Klasik-69

That is the Porsche power train I now have. After Neil Harvey built that car for a guy names Carl Akins, he built another one for an attorney in Las Vegas who wanted MORE. And being in Las Vegas, the town famous for 108 degree weather, the attorney wanted to stay cool. So they took an 87 slant nose 930 and modified it completely. And the attorney wanted more power. That meant a bigger turbo and more exotic engine work. So my car has the Porsche 962 race engine with twin plug heads, titanium rods, specially forged Mahle pistons, 20 quart capacity dry sump, 27 gallon fuel safe fuel cell, tripple fuel pumps and a huge K33 turbo. The car has four (4) A/C condensors with fans, two huge front mounted oil coolers with fans, and enough fuses and controls to power the shuttle. The full width intercooler has two draw down fans of its own. The ECU has 5 active map programs to choose from going from 1) let's just haul ass to 5) call the priest, death is imminent. I leave it on 1. And by the way, the car has full roll bar cage, Reccaro race seats, 6 point harnesses and other stuff that makes it a bear to drive on the streets. Oh, and the brakes squeal loud enough to hurt little children in nearby schools. Here is a picture of my engine at Neil's shop;

Yes, you are right. I went back to look and I F&*ked up. The time I was referring to was established earlier in December 1995 after an article in Excellence magazine which featured Neil Harvey's monster car. In that test, the brakes did not lock up since the driver knew how to modulate the brakes with the Brembos. As you can see, the car's times were bested only by a Ferrari Enzo and a Porsche 911 directly from Germany as a specially prepped car. And that is with the brakes locking up for a skid of 451 feet. This is a good argument for ABS brakes. I don't count the Kawasaki motorcycle. I was trying to see what the new R600 had done but can't find the test results on a 0-100-0. I suspect that car could set some records of its own. Also, would like to see what the new GT-R Nismo is capable of with a claimed power of over 560 HP and brand new driveline software. 0-60 is under 2.9 seconds. It would seem like ultimately the old 0-100-0 claimed 10 second flat time by Carrol Shelby followers of its 427 AC Cobra may well end up being a reality, but with a different car. It would be incredible if it ends up being a Caterham doing it.:driving:

Nascar is losing its fan base. Daytona is closing out its back stretch seating and reducing the number of seats by going to a slightly bigger and more comfortable seat. They are going higher in the stands so people can see more of the track. It is a reality that going to a major race is a very serious expense, and maybe it has gotten too expensive for the typical family of 4 or even the weekend warrior drunks. Recent personal battles between drivers and even the Danica Patrick saga has the smell of Hollywood soap operas complete with pre-written script and sometimes it seems like Nascar is becoming more like WWF. Look at races broadcast on TV and see the number of empty seats. Daytona used to bring in over 200,000 fans for the 500 and now they consider themselves lucky if they draw 125,000. Infield and bleacher seats numbered over 225,000, which is 100,000 more than needed. Rolex 24 hour race this past January was no exception. You could pick any seat you wanted, anywhere you wanted, any time you wanted. I don't know what will make it change, perhaps it has run its course and TV has made it too comfortable and too convenient to watch it at home.

I detect a little BS here. The car is described as setting the 0-100-0 record as to EVO magazine (What is EVO ?) with 11.44 seconds. My Porsche 930 is documented in Aug 96 Road & Track magazine at just over 10 seconds with a 0-100 time of 7.62 seconds......back in 1996. Imagine how much faster today's cars are than that ?

Hey, no mention of Rustangs !

Wow, is that a nice engine bay !! Do you polish it every night ? It looks great.

Oh, come on, quit fooling around. Aren't you tired of sounding like a little kitty cat when you can roar like a big friggin lion ! Try this; http://www.hornblasters.com/ That will send a message to anyone around...............for about 1/2 mile radius. It will blow the feathers off a full grown chicken in less than 2 seconds. It will absolutely dry up the depends on your grandpa ! Actually, I went down to my local China junk import store (Harbor Freight) and for about $10 or $15 bought one of their ultra loud horns................and it is very loud. When I use it, people look around for the big truck that may have done it and all they see is my little 7 sitting there. If you get the big air horns above, you will need a trailer to pull behind for the air tank or you could mount it on the top of the roll bar and it would look like a torpedo or surface to air missile, maybe scare the crap out of people without even using the horn. One of the local guys here put one of the horn blasters in his 1970 VW bug and loves to scare old ladies walking their little dust mop dogs.

Do you ever wonder why some people buy high performance cars and drive them like it was a Prius ? Why waste the money...................is it the looks they want ? The highest priority in our Corvette club is "Where are we going for brunch ?" One guy drove around without any gauges (no speedo, no tach, no fuel gauge, no nothing) for two years because it would cost $300 for a new board. So I asked him, "Are you F&*king kidding me ?" He went around telling others I was a very rude person. I told them he was an A$$hole. Now Porsche people will not ask where the next brunch is, they will host it under a tent with a caterer, 5 piece orchestra and make sure they have a lot of Grey Poupon................and make sure the society editor of the local newspaper is there with their photographer..............yep, one big photo op ! Seven owners......................Get the Hell out of my way, I'm going to lunch and I'll get there before anyone else, and if I have to, I'll cut through the Walmart shopping center parking lot, run over shopping carts, jump the fence, pass the cop eating the donut, AND I will make sure I pass your slow a$$ on the way there !! ATTITUDE I like ATTITUDE.

Ok, I feel like I got kicked in the teeth and thrown under the bus. I own 3 Corvettes & 2 Porsches......and my beloved R-300. So what does that make me.....cheap ? ......arrogant ? LOL. If you can't laugh at yourself, you can't laugh. A lot of what you guys said is true. Most Vette owners are cheap bastards & drive like old ladies. Most Porsche guys have an attitude....and really drive slow. I belong to both a Corvette & Porsche club. Vette guys think I'm friggin nuts for wanting to race. Porsche guys think I lack finesse. Seven guys think I'm weird for owning Vettes & Porsches. I love speed, I love HP & I love fast cars.

Not at all, go for it. One guy in our SCCA SEDIV is now 81 and has just retired, not because he wants to or because he's slow but because of heart problems and doctors won't clear him. He's one of the most accomplished drivers I ran against, and he never knew what a brake pedal was for. And he's not the only driver I've run into who was up in years. Don't let age be a barrier, it's matter of how you feel and how much fun you're having.

Oh crap, I forgot where you were. Sorry, wasn't trying to be a smart a$$. By the way, if you buy a car over there, do you pay the VAT on the car or are you exempt ? If not exempt, it can add up to a big chunk of change.

62 and have always been a car guy. About 6 years ago, a guy brought a 7 to a drive-in car show I always attended. I had never seen one before and it intrigued me......super light & nimble, didn't know how much power but the guy showed me the Ford cross flow motor & I thought it may be slow. 3 years ago my orthopedic surgeon was setting me up for a new knee when he casually mentioned he was getting rid of his Lotus. All ears at this point, "What Lotus do you have ?". "A super 7", he says as he left the room. "What is that?" I asked. So he comes back with an 8X10 photo. Now I can't just let this go but he's not all that enthusiastic to discuss further. So after the surgery, I pin him down to talk about selling this oversized go kart. A month later it's in my garage & the next year I'm racing it in SEDIV SCCA in the TT events. Isn't life great. I got a new knee and a new car, & both work great.

I'll send some later but it's your typical car hauler trailer but has a lower beaver tail drop to accommodate the very low Z06 front splitter, and has extra long ramps again for the same reason. I had it built by Indian River Trailers in Ft. Pierce, Fl. Left fender is remove able & all lights are LED. Front nose was extra long to accommodate a winch & tool box. Tongue is a bit heavy, too heavy for a small SUV but OK for my F150. Tracking is excellent & very stable, fuel mpg is around 13.5 @ 72 mph towing the 7, 12.5 mpg towing either the Porsche or Z06. Again a great trailer for the money but given a choice, money not being a consideration, I'd take an aluminum trailer to save 600 to 800 lbs.

I really like the feather lite aluminum trailers but at $5,000+, a little rich for me. My custom built steel trailer (16X7.5) cost $2,900 and weighs 1,650 lbs empty, two axle electric brakes on 3,500 lb axles tows like a dream. However, I'm towing with a crew cab F-150. You guys using SUV's or Jetta TDI have more weight concerns so starting with a lightweight aluminum trailer may be required. The other consideration is if you ever tow something heavier & will the trailer handle it. My Miata weighs 2450 lbs, the Z06 weighs 3,125 lbs. my trailer can handle all of them, so can my tow vehicle, but I burn a lot of fuel doing it.

I don't know. If anyone knows, it would be Tom "turbo1focus", the king of Focus cars & Zetec engines.

Go to "cars for sale" on this forum. Gjslutz is selling a Jetta TDI with Westfalia 2990 lb hitch and aluminum trailer, package deal already test proven & ready for you.

You are correct in the analysis of the two different markets, and as a result, the buying trends based on needs. And I couldn't agree with you more on the differences of the tow vehicles in terms of performance. Americans spend more and save less. It's a proven fact and when it comes to cars, Americans like to have big and flashy on most fronts. Being a naturalized American and having been born in Europe (actually North Africa) and one who has the majority of his family in Europe still, I'm aware of the car trends there. Fuel expense is a big item whereas ours is more reasonable, and that is likely the reason we don't mind jumping into our barges and blowing fuel out the exhaust. Americans also tend to be bigger people too (and fatter) and are more comfortable in a bigger vehicle. Check out your local Walmart for fat content. Why don't you just buy the Jetta TDI and add a hitch, and tow what you need to tow ? VW will never know what you're towing unless you tell them or pull into their lot with the trailer attached. And if as you stated the same car pulls 3000 lbs in Europe, it should do the same here and not have any more drivetrain issues than over there. For you own safety, you really should add braking to the trailer, either surge or electric. Hydraulic surge would be easier since it has nothing to do with the trailer and since this isn't a boat that goes into water, the brakes should last. Good luck, be safe.

Well, not to argue with you but the logic here doesn't really make sense. 1. VW sells the Touareg in the US and in Europe 2. VW sells the Jetta TDI in the US and in Europe Why are marketing forces here in the US different than they would be in Europe ? Why would VW want to sell you a Touareg here in the US but are perfectly happy with selling you the smaller and lower priced Jetta in Germany ? And, assuming they are trying to steer you away from the Jetta as a towing vehicle, why would they assume you are necessarily going to buy a VW vehicle as a tow vehicle ? The reason why I bring this up is the Touareg is a very high priced SUV that doesn't compete well against others in the same category that are priced lower (gas versions) or is it the diesel option that seems appealing here in the US where diesel prices are HIGHER than premium gasoline ? I must admit I am confused by this LOGIC. If we were talking about a vehicle choice in Europe where there diesel fuel is priced lower than gasoline and the choice therefore is so much clearer, I could understand. However, if my understanding of the original premise is correct, we are talking about a USA vehicle choice. But even if we were talking about a European vehicle choice, there are a whole lot more diesel engine powered vehicle choices there than here and again, VW would be in much tougher competition. IF we are only talking VW vehicles, as if there are no other vehicles being produced like M-B, BMW, Land Rover, Toyota, Nissan, etc. then maybe the argument and logic would be plausible. The fact that you have chosen a M-B vehicle seems to pretty well prove my point. Is there something here I am not understanding ?

Electric brakes can be adjusted to a greater degree than hydraulic surge brakes, and as others have pointed out, can be tapped to straighten out a trailer without applying the towing vehicle's brakes. U-Haul uses hyd surge brakes because most customers don't have electric brake controllers. I've had two boat trailers with hyd surge brakes that failed within 2 years of being in salt water even though I thoroughly fresh water rinsed the trailer after each use. Bigdog, I have no doubt the Jetta TDI can easily pull 3000 lbs, maybe even more. My concern is its ability to stop the load without trailer brakes in a quick or safe distance. With trailer braking, no problem By the way, just heard Dodge Ram is equipping a new 1500 ram pickup with a smaller V6 diesel with around 200 HP for lighter duty hauling

I believe the aspect of the towing vehicle's weight vs the towed weight is only important when what us being towed doesn't provide additional braking. As in the case of a VW Jetta towing a single axle trailer w/o brakes. Bigdog's tractor pulling a GCWR 62,000 lbs has 5 axles braking, although his tractor weight is only 18,000 lbs. My F-150 4X4 weighs 5500 lbs but can tow 10,500 lbs WITH adequate trailer braking. Without it, pure suicide. Now back to what Bigdog originally stated, the Jetta can pull/tow 2900 lbs. no problem here, I bet the little diesel will easily pull it. Will it stop the combined approx 6,000 lbs in a short distance in an emergency maneuver ? Do you want to bet your life on it ? I'd put either electric brakes (preferred) or surge brakes on the trailer. I'm not at all worried about the diesel's ability to pull the load even on mountain roads, they have incredible torque, and they're incredibly durable.

You're going to need to know if it's a wide band or narrow band sensor that is needed based on the type of ECU you have. If you have a standard Ford Zetec engine that is using the Ford ECU, then look up a Ford Focus 2000 model with the Zetec motor you have (DOHC, 2.0L ???) and see which O2 sensor they show. My Zetec uses a narrow band O2 sensor with an aftermarket ECU so what I have may have nothing to do with what you need, or anybody else for that matter.

I probably shouldn't have said that Europe doesn't give a crap about emissions, but as Kitcat pointed out, they seem to care less. Our gasoline became unleaded in the very early 70's and when I was in Europe in the 80's, leaded gasoline was all you could get. 85% of the diesel engines running in heavy trucks in Europe TODAY do no meet US emissions and cannot be imported. M-B developed the Urea reactor system that brings emissions down to US standards. Caterpillar, Cummins and Detroit Diesel had to "buy" the system from M-B to be able to adapt their engines to meet standards. Caterpillar commonly used a pre-combustions chamber to improve on efficiency and reduce particulates but it's tough to meet todays US emission standards. The future of diesel engines in the US is greatly limited. Waste Management is converting their fleet to run on CNG as they see the cost of the urea reactors, and their maintenance, a step in the wrong direction. Over the road use faces a different challenge in refueling with NCG and likely will continue to deal with diesel as a fuel of choice. At my business, we used to be 60% diesel and are now down to less than 25%. It will likely go even lower. It will be interesting to see which direction Europe goes.

ER, better check your facts. VW is down and has been DOWN. This is the company that was going to take over as the No. 1 car manufacturer in the world, and well, it ain't gonna happen. They represent only 2.3% of the US market and lost in January at a rate of 19%. GM, Ford, Toyota, Chrysler and Honda all blow VW out of the market. Older VW's were better and have lasted longer, hence the reason why so many are still on the road with the 100,000+ mile moniker. The VW TDI is likely still the best small diesel engine in the world. It is one of the few diesel engines that require the least amount of mods to qualify for the tougher US emissions standards. In Europe, they don't give a crap about emissions and that is a reason why about 50% of their cars are diesels. Peugot has to be a strong second in quality diesel engines but you won't see them here. However, diesel engines don't stop your vehcile, your brakes and chassis dynamics do. Your mention of the Touareg as a tow vehicle is excellent in the fact it weighs enough to be a safer towing vehcile that has substantially larger braking capability to stop a trailer that may not have electric brakes. Anyone towing a car on a trailer with a Jetta TDI or gas engine is really taking a chance. Yeah, I know, some have chimed in that they have towed over 28 million miles and are still alive. Karl Wallenda walked many tightropes too until, well, you know. I value my life enough to use a larger and safer tow vehicle. If you want to tow the car trailer with a bicycle, go ahead. Just don't do it where I'm at so you don't run into the back of my vehicle. In other words, if you don't have any concern for your own safety, at least give some consideration to others on the road. And one more thing, ER, if you ever call my Porsche a gussied up VW, I'll take you off my Christmas mailing list and there will be no more Christmas cards.:flag:

You forgot one really big difference between here and Germany............LAWYERS. We have them lurking everywhere just looking for an opportunity to file a wrongful injury or death law suit. Car manufacturers are covering their behinds by recommending larger vehicles with bigger engines, brakes, etc to prevent the lawyers from suing them into oblivion. Yes, you're right about the excessive power in our current pickups with each manufacturer trying to outdo the other with a constant climb in power. I always thought that a pickup with a diesel like the one in the Isuzu NPR, a 4 cylinder 190 hp & 450 lbft of torque was more than sufficient. Redneck mentality prevents that from getting done. GM was going to market a V6 diesel in the 1/2 ton pickup with reverse flow (exhaust inside the V) but somehow that died too. So we're stuck with too much power and too much fuel consumption. On the flip side, I don't think a Jetta is an adequate tow vehicle. Your bluetec M-B diesel is a much better and SAFER vehicle. Yes, you'll burn more fuel but you may just live a little longer this way.

You are absolutely right. Again the concern is not with the ability to pull but the ability to stop safely. Another issue is the leveraged weight of the two vehicle vs the trailer when dealing with cross winds when the towed trailer can flip to towing vehicle, a common sight on our highways when a small tow vehicle is pulling a large bulky trailer that may not weigh all that much, and all we see is debris scattered all over the highway. Tower a Beware.