TomT said:
Ahh, life in the slow lane... Reminds me of the diesels days of long ago... :lol:
TonyWilliams said:
http://www.zeroto60times.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
2011 Toyota Prius Hybrid 0-60 mph 9.7 Quarter Mile 17.1
2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid 0-60 mph 10.9 Quarter Mile 18.5
2012 Toyota Prius V 0-60 mph 10.2 Quarter Mile 17.8
Yup, diesels have come a long way. My 2011 335d is putting down mid 4 second 0-60 times and 12.9 qtr mile times.
Note: This run is launching in 2nd gear! The thing puts out close to 500lbs tq, and still can get 45mpg on the HWY.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix2tbcc9p9o[/youtube]
A note on drag racing. I have been to the strip hundreds of times. My 335i (Petrol) held the 1/4 mile record for over a year. 11.1 seconds at 130mph trap speeds. As far a car testing goes..you throw the R/T (reaction time) out the window. That is only important if you are concerned with who crosses the finish line first (regardless of who left the line first "reaction time".) But to find out which car has more average power through the qtr mile, you look at the trap speed. That is the most important number. Even if you have a shoddy 60' time, and mediocre 1/4 mile time, that poor launch has a relatively minimal effect on your trap speed at the end of the qtr mile, where 60' flashes by in a fraction of a second with little mph gain. So for people testing their cars, they could care less who crosses the finish line first, it is all about trap speed, and to some extent ET. However ET is more dependent on your launch and traction. Every .10 sec off your 60' time usually equates to almost .20 off your 1/4 mile time.
So trap speeds in a car weighing around 3500lbs and trapping in the 100mph range are affected by the following relationship roughly:
+10 hp = 1mph gain in the 1/4 mile, .10 sec quicker.
-100lbs weight reduction=1mph gain in the qtr mile, .10 sec quicker
So basically, if a car is consistently trapping 4mph faster than your car, you will either need to gain 40hp, or lose 400lbs.
If you look at my other youtube videos, you can see all kinds of BMW testing videos I made, including 3 second 0-60 runs.
You will also notice how eerily close my GPS test data is to the OPs time slip...17.4 at a touch under 78mph
(within .06 sec, .08mph of his first run!) It would be hard to intentionally get 2 runs that close!
The LEAF is suprisingly quick around town because the throttle response is instant, and the torque leads to effortless acceleration. So unless the ICE is trying harder at higher RPMs, the LEAF is generally quicker than most cars to about 30mph.
