DIYbanter - View Single Post - The physics of cars

Roger Mills[_2_]

On 09/04/2016 18:24, wrote:
On Friday, 8 April 2016 23:24:06 UTC+1, Roger Mills wrote:
For
maximum accelerative performance you need the maximum available
acceleration all the way up the speed range - so you need to run the
engine as close to max power as possible.

You still can't grasp that "Full Throttle" does NOT equate to "Full Power"; it only equates to "Full Power" at Full Power" engine RPMs. Which means that you cannot accelerate AT "Full Power"; you can only accelerate UP TO "Full Power"

But you haven't read what I wrote! I have never once asserted that full
throttle equates to full power under all conditions - it clearly doesn't
- just look at an engine power curve, showing that max power only occurs
at one specific engine speed.

What I actually said was that you needed to run the engine as close to
max power as possible. Naturally *how* close to max power you can keep
it as the car accelerates depends on how many gears you've got, and how
they're spaced.

As I have said before, if you had a continuously variable transmission
rather than a stepped gearbox, you *could* actually hold the engine at
max power and continuously change the ratios to match the road speed.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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