Quote:
Originally Posted by CanAutM3
I agree with you, 1st gear will pretty much useless for maximum acceleration due to traction limitations. I am guessing that such a short gearing is necessary to maintain drivability and decent acceleration in day-to-day puttering around when the engine is not on boost.
I also agree that comparing the two engines power charts as a function of RPM is pretty much useless because it does not factor in the gearing. I plotted the max available engine power vs road speed for DCT optioned F8X and E9X on the graph below. From 35mph to 155mph (2nd gear and up on the F8X), the F8X produces an average 423hp compared to the E9X that produces 391hp. That is 8% more (not considering any underrating of the S55). It is not negligible, but not as much as the graph in the interview leads one to believe.
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Fantastic chart. It's really amazing to look at that flat line for the F80 once you pass 70 MPH. That thing is going to be a monster on the straights.