RE: Autoweek on quattro

[quattro <quattro@acacianet.com>]

OK, I'll bite at this.....

Any vehicle with quattro drive will be "less-snappy acceleration and a rougher ride" Vs an otherwise identical vehicle without quattro drive simply due to the additional mass of the quattro system. This is an unavoidable (but small) fact. With the original quattro system the increase in weight due to quattro drive was on the order of ~100 Lbs, not all that great an increase for 2-3x more traction. If the extra traction is 'used correctly' and there is 'sufficient power' available then the extra traction of quattro will more than make up for the extra weight to enable a superior launch and faster overall acceleration. Acceleration is all about power-to-weight ratios up to the maximum limit imposed by available traction.....

-glen

At 16:23 98.05.01. -0400, you wrote:
>Are these remarks about the quattro system's "less-snappy acceleration and
>a rougher ride" on dry pavement correct? I'm about to order my first Audi
>and would like to avoid a mistake.

You won't make a mistake ordering a Quattro! Less snappy acceleration?? Are
they joking? My father bought a 91' 100 2.8 quattro last month. It was also
the first quattro in our family, and I'm really impresed, how it drives.
Acceleration is far better, than I expected from such a big and heavy car -
8.0 seconds to 100km/h (60 miles/h). By the way, it's the same for front
wheel drive model, but with quattro no wheel can slip, so it will
accelerate in these 8 seconds, but with only 2 wheel drive under not so
conditions (liitle wet, or too much dust, wet leaves... whatever) you won't
get those 8 seconds!
We've got very few rainy day's since we got Quattro, so all the time is
dry, and on dry pavement it is as good, even better, than any 2wd. I'm now
waiting for winter, to see what Quattro can do in snow, but now I tried it
in deep 
sand / gravel / dry/wet pavement and it was great in all conditions.

P.S. Only now I can't drive it, because it's resting in the service waiting
for a new header:(( It ate too much coolant, and the problem was in one of
the engine heads... costing ~1500$ including work:((


WBR,
Armands