February 25, 2008

In terms of useful driving data the time taken to get from 30 - 70 mph would be much more relevant. It's a change of speed that drivers make almost every time they pull onto a motorway and as you're already moving it's much easier to perform and asses.

60 mph is one mile a minute which makes calculating driving times nice and easy. 62 mph is 100 kmh which gives the figure a nice symmetry.

The only practical application I can think of for the 0-60 time is if you've just changed a wheel on the hard shoulder and are looking to rejoin the motorway. In contrast to the 40 mph acceleration from 30 to 70 mph, which is useful if you need to overtake anyone driving too slowly on a single carriageway, or are looking change lanes on a dual carriageway.

The process of getting the 0 - 60 out of a car is particularly brutal on the vehicle. The time achieved is not so much a measure of the acceleration potential as of traction. In order to clock the quickest possible time you need to hit the perfect balance between power and grip. Too much power and you'll just sit there burning rubber, too little and you'll take off like a milk float.

The next issue for the 0 - 60 test driver is changing gear. This obviously needs to be done as quickly as possible because you can't afford any time off the power. In order to get the fastest time test drivers will keep their foot on the throttle and force the car up a gear without using the clutch. Do that as you rejoin the motorway and you're likely to be straight back to the hard shoulder with worse than a flat tyre.

Gear change presents the only issue in minimising the time taken to go from 30 – 70 mph, but given the your momentum has already been generated the loss of acceleration will be negligible.

Over the course of writing this I've been periodically amused by the thought of a test driver trying to wrestle a Lada Riva to 60 mph from a standing start. Amusing visions aside, current changes to reporting car information have seen CO2 figures added to the information distributed by manufacturers, why then not change the 0 - 60 for 30 – 70 and offer useful information to potential buyers?

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