I had the opportunity to get on a closed course today (airstrip) in my Cooper S, and my brother in law in his V8 Magnum.... they were neck-and-neck in acceleration (from a roll.... not sure I know how to get this little booger moving quickly from a dead stop). Felt so bad for him, but it was rather entertaining. When our cars have traction, they do get up and scoot

I also double his gas mileage

Drag racing's not really my thing, but it was fun. Either our cars have an effective 340hp (not likely), or those Hemi's have an effective 172hp (given equal weight), lol.

 

you need to do power per weight ratio. Manum the name doesn't sound too light while MINI sounds mini.

 

Oh, I realize that, but was still shocked that THAT much torque from the Hemi (and despite all those tv commercials back in the day!) wasn't enough for him to just walk away from me, which I was fully expecting

 

magnum p/w ratio is .077, MCS is .066
was it an automatic?

 

They only come with an automatic.
american engineering at its best you know

 

then i can see them being pretty equal

 

Power to weight is typically shown as the amount of weight carried by each HP.

In the case of the RWD Magnum that figure would be 12.23:1, for the AWD model it's 12.82:1

The 6-Speed Cooper S has a power to weight ratio of 15.33:1

Gearing, automatic transmissions not knowing how or when to shift, etc, will also be a factor.

 

no power to weight equation is P/W. what you have calculated is weight to power. look it up.

 

Yeah, I had heard some pretty bad things about the Dodge 5-speed that the Magnum/Charger/300 has...

 

You're correct about the terms (I've always just called it power to weight, now that I think about it though that implies dividing the power by the weight) but I've never seen P/W used as a comparison of cars performance, only engine weight and the power it produces.

Power / Weight = Specific Power (Engine Design Efficiency)
Weight / Power = Power Loading (Total Performance)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power-to-weight_ratio

 

Creeve is right - mathematically, the "power to weight ratio" would be horsepower divided by vehicle weight, but you end up with inconvenient numbers like the ones he posted (0.077, 0.066). Also, most people have an easier time conceptualizing something like "13 pounds per horsepower" compared to "15 pounds per horsepower", rather than "0.077 horsepower per pound" compared to "0.066 horsepower per pound".

In car and motorcycle publications, it's common to sacrifice mathematical correctness on the altar of understanding and write about "power to weight ratio", but give the results as "X pounds per horsepower". They're still accurately describing the power/weight relationship, even though they have the ratio inverted.

 

It's a Mercedes transmission - one they don't use in their cars anymore but "sold" to Chrysler to get rid of excess inventory. One of the many reasons Daimler always posted a profit and Chrysler NA did not.

 

Sort of like Daimler giving Chrysler the chassis from the last-generation SLK to use for the Crossfire.

 

same is also done w/ the lx cars (ie magnum, charger, 300...); it's basically the previous gen e-class

it bothers me that the *cool* american cars are getting less and less american. gto was a rebadged australian, and the new camaro will be built off more australian gm's and is also basically being developed by australians...and to be built in canada. kinda like the mini i guess...but less cool

 

This is true. I'm just used to the real P/W cause all my close freinds are engineers and big car guys . So if we're talking about cars and i say i read this cars power to weight ratio is 12.5 then i have to hear all this about..... well you get the idea.

 

Nice to know that my MCS will stay with a V8 Magnum and get twice the gas mileage.

 

I have a HEMI Charger and the power to weight ratio of the two is very close.

The Magnum is the heaviest of the LX platform (Magnum, 300, Charger) so it's no surprise that you guys were even.


As far a the comment about the 5-speed. It got a bad rap in the beginning for two items.

1. The A/C drain tube would drip on the tranny fill tube (this transmission is very sensitive to water)
2. Simple 50 cent O-ring leak

Aside from those two things (which have all been eliminated as problems) the tranny is rock solid. There are guys out there who are putting out 700 WHP and pretty much everything but the tranny has busted.

When SWMBO gets her Chili Red MCS in she told be she'd visit a drag strip with me. I'll post up the results.



I love them both V8 stump puller and turbo 4 that can turn on a dime and give ya change!

 

I sold my 06 Charger Daytona to get my mini and I have to say that the mini "feels" quicker. Especially off the line, and it handles so much better. I really do not miss the Charger at all.

It bothers me too how the the "cool" American cars are no longer American. My Mini is more American than the Charger was. Right on the Window Sticker it said: Engine made in Mexico, Transmission made in Germany, and final assembly point in Canada. The charger was probably the last "american car" I will ever buy.

 

When I was with my girlfriend out test driving MINI's I got a chance at the wheel of MCS. While I didn't have much seat time (maybe 30 minutes... I hope I wasn't making the dealer worry ).

The way the two cars feel while behind the wheel is very different, so different that I don't really feel I can compare the two. Every peppy I4 turbo i've been or driven just feels violent at WOT (and I mean that in a good way ). While the MINI handled wonderfully, I didn't enjoy the TQ steer at WOT and I didn't really like some of the wheel hop from a dig (possibly caused by the sport suspension?)

To be fair the Chrysler has a transmission plant in Kokomo, IN that cranks out the same exact 5-speed auto. With globalization it's hard to find stuff that doesn't have parts from all over the world. It's a North American car , but it was designed right here in the States (aside from the Merc E-Class suspension) which the unibody was designed specifically to mate up to.

I'm not really sure how you can say the MINI is more American than the Charger. I mean the MINI has an engine from France (right?) final assembly in the UK, I can't remember where the transmission is from, and is German designed (BMW).

Anyway, the Charger's biggest problems is that it makes several compromises, but then again it's aimed at a much wider market segment than the MINI. With Chrysler having been f-d over by Daimler they really aren't in a position to market something that doesn't appeal to the masses... that's what the SRT division is for.

I'm sorry you don't miss your Charger, but I'm sure glad you like your MINI.

In the end it all comes down to what's important to you. 4 doors, large trunk, ability to tow, hold 5 adults (no more than 4 for a roadtrip though), V8 and RWD were on my list. There wasn't anything out there in the 30k price range to fulfill fulfill all those needs, plus I just love the way it looks. Fuel economy wasn't so important to me, you gotta pay to play.

In the end I really like both the Charger and MCS. Both are wonderful cars for their segment, and much more interesting than their Asian counterparts.

 

In the magnums defense, although it has all that power it has way more weight than the mini and is also not built for speed. Try your hand with an srt and see how you do.

 

Oh, I know I'd get destroyed by an SRT, but it was all in good fun. Put my brother in law in his place

 

I was being sarcastic about the MINI being American.

Don't get me wrong, I did like the Charger, it just wasn't for me. It felt too big and heavy, and aside from straight line acceleration, it really wasn't that fun to drive in my humble opinion.

Plus I really didn't need the room. 99% of the time it was just me in the car with no bags. So the the sapce really was wasted. When it's time for the wife and I to have kids, will I miss the Charger? Maybe...but then there's always the Clubman.

 

[quote=manris;2208326]

... I'm not really sure how you can say the MINI is more American than the Charger. I mean the MINI has an engine from France (right?) final assembly in the UK, I can't remember where the transmission is from, and is German designed (BMW). ...

quote]



1.6L Prince engine components produced by PSA at their facility in Dourvin, Frrance. MINI engines then assembled at Hams Hall in Birmingham. Body panels stamped out at MINI facility in Swindon and final assembly in Cowley, Oxford. Getrag is German.

The new MINI was designed by American Frank Stephenson during his 11 year tenure at BMW. He works for the FIAT Group and is head of design for Alfa Romeo, but I believe he is stepping down. Stephenson is widely known as the father of the retro-hatch, having designed the MINI while at BMW before designing the Fiat 500, Alfa Mi.To and, it's speculated, the upcoming Lancia Ypsilon. Stephenson also had a hand in designing cars as diverse as the original BMW X5, Maserati MC12 and Quattroporte, and Ferrari F430 and 612 Scaglietti

 

The charger/300/magnum tranny is built in kokomo, Indiana from a mercedes design. the earliest trannies they had did come from germany, but changed over in the 2006 model year. this is the year the transmission wiring harness O-ring tended to have problems. it's an easy fix, but it does **** all the fluid out of the tranny, which is a lot, and makes dodge look bad.

I had a daytona charger as well, it was a BIG car. I'm talking aircraft carrier big. I had real problems figuring out where the corners of it were because it has a high beltline and you can't see your front corners/rear corners. this makes it really a ***** to deal with on narrow highways. The HEMI in that had 350 HP and 390 TQ. it was a beast of a car and sounded awesome.

It's 0-60 was 6 seconds supposedly, and the early trannies had a problem where they would hold 1st too long in the shift between 1 and 2.

the worst part about those cars... depreciation.
for every mile i drove, i lost a dollar on trade-in.

also, the SRT-8 charger weighs 4,250 lbs DRY. that's over 2 tons of metal that the thing has to haul around. it NEEDS a v8 to be not-annoying. the 3.5L HO engine is decent in the magnum, but the 2.7L v6 has to be downright miserable. the magnum weighs around 4,250 as well.

 

Kokomo is in Indiana, not Idaho.