How do you figure? Generally, the “P” in CFRP refers to the matrix material - whether it’s epoxy or polyester, it’s a plastic. You can make a non-plastic matrix, but then it’s something like CFRC (carbon-carbon).

It really surprises me more people don’t swap LS engines into BMWs.

I totally understand all the people complaining that this over-complicates things, and why aren’t mirrors good enough, and I can adjust my mirrors just fine.

Whoa, who said anything about 1200 RPM? That’s plain abusive to the car and you’re right, nobody should drive stick that way.

“People don’t drive sticks that way.”

You must have driven better 4-speeds or worse 6-speeds than I have. I’ve found hunting and gear selection way worse in the 4, when I need just a bit more power on a long grade and it decides I need to be at 4000 RPM for the next couple miles.

I think with 6-7 gear transmissions we had gotten to the point where the gear spacing was pretty good, but with the increasing numbers lately they’re not just shoehorning more gears into the same range. They’re adding extra overdrives so you can cruise a flat highway at 1200 RPM and can ascend a slight grade in a…

This is interesting information, but I really hope nobody latches on and tries to lower speed limits.

“Engine failure review” or not, I again say that air is air. You need the same amount of it to produce a given amount of horsepower no matter how the engine is configured, and moving that quantity of air in a particular timeframe implies a particular volumetric flow rate.

Air is air. Turbos don’t suck any more of it than a bigger NA engine making the same horsepower, and I find it unlikely they suck any additional sand along with that air.

I really hope you’re wrong, and Koenigsegg is NOT a decade ahead of everyone else. The Regera is the first supercar/hypercar I’ve had the slightest interest in since I graduated from high school and realized I wasn’t ever going to own something like that. I hope Ford has a secret prototype in a basement shop…

Cams aren’t free, either. There’s quite a lot of friction involved in whirling those parts around. That’s not to say FreeValve is MORE efficient, but it might turn out to be a situation like CVTs; they have higher frictional losses and are less efficient than gears at any particular ratio, but the other efficiency…

Tire Rack already has the RS listed and won’t give you any options smaller than 19". I’m guessing 18" is really the smallest you can fit over those brakes.

I wonder if this is sort of the more mundane, low-cost approach to a setup like Koenigsegg uses in the Regera. At low speed you’re depending more on the electrics and the engine might even be disconnected and only running a generator. But without the Regera’s 950 ft-lb from the engine, a single gear could be…

From the numbers I’ve seen, the cars still meet emissions standards from ~2006, and in any case we didn’t test NOx prior to 2000. If that’s accurate and I’m not misreading the standards, it’s not like VW is out fumigating the streets and bringing back 1970's levels of smog and acid rain.

Because couch.

Unless you need the weight capacity of a truck or you’re doing super-agricultural stuff like hauling dirt, mulch, or worse, vans do make a lot more sense than trucks. Your cargo stays dry and secure. However, this:

I hope the chemistry problem with the other shows is cultural (both the culture of the nation represented and the culture of the TV network broadcasting it). That would give both New Top Gear and New ClarksonHammondMay a fighting chance at being good shows.

Kinda. It’s a gyroscope that maintains a constant RPM and then is rotated against its axis to produce a torque. They’re called Control Moment Gyroscopes, and they’re in use today, so the technology is hardly out of reach for the Galactic Empire.

How do people feel about FWD vs AWD in this class of vehicles? Aside from Subaru and their exceptional AWD system, I’m conflicted.