20-03-2012, 12:15 PM
Oh absolutely, funnily enough I had a go in an MX5 last night, also having had a go in an S2000 the gearbox action is simply fecking amazing, but that's just something you'll never get in an FWD transverse car... You simply cannot beat the stick going in the top of the box for feel...
Do not get me wrong I actually have quite a lot of time for MX5s, they have pretty damned good engines really, very reliable, nice power, good noise, simple... I was finding myself changing gear for the hell of it... It's just a shame they look so gay!
However, the sensation of an engine ripping up onto boost, is like no other... The fact that people slate diesels for having a "narrow" power band is pointless... That's just a feeling thing - if you limit the torque spike and just keep it constant, people would say that it feels more like a petrol and it would feel like it produces power to the redline... But because diesels CAN produce that massive lump of torque, people let them do it and therefore it feels like the engine really SHOVES then just dies away. Pull off the torque midrange you can get 170hp at 4700rpm out of on XUD9 without the massive shove midrange, but it'll only make 220lb.ft or so, give it that shove back it'll probably make 180hp, but 320lb.ft at 2800rpm or so, but dying away until the redline... One engine will feel like you have to work it for it's power, but the other will feel like it "dies" - that's just the sensation of the massive torque dropping away - but they're producing nigh on the same power.
Do not get me wrong I actually have quite a lot of time for MX5s, they have pretty damned good engines really, very reliable, nice power, good noise, simple... I was finding myself changing gear for the hell of it... It's just a shame they look so gay!
However, the sensation of an engine ripping up onto boost, is like no other... The fact that people slate diesels for having a "narrow" power band is pointless... That's just a feeling thing - if you limit the torque spike and just keep it constant, people would say that it feels more like a petrol and it would feel like it produces power to the redline... But because diesels CAN produce that massive lump of torque, people let them do it and therefore it feels like the engine really SHOVES then just dies away. Pull off the torque midrange you can get 170hp at 4700rpm out of on XUD9 without the massive shove midrange, but it'll only make 220lb.ft or so, give it that shove back it'll probably make 180hp, but 320lb.ft at 2800rpm or so, but dying away until the redline... One engine will feel like you have to work it for it's power, but the other will feel like it "dies" - that's just the sensation of the massive torque dropping away - but they're producing nigh on the same power.
