yardie876

I noticed the same thing where the inner tips on the Maserati Ghibli are always squeaky clean but I realized the inner tips probably open up when switching to the sport exhaust, which according to what I've seen, 90% of Ghibli drivers don't utilize lol.

Radio88

So it would have to be that the inner outlet probably bypasses the chambers giving you a straight through exhaust otherwise I cannot see how it would give you even the slightest performance edge just opening a second outlet. Hey I learned something today. Good stuff.

chikoo

google bmw butterfly valve exhaust

Coleroad

The flapper in the second exhaust pipe. Is computer controlled. A actuator opens a shuts off vacuum flow to the flapper. It's supposed to help with keeping a flat torque curve. By changing the amount of back pressure.

Fizzboy7

That explains it! Never knew about the butterfly valve. Thanks for sharing.

chromedome

As for the gauges, I wish cars had more of them, especially with hybrids. It would be nice to monitor info like motor-generator temps, battery condition, current draw etc. on the nav screen. Right now, I need a separate smartphone app to show all this.

SW17LS

99.8% of people wouldn't even have any idea what to do with any of this information.

mmarshall

If they would get their heads out of their cell-phones and texting, and actually pay attention to the road and instrument panel in front of them, maybe they WOULD know what to do with it. Those who can't (or won't) read a simple gauge, IMO, don't deserve to have a Driver's License.

SW17LS

You don't have to understand what the battery charge needs to be or the motor-generator temp needs to be or the current draw on the hybrid system needs to be in order to drive a car. Thats a little bit ridiculous.

The vast majority of people are not enthusiasts. They need to see their speed, and how much fuel is left, and be warned if something is an issue, thats about it. Thats all they need to see, and all they want to see. You can't blame auto manufacturers for giving customers the readouts they want to see...

Even *I* don't want to or need to see all this information. When I had those readouts on the Jeep, I scrolled through them once and said "thats cool" and never looked at them again.

Chocolate

Interesting discussion...

The thing that makes me shake my head the most is the idiotic foot parking brake that Toyota, Honda, Nissan and others use on many cars. This is a dangerous design because it is aimed right at the driver's shin and only inches away when not set, and during a hard crash can cause serious injuries to the left leg.



All to save a buck over a cable handbrake

SW17LS

No crash tests have ever noted any issues with that footbrake.

On a luxury sedan for instance I wouldn't want a handbrake on the console.

mmarshall

IMO, a true luxury sedan should probably have an E-brake tab or button rather than a manually-operated brake-cable. My 25K Verano has one, even at its relatively low price.

Having said that, though, the traditional foot-brake pedal under the left side of the dash, in some cases, can be quite awkward for large adults with big or long legs (yes, like me LOL). This, of course, depends on a number of factors, like where you have the drivers' seat cushion adjusted in relation to the pedal, the tilt/telescope position of the steering wheel, and, of course, whether the vehicle has a feature that some older luxury cars had...a device that automatically releases the pedal when you shift out of Park. (even with that device, though, you still have to re-apply it with your left foot when you park). In my auto reviews, I mention if I find an under-dash-pedal for the parking brake to be awkward to operate.

Aron9000

What I love is when you have a car with a manual transmission and that stupid foot parking brake. Guilty of this are the Cadillac CTS-V, Challenger, and pretty much any old GM, Ford, or Dodge pickup with a stick. I know that with the pickup trucks and bench seat you can't really do a floor mounted center lever, but put it up in the dash as a pull lever like Toyota did in their old trucks that you still operate with your hand. Get stuck on a really steep hill, some idiot 2" off your rear bumper and don't want to roll back, yeah good luck with that foot operated hand brake.

Radio88

Yes. My 2001 Tacoma has a pull brake lever on the lower dash just over my right knee, all tucked away in its own dedicated cubbyhole so it is a foolproof design. It has come in mighty handy when I've been parked on a steep uphill and I needed to work that brake with the gas to shove-off from the slot. Your point is very good.

mmarshall

Most of the time it isn't that big a deal, but you point is well-taken in the one circumstance where it IS a big deal............when you are stopped on a hill, and you want to get moving without rolling back into the guy's bumper behind you. Without a hand-brake to help you out and keep you immobile until the clutch engages, that takes a lot of skill/co-ordination and quick work with your feet (I've done it, but it isn't easy). Subaru had a Hill-Holder device on some of their manual transmissions that they used for a number of years. It was a ball/valve device that kept brake-pressure on even when you took your foot of the regular brake pedal....it disengaged automatically, and released brake pressure, when the clutch engaged. That device disappeared several years ago from Subaru products......probably because of cost-cutting and the increasing proliferation of automatics.

Subaru, BTW, was not the first automaker to have a device like that. As far back as the 1930s, when manual transmissions (without synchros at that) were far more widespread than they are now (and clutchless transmissions were quite rare), Studebaker first used a system like that on their cars. It died, of course, in the 1960s....along with Studebaker itself. Except for the Corvette, Studebaker was also the first mainstream American manufacturer to use front disc brakes.