A question for jetfixer737, you said you were from Denver, so you are quite high altitude, that is why you have mile high stadium, so do you find with cars, bikes etc that you have less performance than stated in official figures having rarer air.
Sorry if everybody knows the answer and is going duh, but being from britain, we have no high altitudes, so was just curious as if you have a drop in performance, the little smart engine could struggle at altitude, and it could be a lot slower than figures suggest.
Thanks
El
The ECU should compensate for thinner air.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Godfather
If you provoke it, it'll respond. If you want more, use the paddles. Simple as that. We have notoriously short ramps here in I-75 construction area, and it's not been a problem.
Or the stick shift "+/-" if your car doesn't have the paddles.
I have traveled Chicago's Dan Ryan X-way in my smart for 8 months now, getting on and off the freeway. You won't have a problem dealing with the on / off mergers due to your cars acceleration and braking, mine is always caused by other drivers who resist others merging in to their lanes. When you get your car - add some small fish eye mirrors because smarts have terrible blind spots.
No problems with freeway on ramps, generally up to 80 in about the same as as any other car. The lag is usually waiting for the car in front of you to get out of the way.
Paddles and stick only create an illusion of performance, and IMO (after 22k miles), are as useless as paddles on a Bull. Stay in "D" and learn to shift with your right foot.
Mprice is right on. Get those little mirrors Before you venture out on the freeway. A2Jack.
Just my .02 here, but sometimes the 12.8 seconds will not be enough - conditions vary. Starting from a dead stop, short merge lane, traffic moving faster than the posted speed (in Denver!), all of these could add up to bad news, particularly if the merge is uphill. Plan ahead, make sure you've got plenty (as in lots) of clear space to make the merge, and don't be afraid to head for the shoulder if somebody moves into to your lane doing 75 or so while the smart is spooling up. It ain't a Z06.
I always drive fast and am rarely passed. Coming from a car w/ too much HP and a top end that is unsafe on any road in the US I can say there are no issues merging or maintaining speed in a smartcar fortwo. If someone passes you let them - they are most probably going to pass you no matter what you drive.
My smart has taken on the role of my daily driver. That being said, I've never had a situation in the smart where there wasn't enough power for a merge into (sometimes very fast moving) DC highways, which I drive frequently. 3 years ago in college, I was driving buses for my school that would take literally a minute to hit 60, so I suppose I have practice in merging without excess power.
I'd be curious to see some accurate, machine gauged 0-60 runs for the smart - seat dynos always lie.
Coming from my smart to the VUE, it's not starkly different, however. My VUE gets up to 85-90 quite quickly and without exerting itself... the smart gets up there at a decent clip, and while it is exerting itself - it doesn't really feel like it is fighting to do it.
Know that you don't have 275BHP and drive like it, and you'll be fine. Once you're up to speed, your 38+ MPG will make those high HP vehicles that get 17MPG green.
A question for jetfixer737, you said you were from Denver, so you are quite high altitude, that is why you have mile high stadium, so do you find with cars, bikes etc that you have less performance than stated in official figures having rarer air.
Thanks
El
Absolutely! Driving at 5000+ feet means the air is definitely thinner, so the ECM has to cut back on the fuel flow to maintain the correct mixture. Your power is definitely less. What is surprising to most is that Denver is actually in sort of a valley. To leave Denver in any direction means going higher. For a real challenge though try Mount Evans about 30 minutes west of Denver. It boasts the highest road in the U.S. where you can drive a paved road to almost 14,300 feet! You really feel a power falloff up there. By the way, no guard rails up there either...We dont believe in them here.
...a few mods to the intake, filter and/or cold air intake will make a huge difference up there where there's very little O2...
jetfuel
True, both my Chevy Avalanche, and my Harley Davidson are modified with aftermarket intake, and exhaust, and they definitely do make a difference. I'm still researching which way I want to go with mods for the Smart. There seems to be quite a divide here between a better air filter in the stock box, or a complete intake change. At the other end of the motor, I'm waiting to see how the Borla exhaust finished product turns out.
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