Toad

Just a little debate about huge power conversions.Does it matter to you.My opinion is that huge power is a little irrelevant.I'm talking 400-600BHP.If you tune a 2 litre turbo lump to this power certain things start to happen.The power band becomes narrower and becomes all or nothing.Also reliability becomes a big issue.I personnally feel that torque is much more important than BHP as it is what makes a car useable.
What are everyones view on massive power?Is it important and could a very well setup 350BHP overcome a ripsnorting 500BHP beast?
My personnal opinion is driveability and userbility is most important hence having a car that pulls pretty much well accross the revrange not just a 1500RPM powerband.!
I hope no people take offence to this as non was intended.It is just interesting to know peoples opinions on massive power!!!


Toad.

CraigH

Depends if you want a road or track car I guess.

Road based (torquey) 350hp would more than likely be quicker than track based 450hp on a windy road.

On track it wouldn't.

You got a complex about your power or something?

fivepint

i agree m8, massive power is for the drag strip, i like my motors useable and relaible, which also works out cheaper LOL

Cheers

chrisp

I am quite happy with 280ish bhp and a 4,500 rpm power band

Toad

I've got a standard Evo6 GSR.I only got it last sunday.So I think it is quite rapid.I have no plans to modify it at the moment because I like the car as it is.


Toad.

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Ahhhh a non convert
You just wait until something passes you and you cant keep up (hopefully not a police car ) and then someone says to boost your power from .7bar to 1.2 bar and add a sports exhaust.... this is where it begins
Everyone eventually gets use to the power of their car's, the down side is not many people could handle the standard power to start with but think they can
You will get fed up with the boring noise that your standard exhaust makes at the moment and you will want to uprate your brakes....
You dont know it yet but your already modifying your car

Tony

Toad

Tony I must resist temptation.........
I want to try and keep it standard because it will sell on easier.I should know because I steered well clear of modified evos!!!


Toad.

chrisp

Just mod the bits you can reverse and dont sell the bits you take off . You dont buy a scoob or an EVO as city runabout .

Makalu

Jeeze....

I remember the days when a 110Bhp Golf GTi MkI was 'the' thing to have and then we all dreamt of upping it to around 150/160 by sticking on an Oettinger 16v head!

Now we talk about 280bhp as though its nothing!

I must be getting old...

Mak.

Iain Young

Chrisp..

I did

Iain

johnfelstead

i remember when i spent £3k (it was a lot then!) changing my 875cc Imp engine for an all singing, all dancing, 998cc screemer that gave a whopping 110BHP.

It made the car quick enough to kick the crap out of 2 litre MK2 Escorts in tarmac rallying.

How times change.

Power matters less than handling and brakes, always has, always will. It doesnt sound so impresive at the bar though.

clintyboy12

So did I! And I still look forward to going to work!!! (not so much now the darn kids have gone back to school and I average 10mph)

Seriously though, I do still enjoy getting into my car and this is after having it for 2+ years. It's never a boring journey. If it looks like going that way I just squeeze the right pedal a little!!! (not too much now!!!) ;-)

ProperCharlie

I've driven a lot of sh!te cars in my life and am now pretty happy that i can drive a good one. I drive the STi every day for work and I would say I only come close to my personal limit of how close to the limit i will take it (in public) probably less that 5% of the time. Huge power is like, say you've got 100 on the clock on the motorway, there's little traffic, and someone comes up behind you for a game. At that moment you wish you had huge power so you could put your foot down and make the guy look like a plonker. As it is I have to do with putting my foot down and making the other guy look slightly foolish, and then pulling over and letting him get on with losing his licence. Most of the time you will never need huge power.

co55ie

Big Power = Big Fun.
Torque is everything 400 lb/ft is awesome try it you will love it worth every penny. My own personnel rollercoaster for the road

Little Miss WRX

It's not how much you have, but how you use and handle it

bug-eyed wonder

Thought this was about cars?

co55ie

I have a whopper or so I would like to think and I love giving it a good old polish

Little Miss WRX

Power is nothing without control

EvilBevel

whoppers... don't they sell those at Wimpies ?

Little Miss WRX

Nope, but they sell them at Whimpy's

Too much power can be bad round corners

Eagle7

will somebody explain to me what the difference beween power (BHP) and torque is in real terms? I have seen the scientific definition, but what does it mean when driveng etc..?

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

Too much is never enough. Its only the people with no power that say, too much is bad..

ustolemyname??stevieturbo

iTrader: (1)

Torque makes a car nice to drive. Its what makes the car feel good midrange. bhp is usually a revvy thing, which is why motorbikes make good power, but would be a crap engine if they had to pull a heavy car along. Same way some early honda vtec engines where **** to drive as they had no torque, but did have a lot of power for their engine size. If you drive a good tdi VW engine ( 150's are excellent, especially when chipped, but still have crap power and dont rev ), or a big V8, then thats torque.

jonny gav

iTrader: (1)

i think co55ie has to make up in bhp what he lacks in brain power(he is going for a 1,000,000,000 conversion next )

Trout...

Mmmm - 350bhp and a 5,000rpm power band made me happy...

...for a while

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely and having tasted the poisoned apple I am now condemned to Hades

Trout

chrisp

BHP shifts cars but torque moves 'em

clintyboy12

Eagle7 wrote:
will somebody explain to me what the difference beween power (BHP) and torque is in real terms? I have seen the scientific definition, but what does it mean when driveng etc..?

Not sure if you are a member of the SIDC but in the one of the recent issues there was a very good article explaining the difference between torque and power.
Maybe someone from the SIDC can help point to this if it is anywhere on the net?

Pavlo

Horsepower = torque (in ftlbs) * RPM /5252

So you can get high power buy running moderate torque at high revs.

High torque doesn't mean anything for out and out straight line speed, power is everything.

All depends on gearing, and the torque at the wheels. A desiel may have great torque compared to my car, but I can run in a lower gear and get more wheel torque, and hence more acceleration, but it boils down to power.

If anyone tries to say that torque is what makes you accelerate, then please can they give me a 1/4mile time for my car powered by my arms and a 600ftlb torque wrench?

Paul

Maddriver

edited cos the post I'm repling to changed & now there ain't anything to reply to ho-hum

[Edited by Maddriver - 9/11/2002 11:21:02 PM]

[Edited by Maddriver - 9/11/2002 11:23:23 PM]

R19KET

Trout,

Sorry Letting you drive my car, was out of pure spite

New block in the UK just the pistons, and a few bits to sort.

Mark