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Oldsmobile Aurora: Acceleration
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Sometimes the only thing worse than using a seat of the pants meter is to read what the magazines report.
I still love that C&D issue where the new accord (separate article - same issue) outperformed the G35, CTS, 330i, W8.... Hilarious. And then they later cook up the "bad gas" excuse for the Infinity, Caddy, BMW, and VW and others.
Oh, and the old accord V6 is supposedly just as fast as the new Aurora according (pun?) to C&D.
With its mediocre 212 ft-lbs of torque at 5000 rpms or higher, I just don't see this car as being that tough.
Yeah, the V8 doesn't have a boatload of low-rpm torque the way the 3800 does. However, if you think the Aurora feels a lot like a 3800 equipped car, that's pretty good. The Aurora only has .2L more displacement, and weighs a lot more than the 3800 cars (except maybe the Park Avenue). Plus, I'd bet the 3800 has a longer stroke (which helps torque). So if it feels comparable at low rpm's, that's really not too shabby, and actually pretty impressive.
You should really feel the car come alive though as the revs climb.
There is no extra power from shifting. Each subsequently higher gear will have worse acceleration. You are always better off in the lowest gear that will work at that speed (within some reasonable constraints). So if the car can continue in 1st, you will accelerate better than if it upshifted to 2nd instead.
The car makes great high-rpm power and pulls hard right to the redline, so you definitely want it to stay in gear as long as possible. Plus, there's that sound... Oh man does that baby sound sweet as it climbs to 6 1/2 grand...
Anyway, that's only my "seat of the pants" meter, but the difference seems pretty big. Also, it's my opinion that anything as comfy as an Aurora is going to insulate the driver from the experience of acceleration.
Kayaman is basically right about helping low end acceleration. The air-box mod and K&N help out down low a little, but not much according to the dyno. I don't think the exhaust does anything down low either. However, the RSM TB added power all over the power curve according to my dyno tests. With the better box, a K&N, and the RSM TB, low end acceleration is helped a bit, but not nearly like the high end - especially with exhaust mods.
I'm not sure about getting true 0 to 60 times on the car. The g-tech type stuff is the best bet, but I still have doubts about them. Then you can have some strong acceleration and a poor launch and still get slow times. I guess you could defer to the magazines - LOL.
My opinion is that with the 3.71, and some basic intake and exhaust improvements, the car is low 7's to 60 - launched just right, new tires, good pavement, right atmospheric conditions...... The 3.48 - I guess mid 7's with the same mods. I don't think the 3.48 is much different than a 3.71 as they are really pretty close. Those numbers are pretty good even against a lot of the questionable "magazine numbers". Some of them just don't add up as described earlier. Real world it's a decent performer, but it wasn't intended to be a performance car anyway. It's one of the only cool looking luxury cars out there that also offers a world class engine.
I have to second all the comments about passing power and such. From any kind of a roll, the car is really strong.
So, just toss a K&N in the thing and you may be getting a little over 230 lb-ft of torque with lots of it down low. So yeah, at 3400 lbs or so, those things really jump off the line. I love that engine. It accelerates nicely because of all the torque and then gets incredible highway mileage with the tall 3.11 gearing. It's a simple but very effective formula. The only shortfall is that high end power. It does fade out on you.
Sorry - I guess that's not much "Aurora" stuff there.
PS. Dyno'd it free once before the K&N air. threw out 215/228. My manual told me 205. Intellichoice said 210. I always heard they read 200 for "insurance reasons".
Just surprised that I could keep up....
0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds with
221 hp @ 5,600 rpm
232 lb-ft @ 3,000 - 4,800 rpm
The curb weight is 3691 pounds. Maybe if we lifted 400 pounds out of an autobahn it would run 0-60 in 7.1 but no way standard Aurora would.
Of course if the Aurora had a five speed as well it would run well into the sixes I believe
It's not clear to me that more gears necessarily lowers acceleration times. Shifts take time out of power to the wheels. So if a 4-speed shifts once before 60mph, and a 6-speed shifts twice, there may not be any gain 0-60. Of course, overall drivability is enhanced if the transmission is competent. The final drive ratio has to play a part in this, too.
I haven't seen that article. What was the SRX's final drive ratio?
Les
Shawn
Hey, have you been getting my mails? Just curious as I haven't seen a reply yet... :P
And you'll have to forgive my lack of E-mails. I just started a new job and it has me totally wiped out by the end of the day...I'm a little behind with my online activites.
I know from my early days with GTO's and Chevelle SS's that a higher axle ratio gives you more acceleration and quicker 0-60's but a lower top speed.
So why should the higher ratio give you a higher top speed - isn't that the wrong way round? The autobahn must be at higher revs than a regular Aurora at 110mph - so why do they let it go faster and cut off the non-autobahn?
dred98 - (98 Aurora with autobahn)
besides, at speeds of like 130, 140, we run out of power, not gears. the higher the revs the more the power, so if both cars weren't limited, i think the autobahn would still top out a little higher.
That doesn't make sense - I don't think you can have it both ways, surely the final drive ratio that manufacturers decide on is a trade off - acceleration or speed, trying to get one without hurting the other too much.
I can see your point about the mileage though - that gets more important every day.
OK, if it's just because of the tires it makes more sense. It was not a technical or mechanical thing - which is the way I was thinking.
thanks
Howard
the reason a 3.71 geared aurora would have a higher top speed is because at 140mph, it will be at a higher rpm than the 3.48 car (still plenty of rpm's to go before redline). the higher the rpm, the more the HP, especially in DOHC cars. the aurora makes its peak HP at 5600 rpms, since its at a higher rpm, the 3.71 will be putting more power to the ground at 140mph, so it will be able to climb a little higher before it just doesn't have the power to go any faster (probably around 145-150mph, which will still be at a lower rpm than 5600, which is its peak).
The car really launched well, and I was surprised by the amount of wheelspin. Torque management usually keeps it toned down to spare the tranny. My car really feels strong lately. Maybe it's because it's broken in now, or the Corsa or who knows, but it really feels like 0-60's are more like 7 seconds than 8 seconds. And after 60, it really keeps pulling. I was hitting 80 mph in no time and let off the gas.
Interestingly, the tranny snaps off the 1-2 shift at almost 6500 rpm, but then snaps off the 2-3 shift at about 5800 rpm. I think if it ran up to 6400 again, it would probably help a lot in the 1/4 mile. 3rd gear puts it fairly out of the power band (I think in the 3000's), and the car is getting some serious drag as it's in the 80 mph's. Oh well...
I have to say, I just love the sound this car makes. The Corsa is simply incredible. It sounds like a very clean, tuned musclecar. Not quite as deep as a smallblock, but that kind of makes it sound neat too. If only our cars could be had with a manual tranny! I know it would totally not fit with the nature of the car, but it would really let you hear the engine whenever you wanted.
1999 Shelby Series One....
I think it's really cool that Shelby used the Aurora for that car, but I honestly am not that enamored of the guy. He always struck me as a do-anything-for-a-buck kinda guy. I remember when he "found" a bunch of original Cobra chassis and was going to finish them and sell them as originals. Later it was found out that he'd faked the whole thing and they were new chassis, which he did end up producing and selling. Even with the Series 1, he took orders and payment for the car from numerous people before it was produced, then he tried to charge them an extra $40,000 or so over the price he'd negotiated with them when he actually started production. He just strikes me as a bit of a shill, just one with an entertaining past.
The Corvette I'm really dreaming about is the Callaway Twin Turbo. They are quite reasonable with prices in the $30k's. And with ~400hp and ~575 lb-ft of torque, they would demolish a Series 1 (and look cooler while doing it).
The local paper said the V-8 Aurora (01+) could reel off sub-8 0-60 times all day.
This just funny how the Lincoln Navigator(with over 320hp) could run 0-60 in 7.8 but run an almost 16 sec 1/4 mile while our Aurora (250hp) would run 14/15 with a 4-speed vs. Navi's 5.
Just goes to show you how much weight actually does matter.
Les
Though if the 6 had the Aurora torque, it prob. would be the same.
Obviously the guy wasn't trying, but it's his own fault. I was staring right at him at the light, but he was too busy looking down his nose. He was clearly inspired by my run as he decided to do the uncle ben's fly-by afterwards. It sure was funny. I think I could give the base car a run for it's money, especially with Joe-yuppie doing the shifting. I think they run a mid 6's 0-60? I'm pretty sure my car can run a solid 7.
Some good kills to report here at college town (UCF). A Sentra SE-R (supposedly) and an older 3 series, I think it was a 328i coupe too. Both never had a shot. Thought the SE-R would be tougher off the line but didn't happened.
Also have a nasty killed by. A TL Type S was next to me at an intersection and the two lanes merge shorter later. I knew he was trying to get in front, so I cut a good light. I didn't get on it hard at all. I hear him get on it, so a punch it. I don't go full, my stupid mat was in the way and he comes flying around. I don't know if it was auto or stick but he did manage to chirp them at the shift. There's no way the old girl would chirp them at second, even in 1. I think he got me because he got on it first. Hopefully, we can cross paths again.
BMW's tend to have really dominant intake sounds though and weak exhaust sounds, so it could have not been pressurized. But he took off like crazy and easily walked away from me. By the time I was at about 70-75, he must have been doing like 85 or more. He was starting to fly away from me. It wasn't even remotely close. I wouldn't have thought a 6-speed stock 540i would walk me that badly, but maybe...
You might as well try hammen's goat lol.
I've never heard any bimmers with aftermarket exhausts that really sounded very good. Usually just buzzy or loud. Almost like japanese imports, but a little deeper and less buzzy than that. But nothing that ever made me go "wow, that's an engine sound". But it's mosly 3-series cars I see that are all "customized", not V8's, so maybe that's why.
I'm still contemplating a purchase that'd move the Aurora over a spot in the garage. It'd make quick work of a bimmer.
I do find the new goat appealing. I might have to swing by my local dealer due to them having a Pulse Red one in stock. But I feel like 10 years down the road, it'd just be another car, sort of like an early 1990's Camaro. Not a bad car, I still like the style of the 1992 Camaro3, and it's hardly terrible to drive one now. But 10 years from now, the Callaway would still be one of the only factory twin-turbo Corvettes ever made. Plus, there's something about making an underrated 575 lb-ft of torque that I find very appealing...
Edit: am I the only one that thinks the 2004 GTO has a similar look to the 2001-2003 Aurora?
I did get blown away by one the other day though. The GTO's fly and sound AWESOME.
I bet I can get a great deal on a used one next year. Maybe. Its a lot of car for the money.
Just a thought
John