7 ms·
1990 Impact Electric Drag Race [video]
- jeffbee 4y agoWait why was the Miata even there? Yeah it's a sports car but that is not its sport.
- agloe_dreams 4y agoThe Miata actually gives good context, that era was a 8.5s 0-60. The EV1 was ~7.7s. However, if you were to run this race today with the 2023 Miata...well, the thing got a new sport, as it now has a 5.7s 0-60, utterly trashing both cars here. Actually, our T5 Volvo XC40 does 0-60 in 6.3s, Toyota will sell you a camry that does it in 5.6s...but that's almost cheating as the thing makes freaking 300HP lol. Gas cars got fast out of nowhere because it moves units and CAD changed everything for engine design.
- renewiltord 4y agoThat's actually crazy, since my Subaru Forester does 0-60 in 6.8. Normal cars did get fast.
- foobarian 4y agoThis kind of comparison seems disingenuous to me due to the EV max torque at rest. Of course the EV will do well. Pretty much every other property of these cars would be more interesting to compare.
- sbierwagen 4y agoDid you not see that three ICE cars had faster 0-60 times? The EV1 was not a Tesla. 137 horsepower, 110 lbft of torque. (Depending on the trim level, a Model S can do up to 825 horsepower and 960 lbft)
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago>Gas cars got fast out of nowhere because it moves units and CAD changed everything for engine design. Gas cars got fast because sufficiently high quality computer control matured to the point where making a high power for its size/weight engine that both met emissions standards and reliability expectations and did so at a reasonable price point was doable. The ability to actually build the hardware has preceded the ability to run it in a reliable and emissions compatible manner ever since we've had emissions rules. Having better FEA software so some engineer could shave a gram off a piston, get his bonus for achieving his KPI and ensure half a million engines start knocking at 120k on the dot was never the bottleneck.
- xeromal 4y agoIt doesn't help that modern engines can't use leaded gas like the days of old. Leaded gas acted as a crutch for many years
- jackmott42 4y agoI think everyone trying to name a single first order reason for more power is wrong. I think many little innovations occurred and became possible for various reasons. 1. better computer control 2. advances in variable cam timing mechanisms 3. direct injection 4. coil on plug ignition systems 5. improvements in sensors (knock sensors, mass air, oxygen, etc) 6. improvements in machining/forging etc leading to tighter tolerances 7. improvements in engine oils probably dozens of other things
- TheSpiceIsLife 4y agoComputer modelling also helped in optimising airflow in and out of the combustion chamber.
- flavius29663 4y agoA Toyota Tundra truck from 2020 can do 7.4s, just saying.
- Gordonjcp 4y agoMy 4.6 litre Range Rover from 1997 will do 0 to 60 in around 14 seconds, but it will do it just as quickly pulling another Range Rover on a trailer, or across a ploughed field. Never really got the attraction of getting to 60mph as fast as possible. How often do you attempt that in real-world use?
- jackmott42 4y agoI go 0-60 all out much more often than I pull range rovers
- pengaru 4y ago> Never really got the attraction of getting to 60mph as fast as possible. How often do you attempt that in real-world use? When it can be done quietly, according to John Carmack speaking about driving his Tesla Roadster vs. past modded Ferraris, at practically every light.
- steveoscaro 4y agoPretty much every single drive from my house since that involves a short freeway on-ramp... How often do you tow a range rover with your range rover?
- Gordonjcp 4y agoEvery couple of months or so. During the winter I regularly tow stuck vehicles out of the snow, biggest one so far was a fully-laden 28-tonne curtainsider.
- ethbr0 4y agoWhy not both? Obligatory: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eYxwgmACJMY&t=1m26s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eYxwgmACJMY&t=1m26s
- jacquesm 4y agoHehe. Former CL 55 owner here, that was pretty predictable...
- AnotherGoodName 4y agoWeirdly the massive increase in car performance has led me not to care about car performance anymore. I've been driving for a long time and now everything is freaking fast (by 40+ year old standards). Today you can buy literally any car on the market and have way more acceleration, power and top speed than you need day-to-day. Take a really cheap car like the crappy $16k Nissan Versa which has 122hp in the base model. Compare to a 1970's Porsche 911 (125hp). They both weigh about the same too if that's what your thinking - modern materials are light! Unless you're towing it's not practical to care about car performance anymore. You have a car? You likely have more power to weight than a sports car from 50 years ago.
- jacquesm 4y agoAgreed. Even my daily driver from the 80's would get along just fine in today's traffic. Acceleration hasn't been a problem since 1980 unless you were driving something by Wartburg or so.
- sokoloff 4y agoThere were plenty of anemic diesels in the 80s with 0-60 times over 20 seconds. Highway merges, especially in PA (with many short merge zones) could be white knuckle affairs in those underpowered cars.
- rplst8 4y agoWrong. Most compact cars and midsized sedans from the 80s were downright awful. Sub 100 hp motors, with restrictive exhausts and poorly designed emissions systems. They were mostly garbage. My family's Pontiac 6000 had a 2.5 liter 92 hp pile of hot garbage for an engine, and couldn't get out its own way.
- jacquesm 4y agoSub 100 hp is plenty for day to day traffic. 50 would be enough. A Pontiac is an overweight monstrosity, the fact that 92 HP isn't enough to move a personal car is proof positive of that.
- temp0826 4y agoYah this is sort of a funny video. If they're stock vehicles I don't know if this is impressive by any measure. I think the top end twin-turbo 300zx was 300 horsepower. But, the Miata is a very light car; it and the 300zx are prime (and super fun!) targets for gearheads to tune up.
- grubbs 4y agoSadly, I haven't seen a 300ZX in many years. Remember this Superbowl commerical? https://youtu.be/uXdFKcETEPg https://youtu.be/uXdFKcETEPg
- jeffbee 4y agoRemember this one where they decided to just embrace their main problem and started advertising the turbo lag as a feature? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XLyCDsKhGo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XLyCDsKhGo
- apaprocki 4y agoYes, 300hp on paper. I owned a Z NA 2+2 that I converted to a TT, maybe ~600hp. The RX7, 300ZX, Supra generation were all fun and great competition, but that was probably also the order in terms of reliability. The rotary engine is super tunable, but very finicky. The Z was a V6, and much less stable than the Supra’s in-line 6. That’s usually why all the monster builds were Supras. You could get a Z there with a lot of cash and free time, but it would require a fairly decent amount of upkeep and tuning to make sure you didn’t blow up your engine every time you tried to race. Supras might appear just as unstable, but those were usually 1000+hp builds having issues versus 600-700hp Z builds. A 600hp Supra would probably be more resilient due to the engine.
- bluedino 4y agoYou didn't even mention the 3000GT :(
- Grazester 4y agoThe block of the 300ZX is pretty strong. The cylinder bore spacing is about the largest I have seen. The issue is the bottom end is a bit weak and to reliably take it to the 1000hp range it needs a crank girdle it seems. The 2JZ is however a better engine. It seems like today the VG30DETT is finally getting some attention. I seem some shop doing some fancy big HP builds with them
- thedrbrian 4y agoBecause it’s the sports car. If you look it up in the dictionary you’ll see Sports Car see Miata MX5[1] [1] https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a35002019/greatest-sports-car-of-all-time/ https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a35002019/greatest-...
- dahfizz 4y agoIt's certainly not a drag car. Miatas are well knows for being slow. Miatas are popular because they are light, nimble, and cheap
- LesZedCB 4y agoused to be cheap :'(
- jackmott42 4y agoInflation adjusted it is cheaper now than it was in the first generation
- bsagdiyev 4y agoWith a neck snapping 140hp... this is not even a halfway decent comparison car.
- ethbr0 4y agoThere's a denominator on that equation too.
- agloe_dreams 4y agoThe EV1 is slower than a Toyota Corolla. It is actually a way closer race than people realize.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- rootusrootus 4y agoThe EV1 wasn't a sports car in any sport, though. The comparison is just for fun. Though it was a good preview of the future of electric automotive propulsion.
- grubbs 4y agoThe story behind the EV1 is pretty interesting if you haven't read up on it. They were all crushed eventually. I think there's only a handful left. One is at a university in the Midwest. Pretty sure OSU.
- CalChris 4y agoNo, not all EV1s were destroyed. There's about as many EV1s (37) as there are Tuckers (47). https://www.hemmings.com/stories/how-many-gm-ev1s-remain/ https://www.hemmings.com/stories/how-many-gm-ev1s-remain/ https://www.americanessence.com/there-are-only-47-of-these-vintage-tucker-cars-left-in-the-world-and-theyre-worth-millions-each_9806.html https://www.americanessence.com/there-are-only-47-of-these-v...
- zamnos 4y ago(1990)
- cowmix 4y agoI know a guy who worked at the local Saturn dealership here in Phx in the late 90s/early 00s. He said whenever they had more than one EV1 in for service, they would have EV1 races at night. People would FIGHT over who would be the drivers.
- olivermarks 4y agoTuned up electric milk float https://youtu.be/ysp1LWyi5hE https://youtu.be/ysp1LWyi5hE
- synaesthesisx 4y agoI’m quite fond of the EV1 - in some ways, it was the predecessor to the Chevy Volt (which also was unfortunately discontinued). The Volt powertrain wouldn’t have been possible without GM’s innovation, which also inspired many other manufacturers to invest in R&D on EV and hybrid technologies. There’s a documentary called “Who Killed the Electric Car” (2006) which is fantastic. EV1, you have a special place in our hearts! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F
- xattt 4y agoWith the recent discontinuation of the Bolt too, I am convinced that American auto execs have some sick fetish for giant vehicles.
- gambiting 4y ago>> I am convinced that American auto execs have some sick fetish for giant vehicles. Isn't it that regulations favour heavier vehicles? It's easier to make a big truck compliant with regulations(safety, efficiency, emissions) than it is to make a compact car compliant?
- jvandonsel 4y agoLove the guy in the white lab coat with the starting flag.
- jacquesm 4y agoIf you're into this stuff check out White Zombie, which is a very neat hack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rVTIpS5zb4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rVTIpS5zb4 (turn your sound down, it's awful)
- jpecar 4y agoImpact was a concept car designed by AeroVironment and GM eventually developed it into EV1. There are very few infos online today on Impact, is anyone aware of some decent writeup or pics/videos of it?
- 1970-01-01 4y agoMaybe you could do the old thing and read the book? https://www.amazon.com/Car-That-Could-Revolutionary-Electric/dp/067942105X https://www.amazon.com/Car-That-Could-Revolutionary-Electric...