile from the 60 foot point, the only thing the gain on the front drive car does is cancel out the defecit from the 60 foot point with regard to time
For what its worth, Davids S3 was not stripped out. I am willing to bet if it was, he would have been a good bit quicker still, and I hope he does this sometime to prove this theory
. I do agree that it will be good to see the trick gear box and the all wheel drive work together though especially if the car is stripped
. I will also be interested to see how well the clutch stands up to it all
Regardless, I will be back to Crail with a few different bits and pieces within 2 months and hope to report back with a quicker time
. I am aiming for 13 dead, but I doubt it will be possible.
Can you update the board with my details in the mean time please
Ta
Al
