I like the way my 4g63 brethren thinks here!! I could not have said this any better.

 

I agree. I think MB in general is really floundering about on the styling front. I guess I'll reserve final judgement until I can see one in person. But to me the styling of the CLA seems contrived. But, I feel that way about other MB cars too. More and more I find myself attracted to the styling of the some of the competitors.

 

I just read an article about the new Audi S3 that will be coming soon. It should rival this CLA45. The article didn't give me much info or pics, so I'm really interested...

 

The S3 should be interesting but still a few ponies short of the CLA45. The RS3 should be even more I interesting in a side by side comparison. The one thing the S3 will definitely have over the CLA45 is a proper manual transmission...even if it is slower.

-Eric

 

I honestly don't consider Audi a competitor of BMW and Mercedes, more a competitor of Lexus and Acura to be honest... just look at their price points.

 

I read somewhere that the S3 will weigh less than 3000lbs which will help with the HP deficit. I think 380-400HP will be likely for the RS3. It's going to be a beast!

 

An S4 and 335xi are priced about the same and equipped very similarly. Audi downgraded the "S" brand a couple of a years ago so that the RS cars compete with BMW's M models. As for quality of materials, Audi beats BMW hands down.

Personally, and its just my opinion, but I don't see Acura's or Lexus' models as even remotely interesting (or competitive). Mercedes have always had a slightly higher price point than all of them because, well, they're Mercedes.

All that said, I'm sure Audi would like to start selling in the same numbers as both BMW and Mercedes. Their volumes are far closer to Lexus from what I recall.

Just my opinion though.

-Eric

 

Well, this could be somewhat true, but Audi's are arguably the better looking cars out there. Why do you think everyone is copying the LED lights?

And and RS3...Good luck with that Mercedes and BMW....I love my Benz, but I'm looking for a real AWD car

 

This depends on where you live...out here where I am it's either Subaru or Audi among the trucks and SUVs of course

 

I'm talking about overall US numbers; not by region. Here in New England, too, Subaru and Audi have always had loyal followings due to their AWD systems.

-Eric

 

Audis look nice but I have never felt they have the performance, reliability, or luxury to back it up as BMW and Mercedes almost always do. Their interiors always feel dated.

 

Audis are widely thought of as having some of the nicest interiors in the industry. I'm not sure which models you're referring to or when you last sat in one but I don't follow your last comment at all.

-Eric

 

http://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/DigitalA..._CLA45_AMG.pdf

I dont know if this has been posted.
just incase if it has not been

 

Thanks for that! I haven't seen it yet

 

Thank you that is certainly new to me. Just read through the whole thing. a MUST READ for everyone I would say. I particularly love the Q/A at the end.

Panoramic roof too... can't wait to see these on the road.

 

Purely subjective but no I would not peg Audi as having the nicest interiors out of the German 3 or most luxury cars... not by a long shot.

In CLA45 AMG related news I was talking to a guy on Saturday at our morning meet and he told me that at the AMG Driving Academy he tested the CLA45 and it was a very capable car that didn't lose anything with a FWD platform. It's well engineered and light enough that understeer and torque steer aren't much noticeable around a track. So hopefully that holds true for the entire experience.

 

It's on FWD when crushing on the hwy... Anytime it even remotely opens up the taps it instantly send power to rear wheels in under 10ms ... You cannot feel that. So for all intensive purpose it's 4wd. I am glad it's FWD w/ 0.22 CDA drag coefficient bc that means 34mpg.

Also on the topic of quarter mile times. STI is a HORRIBLE comparison. It has a terrible drag coefficient, and had the shortest rally gearing I have ever seen (not only do you have to shift more times in the 1/4 mile, but it's a slow manual transmission). Nobody has ever seen how the car performs at high speeds with the worlds lowest drag coefficient in production car history. Normally 4.5 60mph =12.8-12.9. With the 0.22 CDA that should be easily possible especially with double clutch DCT and launch control. May be mid 12s.

C63 is also not a good comparison, it has terrible traction off launch and it's has a much slower shifting auto 7spd. The 6.3 does have a great top end (especially with chip)... But getting 13mpg requires a miracle of God, on the CLA45 34mpg will be a breeze on the hwy. to me it's so worth it bc 13mpg is getting old quickly, plus these older 7spd autos (although great for an auto) are really showing their age. Even the Benz 2nd gen MCT will feel like a dinosaur compared to this 3rg gen 7spd DCT.


Also ... AMG has intentionally detuned the torque curve on the 2.0L which is why it's flat from 2.250-5000rpm. If torque limiter is removed it will make 360hp & 360Tq @ 4000rpm. That will shave off another 0.1-0.2 to 60mpg as well. That's all without TOUCHING boost whatsoever. A mild tune on stock boost should net another 20-30h on the top end easily. So realistically you are looking at 380hp/360tq on a mild tune on stock boost (I would never add more boost on this engine). also the double clutch tranny probably cannot handle more than 400-420 ft lbs of torque anyways so that will be by far the biggest limiting factor of mods.

Those power numbers should be more than enough for such a great car (confirmed fully optioned weight at 3,450 lbs) and should not affect gas mileage since boost will remain the same. I would be more than happy with 380hp/360tq and would not need anything else. Only thing I would do on top of that is lightweight 2-piece brake rotors to reduce drivetrain losses even more and boost mpg by another 2mpg roughly. (look at my brake rotors mass reduction thread for the full scientific test report I did, it really works)

My educated 2 cents

 

Also for the record, Subaru STI has a coefficient of drag of 0.33 CDA, which is WORLDS apart. Every 0.05 improvement in CDA = roughly 1mpg. And if you do the math it works out perfectly

 

Assuming the transmission can handle a good amount of power, I'm excited to see what a turbo upgrade will do. This turbo can't be very efficient over 30LBS. Any word on what the engine internals are made of?

EDIT: Looks like forged steel internals

 

The entire engine is forged from top to bottom. Maybe 28lbs would be possible but not worth the risk. I think the real gains on the car will be from freer flowing intake & exhaust components (probably good for 20hp), then another 20hp in peak HP from mild tune. I would not touch boost, keep it at 26lbs. You don't need more boost, you need more AIRFLOW. Larger turbo running equal or lower boost may be the only way to get substantially more power. The absolute most I would push on the DCT is 400hp/400tq. You should not put any more power through that transmission.

The real weak link I feel is actually the PTU (aka the mini transfer case built into the transmission sending power to the rear). It runs on the actual internal transmission fluid and not traditional gear oil. Therefore the amount of head and power it can take is significantly less. The benefit of it is it's 25% lighter than any other 4wd system on the market. The downside is its power limited.

Again, 400hp/400tq is the upper limit of a RELIABLE daily setup. Can the motor make more ... Possibly, but prepare to break and/or blow things up

 

At that point you are better to change out the internals and run a different compression ratio in order to squeeze more horsepower out of the engine with less boost. But forged steel internals is a good thing for sure

 

I wish it was available in a 6 speed manual haha

 

Here's another look at what we're looking at (sort of): https://mbworld.org/articles/drag-ra...ersus-a45-amg/

 

Glen
Whatcha u up to?

 

0-60 4.2
1/4 12.7@108


Better than I thought. Still not a lot of performance for 60K.