why when im driving chevrolet astro make me feel that im driving at much more speed unlike my mercedes 200E?

Question

my chevrolet astro has a better acceleration (4.3 l ,4speed auto transmission) but i can not drive it anyhow more than 80 mi/hr while i can drive the mercedes 200 (2 l ,5 speed manual transmission ) at 100 mi/hr with a feeling of driving 60 mi/hr !, also i want to ask about the speed in which it is better to get the fifth speed in the manual transmission of my mercedes ? thanks

Answer 1

All that wind resistance and disconnected feeling front suspension. Chevy has dual idler arms and develpoes lot's of slack in the steering. Fifth Gear in the Mercedes Benz generally takes 50 + miles an hour.

Answer 2

Astro has more torque because its a work van. So you have that initial feeling of acceleration. But the Mercedes probably has more horsepower, therefore can get to 100mph no problem. Plus these german cars have sport turned suspensions so they feel really stable and quiet at high speeds. As for your last question...at 60 mph is a good speed to shift into 5th.

Answer 3

the van gives you an illusion of going real fast due to the fact there is such a short front end (hood) its almost like you are riding a bike, i had 1985 astro, with built 4bolt main 350c.i.d. full race 4spd auto transmission chirperd tires every time it shifted, and 3.23ratio posi rear end, i built it as a sleeper, i never went faster than 145mph it didnt feel safe lol, but i did make several mustang gt`s and camaro`s feel ashamed, can you imagine having a sports car and being blown away by a mini van

Answer 4

your chevy astro has a limiter on it. you max out at 80. if you're asking is when going 100 mph in the mercedes if you should be in 5th gear, then yes, you should be in 5th for 60 mph and up.

Answer 5

The bigger the Vehicle the faster it feels. I drive trucks at work and when I'm doing 40 it feels dangerously fast. I'd be doing 70 down the same street in my car and feel like I'm going slow