Aurora vs 200SX

[Aurora40]

So, on my drive to work, there's a pretty fun area I get to take. Basically, it's the intersection of two roads, except the road I am turning onto ends on the road I am turning from. So basically, I take a big sweeping right-hander (two lanes wide) onto the very start of another road, thus no merging traffic, etc. The road that I turn onto is 6 lanes wide and divided, and also is up a nice hill.

So the thing is I get to fly around a nice wide turn up a hill with no real traffic except those turning with me, and no intersections for about a mile or two. The uphill part goes up for maybe 500' or so at say a 5-10% grade. It's not crazy steep, but a nice incline. There is a big sign on the side of the road near where the incline levels out.

There is great visibility ahead, no intersections, etc. It's a great place to get on it, plus the grade keeps you from accelerating as fast. Anyway, what I like to do is see how fast I can be going when I pass the green sign, about 500' from the end of the turn, if that. In the Nissan, I can usually come off the turn at about 75-80mph, and I've hit about 87mph max when passing the sign.

It's practically always wide open when I drive the Nissan, but ever single time I drive the Aurora, there's traffic. Today, finally, it was open. Though there was traffic a ways ahead, so I knew I might not be able to get on it completely. I came off the turn probably doing 70-75, as I wanted to go conservative into it. I'll ramp the speeds up a bit the next time it's free (and dry, etc). Anyway, the car pulled like a champ and I was doing 105mph by the time I passed the sign. I even had to ease off before then due to gaining on traffic a bit quickly (though the nearest cars were still a ways ahead).

I was really impressed with the pulling power, It was pulling like I was doing 70 or something. I suspect in 3rd, it was probably nicely in the powerband, though. The motor really pulls strong, and I bet the car would really own it up with a 6-speed manual. I was really impressed with how nicely it was pulling at that speed, especially up an incline.

[Letitroll98]

Yes, if you look at the power curves on the 4.0 they are very high up the rpm range. With max torque around 4,400 rpm and zero crossing of hp and torque curves about 4,800 rpm it bodes well for high speed pulling power. Cool huh?

[Marc]

Even with very mild valve lift & duration, my 2001 4.0
feels like it's putting out a lot of power starting at about 4000 rpm.


___________________

GM!!! BRING BACK OLDS!!!

[kobalt]

Not sure this is a fair comparison. Aren't we talking less than half the displacement and only 115hp here? ;D

[Aurora40]

definitely not fair. However the 200SX has a curb weight of about 2200 lbs. And I figured it'd probably come off the turn faster, though really the Aurora can come off them pretty fast. I figured the Aurora would probably hit about 95 or so, but in reality can probably easily hit 110 by that sign. The 200SX really can't seem to do better than 87. I thought the curve and relatively short distance after the turn, plus the incline, would have them a bit closer than that. Mostly, though, it was just an observation, and me being impressed with the pulling power above 100mph. That's also the fastest I've been in the Aurora.

[Letitroll98]

Aurora40 said:

That's also the fastest I've been in the Aurora.

For those not familiar, radar detectors are illegal in VA, and local police are very vigilant. (Staties seem reasonable about what they'll let you do on the interstates) This leaves Aurora40 out of the wonderful experience of early am wide open freeways with wide open throttle positions. At least without the risk of prohibitive ticketing. ;D Other reasons of responsibility and law abiding I leave off the table at this time. We're men here afterall. (Amanda and RocketV8 I count as "one of the guys" status)

Weight savings are a big issue not dealt with much on this board. The single biggest performance mod you can do is to lower the weight of the vehicle. With current manufacturers, as horsepower capabilities go up, weight seems to go up across the board as well. Even the new Miata is up a couple hundred pounds (80kg). My old Probe GT was 2600lbs, I remember an Accord at 2200lbs.

On Auroras, lighter wheels and tires for sure. I find it hard to believe any luxury car owner would rip out sound deadening material or luxury options to save weight. Any other ideas.

[Aurora40]

Unfortunately a lot of the weight is the big engine, big tranny, and large amounts of coolant, oil, and tranny fluid. Not to mention the large size of the car.

Calipers are aluminum, as are the sub-frames, many body panels are aluminun, etc. I think you could save weight in the exhaust as the stock system is pretty hefty (I had to carry it up a ladder into the attic! Thankfully I'd cut it in two first). You could go with a smaller battery, though you take a risk it won't cut the mustard. You might be able to get lighter wheels, but I'm not so sure there's a lot of weight to be shaved. I think my 17's with tires are reasonably light considering.

You can also do things like run the coolant barely over the fill line, same with the oil (I wouldn't try it with the tranny, though). And half-fill the gas tank, but of course visit the station more often...

Other than that, or gutting the stereo, ac, OnStar, etc, there isn't a lot to do. You could replace body panels with carbon fiber if you want a crappy looking car, or replace the glass with lexan if you want an easily scratched windshield that transmits a ton of wind noise...