wrote:
> Is this really true? I've heard that the 2002 Passat W8 has a top speed
> of 130 in the US, and 155.3 in Europe, but once you remove the
> governor, even with the standard 275 horsepower engine, it has a top
> speed of 174 MPH, and with an SKN tuning chip program, it has a top
> speed of 178 MPH. Is it true that the C5's 172 MPH top speed is DRAG
> limited and not governor limited and is the C5 Z06's 171 MPH top speed
> drag limited as well?
> I've read that it's because of aerodynamics and gearing and
> differential ratios that make a much bigger difference than even
> horspower and torque at high speeds.
> The Passat W8 has a .27 Drag Coefficient and is one of the most
> aerodynamic cars on the road, it's supposedly even slipprier to the air
> than Enzo Ferraris.
> I refused to believe it myself that the mighty Corvette was slower than
> a family car, but then a German Neighbor guy showed me proof with his
> GPS. He said he went to a race track and his top speed was 174 MPH even
> though his car only has 275 horsepower and his 2 kids and wife were in
> the car.
> I told this guy that even if it's true, that the C6 Corvette Z06 is
> faster and has a 198 MPH top speed. He then said that that's only
> because the W8 is an old car, he also said that they are going to come
> out with a new 400 horsepower Passat R36 coupe that will outrun the
> Corvette C6 ZO6 once you remove the governor. He then said that The
> Volkswagen W12 Nardo can beat Enzo Ferraris and that the Audi W12 and
> Bugatti Veyron are also made by Volkswagen so that nobody else is as
> good as Volkswagen.
>
> I took this photo from his GPS unit in his Passat.
> http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29...compressed.jpg
> He also emailed me several other photos of Passats that were delimited
> like this.
>
> http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29...ssatW8Limo.jpg
>
> He emailed me this screencap from some german website and he said that
> his friend there had driven at 285 KM with a SKN chip.
> http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y29...FastPassat.jpg
>
> I wanted to get a Corvette after I graduated from college since I
> thought it was the CHEAPEST really fast car, but if cheaper cars like
> Passats really are faster, then I'm not sure if the Corvette is really
> as good a deal as I thought.
>
Drag co-efficients, while not worthless don't really tell the story
unless one knows the conditions under which they were determined and
also the equivalent flat plate area. Sort of like saying that my hammer
will hit a nail harder than you hammer.
--
PJ