Driven plenty an AMG. A family member is a big fan. Didn't think it was anything an adept right foot could not control. Drove his V12 DB9 last night. Same story. Nice car, by the way. Anyone who bought a 4100 lbs four door sedan (M5) for track use I think is missing the point of the car. That being said, I'd love to take mine out for a session, or two just for kicks. Sadly, the spousal unit has repeatedly exercised her veto power on such endeavor. She's probably right, though. I know the tire bill would for sure lighten the wallet. Not by much. x2.5, or so. :cryin:
I'll never forget the Top Gear with Clarkson trying to get the AMG around the track, wheel completely locked, car going straight....We'll have to agree to disagree, but if ever a car was out of balance between what it's engine could do, and what it's chassis can handle, that would be it. Man, I wish I could find that video of the turbo classic MINI, tried but with no luck. It's hysterical--when the turbo kicks in, there is this big jet of flame, and the rear end of the car lifts off the ground. A professional driver took a turn at it in the video, and was totally disgusted with it--it was pretty funny.
Hard to drive, "over powered"... it's all relative, would you not say? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGUZJVY-sHo]Richard Hammond drives F1 Renault R25 car at Silverstone - Top Gear - BBC Autos - YouTube[/ame] P.S. Certainly Clarkson impressed me as a type of chap who'd take a creative license / unorthodox approach for the sake of making the show more entertaining.
Relative yes. Power you can't get to the ground means nothing more than a big number as a talking point.
I drove a Scion FR-S before I bought my MINI. As a past owner of a Toyota Supra I was really hopeful that the FR-S would be the return of Toyota (Scion) to making exciting cars. I very, very much wanted to love the FR-S. After driving it I came away from the car thinking that it does everything really well but it has no spirit and no personality. Plus, the back seats make a R56's rear seats seem like you are riding in a limo. And the lack of torque was really annoying. I wanted to love this car. I was expecting to buy this car. Then I drove it and then I drove a MINI. You know which one I bought. The FR-S really is a great car but a R56 is just simply more fun and practical.
Can anyone explain -- in relatively simple terms (and hopefully without just posting a link) -- the real advantage(s) of this horizontally opposed engine? I'll say lower center of gravity is one effect, are there others?
I feel the main one & possibly the only one is a lower center of gravity. Maybe it is the slightly rugged idle they have.
The lower center of gravity is a huge plus, and the main reason they went with this engine configuration. The of the downsides is I bet that sucker is going to be a PITA to get at....I didn't get down and dirty in the engine bay, from what I could see, there actually is a fair amount of space in there, but it's going to be awkward to get at anything near the block.
Just like any other Subaru. I think the space is likely to be taken up with a turbo, pipes & an intercooler...
And they tend to be better balanced as well as the reciprocating mass is opposite of each other. But the lower CG is the biggest performance gain.
That's what I was thinking....Looks like there's room for it. Once it's there, it'll REALLY be hard to get at anything.
The First Turbocharged Subaru BRZ Adds 54.5 Horsepower Does The Subaru BRZ/Scion FR-S Need A Turbo? :biggrin5:
Nice stuff.. and will only get better as more people get the cars and the aftermarket world gets going.. Might be time to start following the Subu forums...
Subaru likes the boxer engine because it leaves room for a front diff, which allows them to put AWD in all of their cars. It's low and short. Go ahead and try to change a spark plug, though. The heads are low in the engine bay.
Good chance this one will be worse than ever then (in terms of changing plugs, etc) because the commercial that pic was lifted from claims it's the first ever horizontally opposed Boxer engine. I don't know the history of the Boxer or its design as I'm just learning about them but I assume this means other iterations have been high angle rather than horizontal.
All of Subaru's flat fours have been horizontal & all have been a pain in the arse to change plugs on. The FRS/BRZ twins may be harder. I read that they have that engine set even lower in the chassis to enhance the low cg. I also heard what was said in the commercial. It is a first for Toyota, but not Subaru.
Well I bet the plugs are good for 100K. :ihih::ihih::lol::lol::devil::devil: Where have I heard that before.....:idea:
I have no trouble believing an advertising department would deliberately lie outright in a commercial but, unless that's exactly what they did in this case, this engine is a first in at least some minute way in terms of horizontally opposed cylinders. I'll defer to those familiar with the Boxer configuration, all I know is what they said; here's the direct quote: "It's the world's first and only horizontally opposed Boxer engine."