Litle article in german, nice pic's
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/t...3816_15056.hbs
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/f...816_15056.hbs&
Litle article in german, nice pic's
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/t...3816_15056.hbs
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/f...816_15056.hbs&
Notice the S5 spec: 298km/h. Gentlemens agreement is out the window.
Mazda MX-5 (Miata NB)
Something like that...Originally Posted by PeterJohn
Oh yes! It's almost braking 300 km/h.. impressive!
It is a typo... Max speed of S5 is 250km/h(limited) and even if you delimit it max speed would be around 265km/h because 6.gear is pretty short...Oh yes! It's almost braking 300 km/h.. impressive!
not bad....
Agreed it's a typo ........ 270~275km/h would be near enough maximum revs in 6th.
Search and you will find the truth.
Yes ofcourse, I must have been very tired when I wrote that.. don't know what I thought of!
265 km/h, still not bad...
I don't know what it is but with the exception of CAR magazine most of the motoring press don't see the A5/S5 as a great step forward for Audi. Yes it's an improvement but still not providing the excitement that they feel is ever present in BMW cars.
I for one haven't driven either of them so if anyone here has can they please explain their findings and is it as bad as the pressis making out.
Search and you will find the truth.
[LEFT]The reports are inconsistant. As the car is the same, the parameter must be the reporter. It's my personal believe that some of these people do not know how to drive a AWD car. You can make a Ferrari Enzo understeer if you want (as proven by some actor).[/LEFT]
[RIGHT] [/RIGHT]
[LEFT]When Audi introduced Quattro in the rally championship, they didn't go to experienced Group B pilots to drive the cars. Instead they recruited rally drivers from minor league FWD championships. The drivers that were used to RWD, so Audi figured, would not be able to handle an AWD car.
B/c you have no independent controle over the rear slip angle, you can't position the car in a corner. You have to do it before you reach the corner. In a RWD car you can correct by balancing steering and throttle. In a FWD or AWD car, you have to use the weight of the car to balance the grip over the wheels. And you have to do it at the moment of turn in. Once you're in the corner, you've got little controle over the grip balance. If the AWD car understeers, more throttle or more steering input will only make it worse. All you can do then is brake, and hope the sudden deceleration doesn't make the car loose it completely.
This is why RWDs are considered the real sportscars. You can drive them on instinct. Throw yourself in a corner, and see what happens. With an AWD car, you have to know about the physics, and prepare ahead of the corner. If you do not have that skill, or do not even know you need that skill, you won't enjoy your AWD motor.
Even with the third generation Torsen diff, with the rear power bias, the S5 is still and AWD car. You can use the throttle to some extent, but to really get the most out of it, you need to throw the weight around. If that's not in your catalog of skills, you won't be overwhelmingly pleased with its handling. If you come from a FWD car, and you know how to controle it, you won't have a problem.[/LEFT]
Mazda MX-5 (Miata NB)
PeterJohn,
For a man who doesn't drive AWD cars you have a very good grasp of how the things perform.
I have driven quite a few rally cars through the years fwd, rwd and awd and while all are enjoyable it's the fwd and awd cars which give the most entertainment and are believe it or not the easier to control. You are quite correct that all of the work has to be done before the corner unlike a rwd car which does at slow to medium speed have a lot more throttle control, but with an awd car once you have got the thing to four wheel drift the throttle is only there to keep the drift going which in the right conditions can look more impressive than any tail drift and more effective with regards to speed through the corner.
I feel magazines have a responsibly to provide objective review and if they don't have drivers of the calibre to drive an awd car to it's true capabilities then they should hire someone like a rally drive to write the review. I reckon unless the roadtester can make to car perform the way they want it to then in their opinion it's not entertaining enough and not a driver's car and that's why they prefer rwd car over all others.
Search and you will find the truth.
I previously had a FWD Passat. At this moment, I would say I enjoyed the Passat better, but that's b/c it was the car I learned to drive in. I could make it do everything I wanted. Stomp the brake, jerk the wheel, get the weight off the back. Total control. Never caught me off guard.
The BMW felt instantly natural to drive. But with the optional suspension from the M5, there's not too many moments you can explore the limits of grip, without risking a driving ban. I'm sliding out of the seat before the tyres show any sign of giving up. Perhaps rubber pants are in order. I should get some really crappy tyres, to have some safe fun with it.
I'd say you have to be smooth with a RWD car to get the most from it. The agressive driving that a F/AWD car demands to shift the weight might be a little more satisfying on an emotional level.
Mazda MX-5 (Miata NB)
PerterJohn,
After having two Beemers 328Ci and 528i I know want you mean about the limits of grip being quite high, I put this down to the upgraded wheels I fitted to both, which I might add I wouldn't recommend as I felt the steering lost a little crispness and the car needed more steering adjustments just to keep it in a straight line (quite tiring on a long motorway journey).
I take it you are driving the last model of 5series like which I owned and in my opinion is the best by a mile, a great car. I must say after sampling a few big BMW diesels (330d, 535d) I reckon they are more enjoyable than their petrol counterparts.
Search and you will find the truth.
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