What make different feeling of accelerating from these cars?

Question

i've driven..

2005 toyota camry

2002 volvo s70

2002 bmw 325i (current)

and i feel like when i accelerate hard at a light. the camry feel like it is pulling me hard and feel lot of power.. even though its not that much power due to L4 engine.

the volvo s70 feels like a rocket when i push the gas full even on a steep climb.

and the bmw, though with its name for performance, don't give me that much satisfication.. though i do feel that i can go really fast during corner and stay control with the car.

why do you think that is? can anyone explain to me? thanks.

Answer 1

Many things affect acceleration and how it feels to accelerate hard. Transmission and rear end gearing makes a difference. One gear set may be set up for better acceleration, while another is geared for top speed. Power to weight ratio also affects acceleration. The BMW may have ggod power but lots of weight to hold it back, while the Camry may have less power buy also less weight to pull. The Volvo may have a turbocharged engine, and when you get on the gas hard, the turbo builds up large amounts of boost pressure creating more power faster, resulting in that "rocket" like feeling. It's all about how much power the car puts to the ground (which is affected by tire size, gearing, traction, and drivetrain loss) and how much weight the car must move.

Answer 2

I've felt that when I was comparing a Mazda to a Honda.  The Mazda had less horspower, but seemed to accelerate better from a dead stop.

The sales guy told me it was Torque that mattered from a dead stop.  The Mazda had more.

Answer 3

Probably torque and gear ratios. Carroll Shelby once said something like "horsepower sells cars, torque wins races".

The common person equates horsepower to speed and speed being just plain fast - not top speed or acceleration. However horsepower is a measurement of power, that is the torque multiplied by the engine speed or something like that. Horsepower and gear ratio determine top speed and a car with a lot of torque just plain gets moving faster. My car has 182ft/lbs of torque and I wouldn't trade it for a Honda with 40 more horsepower because I get my kicks from the instant throttle response and hard hitting initial acceleration.

Answer 4

the powerband, the gear ratios...

there are a number of different factors