Help Modern Cars

[cybermancer2k1]

Originally Posted by Hilary_155

Hello.
I am looking for modern cars statistics. Car wars seems to have its own genre of vehicles. I am looking for real life cars and their stats: top speed, handling, etc...Anyway, if someone could point the way to the car stats, I would appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Anthony

Search real world literature, not GURPS. And if they don't just list a max, which they might, be tolerant of somewhat ugly math; the way you determine actual the top speed of a vehicle is by looking up its torque vs rpm curve, convert it into a force vs velocity curve (requires knowing tire radius and gear box ratio), and compare it with the vehicle's drag curve (requires knowing the rolling resistance of the tires on the surface involved, the effective drag area of the vehicle, and the atmospheric density); the max speed is the point where those curves cross, or the speed at which the engine redlines, whichever comes first.

*sigh!*
This is why a core Vehicles book is badly needed. Some of us aren't gearheads, and if I have to spend more than a few moments working with higher math, my eyes glaze over. 4e has been out long enough for there to be a large selections of vehicles already converted/statted and thus ready to go. I can't fathom why there isn't. I also can't fathom why Vehicles wasn't one of the first core books out of the gate when 4e hit.

Right, had my old-man rant for the day. To answer the OP's question, I refer to this thread, which should at last provide a good start. For other considerations, the simple options are to indeed look at real-world stats if details (armor, Handling, etc.) aren't important. Thre are a (very) few modern vehicles in Basic: Campaigns that are liftable. The more complex option: Onno Meyer posted a staggering number of vehicles here. They're for 3e, but there are many that are for modern campaigns (at the time, TL 6-8). Being as they're 3e, however, they may require some conversion.

[smurf]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Yes. Though there are some more obscure categories, like glow-plug ignition. And for compression ignition, there can be hair-splitting as to whether "diesel" implies fuel injection after the air is compressed (and already hot), as opposed to mixing the fuel/air cold and then compressing it until it ignites (what GM is calling "Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition", though I think the main point of that program is that it uses gasoline rather than diesel fuel).

Glow plugs were preheaters to get the cyclinders hot enough for the compression cycle to ignite diesel. Due to the sluggish nature of diesel ignition they developed turbo chargers, also later with intercoolers to keep them from overheating.

New Common Rail Diesel Injection uses a high pressure pump.

...On diesel engines, it features a high-pressure (over 1,000 bar/15,000 psi) fuel rail feeding individual solenoid valves, as opposed to low-pressure fuel pump feeding unit injectors (Pumpe/Düse or pump nozzles). Third-generation common rail diesels now feature piezoelectric injectors for increased precision, with fuel pressures up to 1,800 bar/26,000 psi.

Suffice to say, that ought to warm things up. My preheaters are on for about a second as opposed to 5 and if the cylinder's glow plugs fail it may result in starter failure, whereas CRDi doesn't have that problem as far as i know.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by cybermancer2k1

For other considerations, the simple options are to indeed look at real-world stats if details (armor, Handling, etc.) aren't important.

You can in principle determine armor from real world details. There isn't really a standard definition of handling, and the way GURPS handles acceleration is non-physical anyway.

[Sam Cade]

Originally Posted by Anthony

There isn't really a standard definition of handling

There is the Skidpad for lateral Gees but it is arguable how meaningful it really is.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skidpad

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Sam Cade

There is the Skidpad for lateral Gees but it is arguable how meaningful it really is.

I was referring to the GURPS number.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Anthony

I was referring to the GURPS number.

....and you wee right about that but Sam was right about the Real World problsm of quantifying it. "Handling" is something they rant and rave about on Top Gear is emphatic but subjective terms.