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thirteen Causes Why You Ought to Ignore zero-60MPH Occasions

Posted On Feb 22, 2024 By admin With Comments Off on thirteen Causes Why You Ought to Ignore zero-60MPH Occasions




Gearheads love numbers. Most of us know the horsepower figures, engine sizes, and top speeds of our favorite models by heart. But the one figure that trumps them all is the 0-60mph time.

Does your car do it in 5.0 sekọnd? Well, mine does it in 4.8, so it’s clearly the superior vehicle in every possible way. Or is it? Well, let’s find out.

Why Is 0-60MPH Such a Big Deal?

speedometer and tachomete
Image Credit: Divega/WikiCommons.

Back in the day, when most cars could barely get to 60mph, knowing how long it took to get there was a pretty accurate indicator of how it would perform overall. But now that even the cheapest cars can easily top 100mph, it is far less relevant.

We still want a simple number to know which car is fast and which one is slow, but modern cars are too complex to be judged on just their 0-60mph times alone.

Horsepower

BMW iX xDRIVE50
Image Credit: BMW.

Many modern cars have such a massive amount of horsepower (we’re looking at you, Dodge) that trying to send it all to the rear wheels results in lots of tire smoke and not much else. A Dodge Challenger with a 485 horsepower V8 takes around 4.4 seconds to get to 60mph, which is decent but similar to far less powerful cars like a VW Golf R. The problem is traction.

All-Wheel-Drive Traction

Kia EV6 Wind AWD
Image Credit: Kia.

Grip off the line makes a big difference to 0-60mph times. Comparing a car like the BMW 740i, which can be had in RWD and AWD, shows that the AWD model is 0.2 seconds quicker to 60mph with the same power output. That doesn’t make it any faster in daily driving, and it might even be a bit slower in gear due to the extra weight.

Electric Power

2024 Hyundai Kona Electric
Image Credit: Hyundai.

EVs don’t need to rev up to deliver their maximum power, and that’s why they are so quick off the line. But once they pass 60mph, the acceleration tapers off quickly because most have a single gear designed to offer the best performance at lower speeds. That may be fine for daily driving, but just because your EV sedan is as quick as a Lamborghini to 60mph doesn’t mean it can keep up at higher speeds.

Gearing

2003–2008 Mazda RX-8 (FE1031) 4-door coupe, photographed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Image Credit: Fir0002/WikiCommons.

Some cars have extra-long gearing for improved fuel economy, but they may not have the power to accelerate strongly. Others have very short gearing, which may aid 0-60mph times, but makes them frenetic in normal driving conditions.

Turbochargers

Tesla Model S
Image Credit: Tesla.

Turbos force air into the engine, which allows more fuel to be added in each combustion cycle. The result is more power, but there is usually a slight delay in power delivery as the turbo spools up. This can result in a delay in acceleration. Small engines with big turbos can seem like rocket ships when on the move, but the big lag in power delivery can be very frustrating and even dangerous.

Drivability

Ferrari F40
Image Credit: Will ainsworthOwn work, CC BY-SA 3.0/Wiki Commons.

That is why drivability is more important than that mostly meaningless 0-60mph figure. Choosing your next car based on its 0-60mph times is as useful as picking one based on its top speed. If you do hundreds of highway miles each month, then in-gear acceleration and high-speed refinement are far more relevant. Spending most of your day driving around town? Then you will probably never see 60mph anyway.







When Did You Last Go 0-60?

Driver
Image Credit: Shutterstock.

traffic, pedestrians, speed bumps, and the law make it harder than you’d think to show off your fancy 0-60mph times. Most cars go from 0-40mph or 10-40mph far more often. A car that is responsive and quick in that speed range is far more pleasant to drive than a laggy, over-boosted performance car or one with impossibly short gearing.

In-Gear Acceleration

Iceland travel nature landscape during sunset. Asphalt road blooming lupine flowers and majestic mountains on background. Travel on car is a Lifestyle, adventure concept.
Image Credit: Yevhenii Chulovskyi/Shutterstock.

The way a car responds while on the move is called in-gear acceleration. A car designed to excel at sprinting from 0-60mph may not be set up to deliver good in-gear responsiveness. It may be geared too short, have too little torque, or have too much turbo lag to be able to respond when you need to overtake or get up to speed on the highway.

Power or Torque?

Road north trip by car
Image Credit: Sveta Y/Shutterstock.

This topic deserves an article on its own, but in simple terms, torque is how much work an engine can do, while power is how fast it can get it done. Power figures sell cars, so most manufacturers tend to focus on that number, but torque is what gives you that satisfying push in the back and makes a car more enjoyable to drive. It may not necessarily improve your 0-60mph time, but it makes for a better all-rounder.

Manual or Automatic?

manual drive
Image Credit: Motortion Films/Shutterstock.

The quicker and more seamless the gear change, the faster you will go. Electric cars usually have one or at most two gears, so the power delivery is seamless; this can make them feel quicker than gas-powered cars, which need to shuffle through a few gears as they accelerate.

Manual transmissions allow you to engage with a car and are an enthusiast’s favorite, but they can slow down acceleration times. Just comparing the 0-60mph figures won’t tell you what it feels like to drive the car in varying conditions.

Measurement Madness

Nissan Altima 2.0S
Image Credit: Nissan.

You would think measuring a 0-60mph time would be simple. But you would be wrong. In the US, some testers and manufacturers allow for a one-foot rollout before starting timing; this can take as much as 0.3 seconds off the actual time.

European manufacturers tend to quote 0-62mph figures, which equates to 100km/h, yet it is often used interchangeably when quoting acceleration figures. That extra two mph can add 0.3 seconds to the overall times.

Ya mere, two identical cars tested at opposite ends of the globe may be 0.6 seconds apart. Then some manufacturers quote their 0-60mph figures on prepped drag strips or grippy performance tires, claiming times that will never be matched in real-world conditions.

Ya mere, How Can You Compare Performance?

2021 Nissan Maxima
Image Credit: Nissan.

Ya mere, 0-60mph times are a pretty basic way to compare cars, but they do have some relevance. Seeing a time of 10 seconds for the 0-60mph dash will let you know that it will be markedly slower in just about any situation than a car that can do it in 7.0 sekọnd. A car that can do a sub-6.0-second 0-60mph sprint should feel reasonably quick in most situations.

But it is important to compare powerplants (EV, Gas, Diesel, Hybrid), transmission types (manual, automatic), and drivetrain layouts (AWD, RWD, FWD) to really understand how a car will perform.



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