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August 9, 2005
IPS-Ksc -- too good to be true?
After all the cam horror stories (or at least the "well, it'll always be a compromise" stories) about cams, the news so far on the Intrinsic Performance IPS-Ksc cams sounds almost too good to be true: great drivability, plenty of power, idle, quiet operation, apparent promise of acceptable emissions, decent gas mileage. Where's the hitch, the weak spot, the compromise? There's got to be one if the no-free-lunch theory holds.
And yet, consider the reports by the initial IPS-Ksc "test pilot," OsideJimC:
"First was a little run around the neighborhood, felt goooood. Lots of torque, nice throttle response. Then a short sprint on a nearby highway, WOW, the car responds like never before. Massive torque, instant throttle response, OK, this is FUN."
"OK, drove about 90 miles today out in Temecula wine country. About 40 on the freeway, 10 in the city, the rest out in the country. Wow I love my car. All my earlier impressions remain intact. Great throttle response, outstanding part throttle driveability. inital fuel economy impressions are favorable, drove all day on 1/8 tank (indicated), but as stated before real mileage numbers will come when I go back to a 9psi / 91 octane setup. A good example is at one time I as behind a truck going up a steep hill at 45 (5th gear), got a chance to go by, just moderate throttle and next thing I know I'm doing almost 90, no downshift to 4th, try that N/A!!"
"OK, it's Tuesday. Not much new to report. Still love 'em!! I did run through a talk of gas. Got 23mpg, not bad for a 343whp car! But going back to 9psi will yield more realistic results since that's my "normal" setup."
"The only issue I found was in heavy traffic yesterday, going 30 in 2nd I switched from a slow lane of traffic to a faster moving one. Changed lanes and punched the throttle, tire smoke filled the passenger compartment, oops. Reminder to self, no need to hammer the throttle to get results."
Posted by conradb212 at August 9, 2005 2:00 PM