| | My interest of things with wheels is pretty broad. I've been a road-biker for years, I love cars, motorcycles, trucks, Jeeps... pretty much anything with wheels. I haven't developed a love for the unicycle yet, but I'm sure it's time is coming.
One of things about the whole bicycle industry is that very few components are proprietary. That is to say, if you are building a mountain bike, a Shimano XTR rear derailleur will work on a Santa Cruz frame, or a Trek frame, or a Cannondale frame. A rear derailleur is a rear derailleur. Same thing with seats. Love your Selle Italia carbon saddle? Put it on your new bike. Shifters, handbars, stems, brakes, cranks, crank arms, pedals. grips, shorties, forks, head units, computers - most everything will fit on anything. You can theoretically build a bike exactly the way you want it. Wouldn't that be amazing if you could do that with a car?
Some people will say "well you can custom-fabricate anything to fit in anything." It's true. I've seen an EK9 Honda Civic hatchback with an entire C5 Corvette drivetrain under it - LS1, Tremec T56, even suspension and wheels/tires and brakes. But that is nigh on impossible unless you have an engineering degree, thousands and thousands of dollars, and unlimited creativity.
so I've thought about what I would build if cars worked the same way bikes did. The ideal car. The possibilities are endless! Every car has a best feature, you could combine them in any way you wanted to build the ideal car to your specifications. Here's my idea.
The overall goal for the car would be a car that is fuel efficient, extremely fun to drive, cheap to own and maintain, useful (able to carry a lot of stuff), comfortable, and electronically integrated. Here's how I'd do it.
Body: 5 door hatchback/sedan - something like the Saab NG900 or Mazda 6s 5-door: sleek looking but with a lift rear hatch, 40/60 split folding rear seats, and lots of useable cargo space.
Engine: BMW's 3.0L twin-sequential turbocharged diesel from the 535d, remapped for more power. It already has 282bhp and 428 lb-ft of torque; in a 3000 lb car that would be good for a low five-second 0-60 time and 40+mpg on diesel. Bonus points for running it on B100 biodiesel.
drivetrain: Gen IV Haldex all wheel drive. haldex's latest development of their AWD system just debuted in the restyled Saab 9-3 and it's a brilliant piece of kit. Up to 100 percent of available torque can be shifted to the front or the rear wheels (as opposed to only a 50 percent variable for the old system.) In addition, the electronic coupling can reduce power sent to the rear wheels down to 5-10% during normal driving to prevent wear and to increase fuel economy. the electronic limited slip diff in the rear sends power where it is needed among the two rear wheels, and the system can even detect emergency situations (like a sharp lane change or a hard start, etc) and distribute power where it needs to go to keep the car under control - like limited understeer or oversteer. It will be safe, efficient, and very rewarding to drive. Sign me up.
Transmission: 6-speed transaxle from the Honda Accord fitted with double overdrives (5th and 6th) and a deep final drive ratio for relaxed and efficient highway cruising as well as good acceleration. Include a short shifter as standard, too. This is IMO the best shifter out there. Light, precise, great reactions. Perfect.
Suspension: easy: double wishbones front and rear limits positive camber during cornering. Magnetorheologic shocks instantly vary stiffness based on road conditions. It would be expensive but who cares? it would be perfect.
Interior: seats from the Volvo S60R AWD are IMO the best out there for a mixture of support and comfort. Heated and cooled, with manual controls please. Gauges from the current-generation Audi A4 - beautiful and perfectly legible 100% of the time. Saab-style dashboard (main controls are high on the dash and tilted towards the driver) but with Audi build quality and materials. Pop-up satellite navigation that stays hidden when not in use. Build in hard-drive to store nav data as well as music. 600w Harmon-Kardon stereo with 12 speakers, built in amp and subs below the seats. VW Golf R32 steering wheel (duh.) bluetooth connectivity that works. That's about it.
I think it'd be ideal - at least for me! Fast, efficient, spacious, great to drive, comfortable, unique. I wish that's how it really worked 
till next time,
-James
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| | Posted 12/2/2007 9:58 PM - 36 Views
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