Hi Don,
cars and engines are designer to pass the test not to produce low
emissions. Gear ratios, throttles etc. are chosen so the engine is at
best efficiency when running in the test state. I remember asking
Lotus Chairman Tony Rudd if the small throttle between the two large
ones in the ZR-1 engine was to improve response at part throttle. He
laughed and said no - it was wide open at the federal test condition
and the big ones were both closed. Its only role was to pass the test.
Given that most engines convert a similar proportion of fuel to
pollution the simplest measure of how clean or dirty you are is your
fuel consumption (gas mileage??).
Frank
On 19 Jan, 2006, at 03:35, Don Williams wrote:
At 10:12 PM 1/18/2006 -0500, marc wrote:Thank you, Don , for increasing air pollution and fuel efficiency problems.
No one with the slightest concern for our earth would ever drive an
automatic, and shame on you, sir, for being so cavalier about our common
problems.
Marc
Maybe, but the fact is, for the last 3 Corvette years in the C4 series, and all the C5, the one I just sold, in order to meet emission standards with a manual transmission they put in a second- gear lockout to force shifting from 1 to 3, in order to meet emission requirements.
The requirements were met in the automatic transmission versions without doing anything like that.
If you did have a manual 6-speed and wanted to avoid that skip, you had to have accelerated hard in first and then it would let you go through second. Of course when you did that you did indeed produce more emissions.
When I had a manual transmission and drove around town, using my generally non-aggressive mode, I was always forced from 1st to 3rd. All related to emission control.
I don't yet know about the SL500 but it will have a smog check next week when title changes.
There is a book called "All Corvettes are Red" (I gave it away with the car) which details the 5 years it took to get the C4 into production, and the problems they had with emissions are detailed there, along with the 1-3 forced shift provision.
So I really don't think I am harming the environment any more than a manual transmission car would.
Just to keep this thread honest, I took pictures of all my Vettes with a Rolleiflex, and will take one of the SL500 in the future.
Don Williams La Jolla, CA
