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- Newsgroups: rec.autos.tech
- Path: sparky!uunet!ftpbox!mothost!white!sapphire.rtsg.mot.com!lead5!nataraja
- From: nataraja@rtsg.mot.com (Kumaravel Natarajan)
- Subject: Re: Ford Probe GT specs & questions
- Message-ID: <nataraja.716126277@lead5>
- Sender: news@rtsg.mot.com
- Nntp-Posting-Host: lead5
- Organization: Motorola Inc., Cellular Infrastructure Group
- References: <1992Sep8.114648.19533@icf.hrb.com>
- Distribution: usa
- Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 11:57:57 GMT
- Lines: 66
-
- r4s@icf.hrb.com (Robert M. Sanders) writes:
-
- >Hi y'all,
- > I've been reading with interest the discussion going on in rec.autos
- >about the Ford Probe and various engines. The questions I had though I
- >thought belonged here, so here goes.....
- > 1) I've got a 1992 GT with the 2.2L 4cyl turbo engine. All the ratings
- > I've seen give it around 145 hp. Is this accurate? My roommate
- > thinks it should be closer to 180 or so after being in it.
-
- I think it should be higher too. They claim 195ft-lb of torque which I
- believe, but the HP rating seems too low. Maybe it's for insurance
- purposes or something? Heck, the speedometer only goes to 120 when the
- car will do more. Does anyone have the real story on that?
-
- > 2) Being new to sticks, and not having a racetrack handy, I've never
- > really pushed the car to top speed, or really floored it. What
- > is the top speed and accelerations for this beastie?
-
- It will do 135 (calculated by Max rpm in 5th gear) This was discovered while
- the car was on a flat, empty (except for a Buick Regal GN which was passed
- at 125 or so) stretch of highway somewhere in the midwest.
-
- Car & Driver says 7.0 seconds to 60. I tend to believe their numbers more
- than something like Motor Trend because C&D specifically states that their
- tests are standardized whereas I don't think the other magazines are. Or
- at least they don't mention that they standardize their performance tests.
-
- > 3) Another novice question regarding the turbo. I haven't played
- > around with it enough to find this out yet (deliberate experimentation
- > I mean, I've had the car 8 months and have put 14.5K on it already), but
- > what are the conditions for it to engaged, and what things can seriously
- > damaged it? Excessive overboost, long duration low-to-mid boost, etc.
- >
- > Any answers to the above would be appreciated, thanks......
-
- I think you can start to get boost as low as 2500, but 3000 is where you
- really start to notice it. The engine can stand short periods of over-
- boost before the computer shuts the fuel delivery off, (or does the wast-
- gate open, I forget) so that shouldn't be a worry. One time, when the
- Probe was in the process of handily out-accelerating a Beretta GTZ, the
- engine was over-revved in 2nd gear (50-some MPH) and the computer promptly
- shut off the fuel pump. A little embarrassing, but not harmful to the
- engine.
-
- To keep the turbo healthy, always let it idle before shutting it off after
- driving it hard. Change the oil early and often. (Just like how you
- should vote. :)
-
- Snow tires on separate rims are good in the winter. The Gatorbacks just plain
- suck in bad weather. They were eventually replaced with Dunlop D40's for
- summer driving, and the snows still come on in the fall.
-
- Drive slo.. uh, I mean safely. Enjoy.
-
- > Rob
- >--
- >Robert M. Sanders Internet: R4S@ICF.HRB.COM
- >HRB Systems, Inc. Bitnet : R4S%HRB@PSUECL.BITNET
- >State College, PA USA UUCP : ...!psuvax1!hrbicf!r4s
- >(814)-238-4311
- --
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Vel Natarajan Motorola, Inc.
- nataraja@rtsg.mot.com Cellular Infrastructure Group
- Arlington Heights, IL
-