RE: torsen centre and playschool

[Eaton Dave <dave.eaton@minedu.govt.nz>]

reading scott's response makes me appreciate afresh the pointlessness of
this exercise.  i could respond to every point with a rebuttal, but
obviously to no avail.  i guess i'd thought that posting the zexel paper
would help lift the fog some, but it hasn't.  so be it.

scott's response and obdurate refusal to understand any other view than
his own experience of a single audi torsen chassis, really makes the
whole exercise doubly futile.  i have never questioned that the torsen
is a dumb device, just as any other awd technology is (vc, or locker, or
clutch system).  all stupid.  that is not the issue.  the issue is "is
the torsen unsafe?", "does it bite?".  the paper shows that the torsen
centre works considerably better than the locked or open centre up to
the limits of adhesion.  because it seeks to maximise longitudinal slip
(i.e.. torque reaction). so experienced.  so written about in many road
tests.  scott disagrees.  he throws "u"s and "o"s around to attempt to
show what this fiendish device is *really* doing.  unbeknown to us mere
pilots.  or the road test drivers who *all* mention the improved feel of
the torsen ur-q, decreased understeer, and better throttle steerability
over the generation 1 car.  so posted.  i guess we're all being fooled.
back to playschool....

for scott, a torsen is a torsen is a torsen and, because of issues with
the chassis he's driven, all chassis *must* have a problem.  a clear
victory for the scientific [sic] method.  i say, and the paper agrees,
that the chassis is a major component of all this, and could explain the
behaviour experienced by some.  "bite" caused by hand-brake application
on wet on-ramps notwithstanding.

so, i'll go back to driving my torsen-equipped chassis fast around
corners, finding as i have done, that they exhibit wonderful throttle
sensitivity at the limit of adhesion, wet or dry.  i'll take my torsen
ur-q, as i did last week, to a subaru grass track day, and find, again,
that even in these conditions, against "modern" cars with dumb vc's, the
ur-quattro is fantastic.  bite?  bollocks.

i guess when playshool is over, you get a chance to play with your toys.

i'll have the full zexel paper ready by the end of the week....

dave
'95 rs2
'90 ur-q

> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 11:56:52 EDT
> From: QSHIPQ@aol.com
> Subject: Zexel pixels - and F1 key for spin (LONG!)
> 
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