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      03-28-2012, 01:24 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
Last week I was looking at an Audi RS3 (up close)while I was with some friends doing a Werks tour there. Did you guys know the RS3 has larger tires on the front axle and smaller tires on the rears! lol 235's vs 225's.
Yup, I saw that last yr when the RS3 was released and thought it was a typo, but thinking it through it makes sense with the Haldex setup (like the TT and regular A3 - front bias until slippage or unequal rotation/cornering detected - put the meat where it will do the most good.). It won't be the first time an Audi has bigger front tires than rear. See the MTM S2 RSR (265 fronts, 235 rears).

http://www.rs6.com/showthread.php/18028-MTM-Audi-S2-RSR.

Although most tuners have gone to a square setup on the RS3 as seen here in this 500hp application:

http://www.quattroworld.com/tunernew...nd/#more-14679
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      03-28-2012, 02:07 PM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
Did you guys know the RS3 has larger tires on the front axle and smaller tires on the rears! lol 235's vs 225's.
True. It's due to a design flaw: RS3s only have one gear forward and 7 (SEVEN!) reverse gears. To remedy, they opted for an automatic gearbox (S Tronic) so that you can cannot make a mistake gears while accelerating.
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      08-23-2012, 08:09 PM   #25
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Here is an article from today on the A45 AMG (gotta love MB slapping digits that have nothing to do with anything):

Note the quote from the R&D Chief: "From day one, I wanted this car to better the BMW 1-series M coupe."

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...amg_prototype/

The Specs
On sale: 2014
Price: $50,000 (est.)
Engine: 2.0L turbo I-4, 350 hp, 332 lb-ft
Drive: 4-wheel
Fuel Mileage: 19/28 mpg (est.)
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      08-23-2012, 08:48 PM   #26
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
............ looking at an Audi RS3 (up close)while I was with some friends doing a Werks tour there. Did you guys know the RS3 has larger tires on the front axle and smaller tires on the rears! lol 235's vs 225's.
And this is the key reason why they are NOT available in Australia, the front guards are carbon fiber IIRC, specific to the RS3 to cover the over sized front boots. Audi was asked to do a crash test with the car as it varied from the standard A3/S3 line-up to achieve the mandatory Australian Design Rule compliance, they declined
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      08-23-2012, 09:48 PM   #27
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Very Pretty! Does it come in Pink?
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      08-24-2012, 03:56 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M1 View Post
Thanks for the article.

A couple of excerpts:
----------------
We could hardly have picked a worse day for our first encounter with the A-class on steroids. From the start, the rain is pouring down on the scantily disguised, white A45 AMG, which returned only this morning from the torture chamber known as the Nordschleife. [...]
[R&D chief Tobias] Moers takes no time at all to find the limit of adhesion [...].
As we time-warp through Germany's green landscape, Moers talks about his pet project. "After years of dealing with rear-wheel-drive cars, the A-class was something totally different, something I did not look forward to at all in the beginning. Five doors, a gutless four-cylinder engine, terminal understeer -- you can imagine the thoughts that crossed my mind. But I soon realized that this was a unique opportunity to rewrite the rules, to set new standards and eclipse the competition. From day one, I wanted this car to better the BMW 1-series M coupe." Such potent competition spurred Moers to pump up the four-cylinder's output to extreme levels: 350 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque. [...] The most significant game changer in the new A-class is its specially tuned 4Matic four-wheel-drive system. In the A45, it channels 60 percent of the twist action to the rear wheels, thereby reducing torque steer and understeer through slow first- or second-gear bends. This rear-wheel bias is particularly obvious with stability control off, when power oversteer can be induced quite easily, at least on drenched blacktop. Unlike the BMW 1-series M, which assumes sideways antics at the mere mention of the word "corner," the A45 handles in a more sophisticated and diversified manner. "Controllability is the word I was looking for," says Moers, dialing in just enough lock to complete a very subtle four-wheel drift. "We have done a lot of work to make this car more drivable than its competitors," states Moers [...]
----------------

As we speak, none of us can make legit statements about the A45 AMG's driving behavior, because we did not drive the final version of this concept car. Though we may reasonably trust that Merc will definitely do the necessary for the car to live up to the expectations.

In this test drive article the Merc A45 AMG concept car had been prepped/tested in the morning at the Nordschleife on a rainy day. It was demonstrated to the interviewing journalist (as passenger) in the afternoon with the R&D Chief behind the steering wheel.

Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating: it would have been more interesting to know the interviewer's experiences (especially the car's controllability) if he would have been allowed a few minutes of seat time behind the steering wheel in the Merc on the twisties in the rain with stability control off. To me it seems a bit premature to base a driving behavior comparo judgment merely on a drive with a driver who developed, thoroughly tested and fine-tuned the car.

Anyway, what I do retain from the article is the fact that the R&D Chief of the Merc A45 AMG is not too shabby to consider the 1M as the benchmark within its class - the reference point to beat, "to better", and to consider this goal as leading incentive "from day one". AFAIK this info was never officially admitted by Merc, but here we got the explicit reference straight from the horse's mouth. IMHO this underlines the impressive achievement that the 1M development team pulled off in composing, conducting and recording the novel 1M symphony with a limited budget and under very high time-constraints (requiring quite some parts and themes to be inspired by previous ///M symphonies ).

Merc has the advantage to be (cap)able to spend more time and money on conceiving and perfecting its A45 AMG project. During R&D it can test the 1M, Cayman R and Audi RS3 for inspiration and for setting minimum goals. However the Merc A45 AMG risks to be considered as a game changer follower, rather than as a game changer itself. We all know that Charles Lindbergh was the first to cross the Atlantic in a solo non-stop flight; many after him emulated his feat in a faster time and with better planes ...but everyone keeps referring to Lindbergh as the pioneer, the one reported in the books as the classic.
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Last edited by Artemis; 08-27-2012 at 04:18 AM..
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      08-26-2012, 02:08 PM   #29
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The new Caymans and Boxsters are much lighter and more stable than previous models. My Porsche rep was worried that the new S will perform like the current R model.

I suspect that like the RS3 the AMG will be a great car, but it will lack the emotional involvement that Deon Joubert and other drivers have raved about.
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      08-29-2012, 09:04 PM   #30
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A quick glimpse of the A45 engine being tested at AMG's headquarters in this otherwise really nice yet short tour of the AMG factory and Chris Harris driving the Hammer in the rain:

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      08-29-2012, 10:40 PM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
I don't see MB selling any A-classes in the states. Heck they couldn't even sell R-Classes!

The A-Class and B-Class have fast become the old people's car over here in Germany. You know this when your stuck behind one on a Sunday's drive and you see Opa's hat in the rear window/hatch glass area. lol With the new B-Class MB is trying for a younger customer. But I think this isn't working for them.

Last week I was looking at an Audi RS3 (up close)while I was with some friends doing a Werks tour there. Did you guys know the RS3 has larger tires on the front axle and smaller tires on the rears! lol 235's vs 225's.
I did notice that, and I think its retarded.
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      08-30-2012, 02:33 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
Last week I was looking at an Audi RS3 (up close) while I was with some friends doing a Werks tour there. Did you guys know the RS3 has larger tires on the front axle and smaller tires on the rears! lol 235's vs 225's.
OT: some Audi owners long for a BMW, as this one in Russia.
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But those who long for an Audi R8 can get a 1:1 scale door decal: life-size print of red R8 V10 for their garage doors
(http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2009/09...0-on-your.html):
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Or a car cover
(http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2010/12...cover-for.html):
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      08-30-2012, 03:00 PM   #33
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[QUOTE=Artemis;12598875]OT: some Audi owners long for a BMW, as this one in Russia.
/QUOTE]

Stupidity does not recognize any boundaries.
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      02-23-2013, 08:33 PM   #34
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Articles of Feb 13, 2013 re the forthcoming Merc A45 AMG:
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      02-23-2013, 08:37 PM   #35
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Cross-reference to related Merc A45 AMG thread (started by Oz): http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=771824
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