poorboy said:
Some of you armchair racers should read up on the cars you trash.
The mustang has 3 valves per cylinder, just like some Mercedes. 4 Valves per cylinder are not needed in North America. Doesn't suit the North American driving style. 4 valves flow the max air at high rpms and the torque curve is higher up. 2 valves flow max air at lower rpms and have a lower torque curve. Horsepower gets you mph, torque gets you your elapsed time.
Then there's the whole packaging issue. 4 valve heads are huge compared to pushrod 2 valvers. They are also heavier.
As far as the Honda VTEC's go. I'm not impressed. You have to really wind them up to get the HP. Everyone around you will hear that. Fuel efficiency isn't that great either. The 2.2 liter in the Honda S2000 (which should be renamed the S2200 had to be increased .2 liters because of the lack of torque) gets only 1 or 2 mpg better than the 6 litre 400 hp Corvette, which by the way never needs to have its valves adjusted or the timing belt replaced because the valves are hydraulic and it uses a chain, unlike the Honda. Not only that, the Japanese have been caught recently overstating their hp figures. My parent's 225 hp Camry only produces 210 hp!
Any racer will tell you that winning is winning. It doesn't matter how you do it.
What you say does have some truth to it. At Mercedes, it seems like they are in love withtheir 3 valves/cylinder set up. However, in the past couple of years, they are also in love with super and turbo charging their cars. It just isn't the same when you do that. That is why I have more respect for BMW then Mercedes in terms of engines and the experience.
Besides VTEC, the Japanese also have i-VVT and MiVEC ... basically all the same stuff, variable valve timing to squeeze more out of each piston cycle. And yes, when Japanese cars are concerned, you really have to rev them up inorder to produce that "ummmmph". However, things have changed because of a flatter torgue and horsepower curve thanks to electronics.But its a hell lot better then American cars when the redline is only 5-6000 RPM. And it is obvious American cars can crank out 300 HP when they have a 5L plus V8 engine.
And hence, American sports cars are called muscle cars/pony cars cause their only purpose is to produce "ponies" no matter the method. But is it efficient? And are they fun to drive? Perhaps not ...
On the other hand, you have little Miata (170 HP), Civic SiR (160 HP), Integra Type-S (201HP) ... these cars are fun to drive and a fun driving experience is all one needs. I would choose any of the above mentioned cars over a Camaro SS, Firebird, or Mustang anytime ...