Touch of Class [1978] [REVIEW POSTED]

[TrackpadUser]

It took 5 minutes of building to make me ditch the hideous auto 'box. Nope. All of my nope.

You know what the problem is? Your engine probably isn't large enough

[VicVictory]

In case anyone's wondering, the "typical" engine so far seems to be a 4-5ish liter V8.

[victorgarcia]

can we raise the power limit to 25o, maybe 28o HP?? thats what big coupes at the time did! i would be happy with 23o at least! nevermind, i did mine with 2oo, but a bit more powaaa would result in better cars, better torque spread, as we have only 3 gear automatics, and ultimately, more consistency with reality, 2oo hp is what a 5l american v8 did 1o years before, spinning to only 4,5k rpm!

23o hp is what mercedes got from its very restricted 4,5L V8 back in '78

[BlastersPewPew]

can we raise the power limit to 25o, maybe 28o HP?? thats what big coupes at the time did! i would be happy with 23o at least! nevermind, i did mine with 2oo, but a bit more powaaa would result in better cars, better torque spread, as we have only 3 gear automatics, and ultimately, more consistency with reality, 2oo hp is what a 5l american v8 did 1o years before, spinning to only 4,5k rpm!

23o hp is what mercedes got from its 4,5L V8 back in '78

A typical 5.7L American V8 had 170ish HP from that era while the average 5L had 140ish HP. V8s 10 years earlier used SAE GROSS and not SAE Net which made for a massive drop in reported HP.

[VicVictory]

First off, ratings in the 60's were gross, not net. That changed in the early 70's to more accurately reflect what was put out at the crank with accessories (and exhaust) attached. There's about a 20% difference between the two. From what I understand, the game rates in net. If it rates in gross, well... that means my Ardent would put out 136 HP net, which would be reasonable from a 4.2L V8.

Second, 5 liter American V8's in the 70's were horribly anemic due to emissions equipment. For example:

1978 Chevy 305 w/4bbl - 160 HP, 235 lb-ft torque
1978 Ford 302 w/2 bbl - 139 HP, 250 lb-ft torque
1978 Dodge/Chrysler 318 (5.2L) w/2bbl - 145 HP, torque figure unavailable
1978 AMC 304 w/2 bbl - 150 HP, torque figure unavailable

The 200 HP rating is a bit of a nod to the fact that here in Automation we like our engines powerful. It's also to keep people from going too nuts with it, as it would be bloody historically inaccurate to simulate, say, a late 70's Thunderbird with 300 HP from the factory. Even the 400cid (6.6L) Ford used as the biggest optional engine only put out 160HP.

Edit: aaaand... Blasters beat me to it.

[victorgarcia]

can we raise the power limit to 25o, maybe 28o HP?? thats what big coupes at the time did! i would be happy with 23o at least! nevermind, i did mine with 2oo, but a bit more powaaa would result in better cars, better torque spread, as we have only 3 gear automatics, and ultimately, more consistency with reality, 2oo hp is what a 5l american v8 did 1o years before, spinning to only 4,5k rpm!

23o hp is what mercedes got from its 4,5L V8 back in '78

A typical 5.7L American V8 had 170ish HP from that era while the average 5L had 140ish HP. V8s 10 years earlier used SAE GROSS and not SAE Net which made for a massive drop in reported HP.

i said 1o years before

fuck american regulations, making cars worse and uglier since 1975!

but lets take mercedes and bentleys of the time as benchmark, as we are building a similar car, aren't we? confort is heavy! but as some people already submited, i presume we cant raise the power a bit

[BlastersPewPew]

Rolls Royce only had 189hp from their 6.75L V8 in the '70s. I think the 200HP limit is fair for a luxury coupe of this era, they were not sports cars.

[TrackpadUser]

The personal luxury coupe is a very American thing that IIRC predates the fuel crisis.

And here is an example of an engine within the regulations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_V8_engine#425

Edit: To get decent performance out of an 3-speed transmission, what you need is a torquey, and therefore large, engine.

[VicVictory]

1) no, not fair to change regs once people have submitted
2) "Personal luxury coupe" is an American classification that includes things like the Thunderbird, Monte Carlo/Cutlass/Regal, Matador coupe, and Cordoba (IIRC). (Edit because trackpaduser jogged my memory) Oh, and the Caddy Eldorado.
3) The cars you list are full blown luxury/performance cars. That's not what this category is. Hence the power restriction.
4) You may certainly "Europeanize" the looks. You can build a smaller OHC/DOHC engine if that's more your speed.
5) you may NOT exceed the 200 HP mark.

and on a side note...

6) I abso-effing-lutely hate Mercedes, BMW, (insert any other European luxury marque here) with a passion. So don't try to play to that side on me. If I get a wild hair and decide to make a competition that fits dead on the description of Euro luxury to a tee, have a blast with it. But chances are I am going to go through the COMPLETE spectrum of automotive history before I get there. And I mean it. I will touch minivans before I touch Mercedes, both here and in real life.

[BlastersPewPew]

I will touch minivans before I touch Mercedes, both here and in real life.

*Looks at the Ford Aerostar replica in saved cars list.* Well it might get a chance after all!!

[victorgarcia]

I present you our latest flagship model:
The Garcia E5ooC, behind it's wheel you know you've won in life!

Car -7.png (496.79 KiB) Viewed 4435 times

Car -8.png (651.28 KiB) Viewed 4435 times

[VicVictory]

There you go! Good looking model there.

[victorgarcia]

There you go! Good looking model there.

thanks!

so much torque you can put the world back to spin if it stops!

[JasonPoland]

I've got exactly 199 hp if I remember correctly, but my brain is a pile of rust so I can't remember what engine is inside.

[BlastersPewPew]

And BlastersPewPew, that car sure is pretty.. it looks so neat.. so Murica.

Thanks! I tried to actually make a vehicle without copying one from real life, I think it turned out pretty good!

It has a very 3rd Gen Chevy Monte Carlo feel to it.

CRAP!!! Ok, that was unexpected! I didnt even THINK of looking at them and look what happened ROFLOL!!

I was trying to go for the feel of the late 70s early 80s style without resorting to looking at pics but what felt right and looked good to my eye, guess GM did the same back then