Quote:
Originally Posted by softconsult
"However the car was designed to travel at 55mph not today's highway speeds of 80"
I seriously doubt the validity of your statement. I can only speak from my long ago experience with a '79 300 CD. That car would run 90 all day long, but the rpms were rather high. I think the gear ratios were designed correctly by the factory.
Steve
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I'm just curious, are the gear/tranny ratios different in Euro spec cars? I would think that the ratios and gears were chosen for US spec cars based on the 55mph speed limit, fuel economy situation, etc. in place in the US at the time our cars were sold. That is the car was designed to run at X RPMs all day long, how fast X RPMs would be wound depend on the gearing and tranny.
While I have no doubt that I could cruise all day at 75-80 or more, an overdrive (or 5th gear on standards) would help economy greatly while maintain the off-the-line "performance".