Re: AUDI & Mercedes

[LToy@aol.com]

>>All I've ever driven are 2-valve per cylinder cars, but I've heard
>>that multi-valve engines sacrifice low-rpm torque for high-rpm
>>horsepower.
>
>You heard correctly - an Audi dealer told me this, and my `90 coupe
>quattro (with the 20V head) seems to bear this out.  It behaves
>somewhat like a turbo: lazy get up and go, but while the revs build
>linearly, the g forces seem to build exponentially.

That tended to be true with the first "generation" of popular 4v/cylinder
cars (early to mid 80s, i.e. VW 16v, very similar to Audi 20v) but some of
the newer cars are pretty slick with their variable intake tracts, variable
valve timing, and the like.  On some of them, you'd be hard pressed to tell
the diff between a 2v cylinder and a multi-valve cylinder!  BTW--these cars
come from across both ponds, so don't start making cracks/generalizations
about "gimmick" motors!

--ldt
LToy@aol.com