> >>Also, with an auto box in the '95 you never really get the engine up
> >>into the power band of that engine. I have a '95 and the best power
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> >
> > Eh? Every auto I've ever owned runs to the redline in kickdown.
> Is that how you normally drive your cars Dave?
If I want to 'ring it out', yes. Otherwise I'm happy to have it change up
normally. I can't see any point in using high revs on a light throttle,
but then YMMV.
> I have a 540iA (only automatic car in the mini-fleet) and I could
> probably count the number of times I have mashed the kick-down switch on
> both hands. It will down-shift under acceleration without mashing the
> switch and accelerate quite nicely. It has only been under *extremely*
> (ahem) spirited driving that that switch has been actuated.
Yes. So I don't really see your original point?
> My point was that, under normal everyday driving conditions, the later
> models 2.8 and 3.0 dual vanos engines, with their fatter torque curves
> biased toward slightly lower rpms, will feel a lot peppier in car
> equipped with an automatic transmission than the 2.5 liter single (or
> non) vanos engines of the early 90's.
But that equally applied to the manual cars. If you wished to make fast
progress you had to rev them regardless of auto or manual. And the auto
will up the shift point on wider throttle settings.
So saying, I'm referring to the ZF as fitted in the UK. IIRC many US cars
didn't use this.

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*If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments *
Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW
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