I don't find the distance between car objectionable using the 802's. It comes out to about 2.5 to 3 scale feet. I don't recall the actual distance between two prototype cars, but 3' seems about right. Gotta have some room to muscle in and hook up the air hoses, after all.
AM:
Pacific Rail Shops/Des Plaines Hobbies:
SHS:
Even with the slack taken out when running, the extra distance, isn't that noticeable, at least to me. The "bouncing" however, is annoying.
I recently began to double up the 802's centering springs in the draft gear on new rolling stock. Under most conditions, it's just about eliminated the bouncing and minimized the slack.
Rusty