Wagons used for towing in Europe

"Dan G" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Sep 5, 7:30 am, John Smith wrote:
This is just plain insane. Nobody needs 286hp and an acceleration to
60mph of 6.5 seconds to tow a glider.

Eh? Who is suggesting that you do?


Dan

Keep in mind that there is "data plate HP" and actual HP. Turbo diesels
tend to have high "critical altitudes" which is the highest altitude where
the engine will produce sea level power. On the other hand, normally
aspirated engines will only produce a fraction of the "brochure HP" at high
altitudes. To get adequate power at the top of mountain passes with a
normally aspirated engine, you must to buy more power than you need at sea
level.

Diesels have excellent economy at part throttle but only slightly better
economy than spark ignition engines at full throttle. This means that even
if you bought an engine with the capacity to produce 286 HP, the power that
you actually use is determined by power demand which is in turn mainly
determined by the overall weight of your rig and driving style. To increase
fuel economy, reduce weight and run at part throttle. All else equal,
buying a larger diesel engine has little to do with actual average fuel
economy.

Bill Daniels

On Sep 5, 7:38 am, Dan G wrote:
On Sep 5, 7:30 am, John Smith wrote:

This is just plain insane. Nobody needs 286hp and an acceleration to
60mph of 6.5 seconds to tow a glider.

Eh? Who is suggesting that you do?

Dan

No, not to tow a glider. But, if you've ever tried to merge into
traffic on route 78 eastbound with a 20 ton dumptruck bearing down on
you at 65mph, you'll understand why there are times when a little
extra power might be nice to have :-)

P3

Monster diesels - Pointless magnificence, especially in 4x4.
Goes with all sorts of other weird and perverse thinking - will do well in
markets like the USA (and South Africa.)


John Smith wrote:
recently in the 335d and 535d. With 286-hp and 427 lb-ft of torque,
the 535d accelerates to 60 mph in less than 6.5 seconds, while
delivering an average of 37 mpg on the highway.

This is just plain insane. Nobody needs 286hp and an acceleration to
60mph of 6.5 seconds to tow a glider. For single seaters, 100hp is
plenty enough even in the mountains, which will give you 50mpg with
modern diesels when not towing. Double seaters may ask for a bit more,
but not much. BTW, I regularly tow single seaters with an Opel Astra 1.6
(gaz). Front drive, no 4x4. Plenty enough power, the speed is limited
not by power, but by the stability, he upper safe limit being somewhere
around 60mph. But does this really matter, and btw, in most places the
allowed speed isn't higher anyway.

Clearly, this level of technology is predestined for the U.S. market -
not only in terms of power and efficiency, but for its potential to
help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

If that was their intent, they wouldn't push engines with 286hp and
above. I'm afraid that they are correct, though, that this insanity is
predestined for the US market.

John Smith wrote:

This is just plain insane. Nobody needs 286hp and an acceleration to
60mph of 6.5 seconds to tow a glider.

No one needs a glider either.


...this insanity is predestined for the US market.

We're so glad you don't have to endure our shame.

I would be happy make up a list of the things you should and should not
be allowed to do, think, or say, and mail it to you--or, I could just
post it here--since you seem to feel that sort of thing is appropriate.



Jack