Date:         Wed, 4 Nov 1998 01:44:33 -0800
Reply-To:     Per Lindgren <lindgre@ONLINE.NO>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Per Lindgren <lindgre@ONLINE.NO>
Subject:      Re: Son of Vanagon Syncro
Comments: To: vanagon@vanagon.com
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;

I really thought Porsche introduced the VC system back in '89 on the
Carerra 4 model?

PerL

Lawrence Johnson wrote:

>  The "New 1999 four-wheel drive Porsche 911" was described in this
> weekends Wheels section of the Toronto Star. Here is an excerpt
> describing the "new" viscous coupling system:
>
>        "To send variable amounts of torque to the front wheels,
>      the 911 C4 uses a  relatively simple viscous coupling,
>      consisting of a housing filled with a special silicone fluid
>      containing two series of circular plates.
>          In normal driving, the rear wheels push the car, which
>      in turn pushes the front wheels, and there is almost no
>      relative motion between the two sets of plates; the fluid
>      stays thin enough that only about 5 per cent of the engine's
>      torque is transmitted to the fronts.
>          Should the rear wheels start to spin, the fluid
>      thickens, and as much as 40 per cent of the torque goes
>      forward.
>         Herold (Thomas Herold, project leader on the new car ed.)
>      says the viscous coupling is effective and it's both lighter
>      and more compact than competitive mechanisms.  He didn't
>      mention cheaper, but it is that, too.
>          The viscous coupling is part of the front axle, rather
>      than the rear.  This concentrates the 55 kg weight gain over
>      the rear-drive 911 onto the front wheels, where it can do
>      the most good."
>
> Now where have I heard this before? I guess the Vanagon Syncro was
> just too good a design to resist. But will next year's 9-1-1 have a
> granny gear?
>
> Larry, Avery and Fritz our Syncro Westfalia
>



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