[Milton]

"Thinking about #1, there is a 3 inch long bearing back there that most engineers would agree is way over-engineered for the task."

Now why would they do that? Why is it that every babbitt A that I have disassembled shows main wear the most at the rear?

#2: True, however, how fast must one shift? Not enough compression to slow the motor down before the car rolls to a stop? Est-ce que tu comprends speedshift?

#3: True again, but then the rotational momentum is diminished. I dislocated a friends neck once by spinning the tires in dirt and when the tires hit the pavement he was looking at the roof. Takes a lot to beat an A off the line, but after that it's all over.

#4: That's one that I never heard before.

#5: I'm with MikeK and the reduction of torsional vibration.

And most of all the light wheel allows my Stipe IB350 to announce itself very well at an idle.