quote:Originally posted by #7260:
Pantera's don't have drivetrains, they only have driveshafts. A 20% loss of HP from a mid engine car to the rear wheels seems high. Chuck
Chuck,
everything in front of the driven wheels is the drive train, all cars have a drive train. In the Pantera that includes the motor, the clutch, the ZF, the half shafts and the stub axles.
20% loss includes the difference in the motors performance exhausting into the engine dyno exhaust system (normally a set of headers exhausting into short sections of exhaust tubing, but no mufflers) and the car's real exhaust system; the air heated in the engine bay, which accounts for 1% loss of bhp per 10 degrees F, the frictional losses of the transaxle and the weight of the wheels & tires.
A front engine rear wheel drive car can have loss numbers in the 20% range too, using an aluminum drive shaft, titanium axles, light weight wheel/tire assemblies. The standard front engine RWD car has quite a bit more loss, more on the order of 25%.
cowboy from hell