Quote:
Originally Posted by macmacaman
It seems to me that it should not be subjective. After all there's only one thing accelerating the car, and that's wheel torque. Or is there something about driving style that I am missing in this? Perhaps timing of the gear shifts and the lost torque while out of gear?
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You're right that it shouldn't be subjective, but you're wrong that it's wheel torque that accelerates the car. It's actually torque X gearing multiplier.
This topic has been debated ad nauseum, with a ton of mis-information out there. The simple answer is, you want as much power delivered to the wheels for as long as possible. And most cars are designed to deliver the majority of their power at or near redline, and even on cars that see significant drop-off in power at or near redline, they're designed to deliver MORE power sooner in the next gear, or at least closer to peak power RPM, for longer, if you shift into the next gear at or close to redline.
So even if someone argues, well, the engine isn't making more power after, say, 5,800 RPM so there's no need to shift at 6,500 RPM? Wrong. There's plenty of good reason to shift at 6,500 RPM. One being the NEXT gear you will start closer to max power engine speed rather than trying to spool up that magical HP for another 800 RPM.
It's the area under the power curve through the gears that gives you the maximum acceleration.
Here's a good brain teaser for you. The 335D produces SIGNIFICANTLY more torque than the 335i. Yet is significantly slower to 60 mph and 1/4 mile. Think about that for a minute.