Quote:
|
Originally Posted by CaptainObvious
I'm not going to think of this as riding a bicycle, because the amount of torque I can apply at 50 RPM is much greater than the torque I can apply at 200 RPM. If I could apply the same torque at 200 RPM, I'd be stressing my knees just as much, if not more.
And my reference about the 1500 RPM max torque was a BMW 135i which is a turbo charged gas engine. Imagine how "lugged" that car will be all the time. How foolish of them to let the car have any torque below 4000 RPM.
Regarding the cooling, you are burning less fuel at lower RPM and getting more mechanical work per volume of gas burned, so you need less cooling.
At 800 RPM you might be lugging the engine. At 1500 RPM, I don't see how that qualifies with an engine capable of variable timing.
|
I think you're points are mainly academic. In truth, at idle (700rpm) the Boxster 2.5 is producing only 27HP and 22 Ft.lbs., it's right there in the owners manual. And it doesn't get much better until you're waay north of 2500rpm. Not much to push a 3,000lb. car.
But, there's a practical experiment you can do. Start your car and try to idle (or up to 2500rpm) in 5th or 6th from a standing start. You'll soon learn how possible it is to 'lug' the engine, that is if it doesn't simply stall out first. Why? Because the load exceeds the power of the engine at that rpm level.
Yes the timing is variable, but only within limits, same with the fuel delivery. You're gonna get knock, ping, detonation. You will be putting a greater load on the engine than the power it can provide at that rpm level to overcome that load - you'll be operating outside it's powerband - in other words, lugging it!
