G'day all,

Is anyone familiar with whether Rear Active Steer causes power loss to the rear wheels? I did not have an opportunity to test drive a vehicle without RAS since my dealer ordered this option on all 6MT's in inventory, but am very curious if I'm feeling effects of the dreaded double-whammy since I also live at 5,000+ ft.

On a slightly different note - I read a Q&A in the latest issue of R&T where it stated that premium gas offers no measureable benefit to performance at altitude. The explanation seemed to revolve around compression pressure where higher altitude by definition carries lower pressure. Do people generally agree with this assessment and does it mean that at altitude premium is a waste of money?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

Are you sure it wasn't the VDC activating? You'll definately feel a cut of power (feels more like a tug to me) at the rear wheels when the VDC kicks in.

 

Sorry, I can't help you on the RAS issue, but as far as the higher octane gas is concerned, it does burn hotter and cleaner no matter what the compression. You may not notice a performance difference, but it's still better for your heads/valves/seats/cylinders.

You get snow where you're at? Just wondering 'cause it's like 85 here today and I want to go snowboarding.

 

the RAS does add a little bit of weight but to me it is too fast for a steering ratio and i'm used to have a fixed rear axle