  We show that the threshold of complete synchronization in a lattice of
coupled non-smooth chaotic maps is determined by linear stability along the
directions transversal to the synchronization subspace. We examine carefully
the sychronization time and show that a inadequate observation of the system
evolution leads to wrong results. We present both careful numerical experiments
and a rigorous mathematical explanation confirming this fact, allowing for a
generalization involving hyperbolic coupled map lattices.
