Mark,
What you are observing is the Federal Clean Air Act in action. Federal
law required manufacturers to have a "Corporate Average Fuel Economy -
"C.A.F.E."", which increased in value with time. The intent was to save
gas. The exempted certain vehicles, like the SUV. The result was to
force manufacturers to over gear their car to achieve this goal, and
prevent good performance as a result. This law has damaged car design
for years.
Previous "Overdrive" cars used a 0.8 final gear ratio, rather than the
normal 1:1. This dropped the rpm 20%, giving better economy, yet still
allowed adequate road performance without a downshift in most cases.
After "C.A.F.E." the fifth gear was lowered to 0.63, or a 37% reduction
in engine speed. This certainly increased gas economy, as
"free-wheeling" did in many years past, but the engine torque was
significantly lower, as was power. They past the specified speed, time
performance demonstration. It may have been adequate for a Sunday
drive, but not for performance oriented drivers.
Dale A. offers a 5 speed conversion kit with both the stock .63 5th, and
a 0.8 5th. It is my understanding that the 0.8 fifth costs TWICE as much.
To soothe your distress, the Ford engine is quite happy at 3,000 rpm -
giving good fuel economy, smooth performance, quiet sound, and plenty of
torque for acceleration. With my 185x70R13 Michelin X tires, I am doing
72 mph at 3,000 rpm. This is more than enough for both a nice, quiet,
smooth, comfortable cruise, and an easy speed-up for most passing
situations and hills - and a speeding ticket in most states.
:-(
Steve
CoolVT@aol.com wrote:
>Interesting the some people think that a stock Tiger cruising at 70MPH and
>turning 3,000 RPM is acceptable. If you read the literature from the 1960's
>most people thought this was perfectly acceptable and that the engine was just
>loafing at 3,000.
>Now, many of us are used to modern cars and being able to cruise at 70 MPH
>and turn only 1,800-2,000 rpms. Now that seems to be the acceptable level to
>just "loaf" along;-)
>Mark L.
>(I passed on a new car that was going to turn 2,600 rpms at 70 mph)
>
>
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Steve Laifman
Editor
http://www.TigersUnited.com
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