HP of cars

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pampersguy

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Wanted to know how important hp for a car is for you. We recently bought a car and while browsing the offers I was surprised how much I would let myself be influenced by hp. We ended up with a c280 mercedes. I wasn't planning on buying a car with a big engine but now I can understand this fascination with fast cars.
 
i'm more swayed by the power-to-weight ratio than power alone. and living in the hills, i'm also into torque.
i'm not too interested in speed; although i've never been in a serious crash, i've seen the consequences of speeding metal on flesh and had enough of my own slow speed bangs, slicings, shreadings and gougings to appreciate how it can all go wrong in an instant.
 
I used to have two cars I raced on the 1/4 mile track, so I've been addicted to horse power. Though I no longer race, I now have a Honda Pilot. It's actually got a descent motor, four valves per cylinder, duel overhead cams. When you get on it, the computer advances the timing. It's a well designed engine and I enjoy it. If I had the money, I'd go out and buy a Camero Z1. That has horsepower!
 
Lol don't get into motorcycles they give you such a rush.
Power to weight ratio is something else and those crotch rockets really run.
They banned the Dodge Demon from racing track because it's so fast 800 horse.
 
I mostly crave RPMs. If I'm not redlining it just to get up the 5% grade of my driveway, the car's clearly not Japanese enough.

In all seriousness, though, I'm pretty neutral on the whole HP thing. I do drive what most would consider a "muscle car," but that's due to a complex series of events a few years back, and not because I like to do burnouts when lights turn green. I did get up to 115 mph in it once, but I wouldn't do it again. I couldn't hear NPR over the air/road/engine noise.
 
pampersguy said:
Wanted to know how important hp for a car is for you.

My has only 100, but is more than eneough. What I can want from 15 years old VW T4 2.5 TDi ? Of course is really better than versions with golf motors.
 
I have been a Porsche owner for 75 vehicle-years with the highest hp being that of a six-speed manual 1996 993 (285 hp). I will be driving it on Tuesday for the once-every-five-week run to keep the seals and tires in shape. I can no longer drive it comfortably due to bone-on-bone osteoarthritis in both hips in addition to knee problems. As a result of the health issues, I recently purchased an automatic 2014 MB C250. After all of this time I am pretty much horse-powered out; I just need enough to accelerate well onto the highways.
 
I never speed, but I prefer having that hp when it comes to sticky situations or just for comfort, like accelerating on the autobahn, finding a gap and all. Plus travelling long distance with a fast car can be really comfortable.
 
Cottontail said:
I mostly crave RPMs. If I'm not redlining it just to get up the 5% grade of my driveway, the car's clearly not Japanese enough.

VTEC kicked in yo! (Sorry I had to LOL)

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I've had three 500+ hp cars, the fastest of which I've done 165mph in. And that wasn't fast enough so then I got into sportbikes. I currently have a 2016 Yamaha R1. I can attest it will do at least 165mph. Like someone said above, getting on a sportbike is the automotive equivalent of a heroin hit. Once you've felt the euphoric rush, you'll NEVER forget it.
 
It seems to me folks should be more interested in torque figures. Horsepower values are more relevant if we're talking about top end speed. And if you're running your car at top end speed on the public highways, you're a jackass and a menace. Go to your local 1/8 or 1/4 mile strip, and try your hand at foot brake or street et bracket racing.

0-60 numbers never seemed all that relevant to me, either. Now, 30-60 acceleration figures actually seem helpful. I mean, folks have to accelerate over that range of speeds in the real world. (think freeway on ramps.)
 
True. One thing that I love about Porsches is their low end torque. I was actually thinking of that when I wrote my response above, but nobody seemed to be discussing torque.
 
I tryed one time Audi A8 6.0 W12 (the same engine has buggati veyron,) but it drinks as a devil. Not enough cash...

But never I'll forget how it feels when you're starting.
 
Having more horse power than you will ever use is just a crime in my book. An environmental one anyways since higher horse power equal fewer gas milage. Why people are obsessed with H.P. is beyond my understanding- especially when it's like some old guy doing 55 on the interstate with a camaro or some other gas hog.

As long as I can out accelerate a semi coming up on me, I am fine. In fact, I have a hybrid rav4. And I still tend to out accelerate or travel faster than a good 80-90% of all cars on the road. Best part or all, I also getting 30 mpg in an suv.
 
Slomo said:
Having more horse power than you will ever use is just a crime in my book. .

It should also be a crime to have more HP in a street car than you are qualified to handle. The Dodge Hellcat Charger makes 800 HP. That's more power than the current Indy 500 cars. Which go 230 mph, at the hands of highly qualified drivers. Yet any rich yahoo with more money than sense can legally drive the Hellcat with the same level of driver's license as someone with a 100 horse econobox.

I mean, if one wants to spend a mint on a car that goes well over 100 mph, that's their perogative and money. But put it on a dragstrip, road corse or circle track instead of imperilling some innocent mom and kids in a minivan.
 
Slomo said:
Having more horse power than you will ever use is just a crime in my book. An environmental one anyways since higher horse power equal fewer gas mileage. Why people are obsessed with H.P. is beyond my understanding- especially when it's like some old guy doing 55 on the interstate with a camaro or some other gas hog.

You are only looking at half of the equation. The other half is how far you travel. In my case it is about 2,300 miles per year, 70 mph on mostly highway driving.
 
Illinoise said:
It should also be a crime to have more HP in a street car than you are qualified to handle. The Dodge Hellcat Charger makes 800 HP. That's more power than the current Indy 500 cars. Which go 230 mph, at the hands of highly qualified drivers. Yet any rich yahoo with more money than sense can legally drive the Hellcat with the same level of driver's license as someone with a 100 horse econobox.

I mean, if one wants to spend a mint on a car that goes well over 100 mph, that's their perogative and money. But put it on a dragstrip, road corse or circle track instead of imperilling some innocent mom and kids in a minivan.

Yes

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Kenn said:
You are only looking at half of the equation. The other half is how far you travel. In my case it is about 2,300 miles per year, 70 mph on mostly highway driving.

And yes.
 
Thanks, Slomo.

The bigger environmental issue is the elephant in the room which no one wishes to address. The Pope goes on a rant about affluent nation pollution when the real issue is population, a topic that he refuses to address. Going back to real horsepower would be untenable as there would not be enough food for them, to say nothing of being hip deep in horse manure.

My family has (unintentionally) done our contributive bit in this regard. Of the seven siblings and the eight spouses between my wife and my families, we produced a total of four offspring (my wife and I had none).
 
Fun fact. The horse power of a car (originally a steam engine) really is based on the pulling power of a health and strong horse. Early engines had a fraction of one horse power, then two, and quickly thereafter four. Now we're in the hundreds.

Except that rating hasn't scaled up correctly, and the actual calculation formula doesn't even translate that way anymore either. 800 horses working together could easily out pull an 800hp dodge hellcat, maybe without even having to move (when the motor blows, tires pop, and the car rolls backwards, lol).
 
Slomo said:
800 horses working together could easily out pull an 800hp dodge hellcat, maybe without even having to move (when the motor blows, tires pop, and the car rolls backwards, lol).

In a match race, good luck keeping the horses from being spooked by the Hellcat, and breaking the stage beam, thereby redlighting.(To speak nothing of the difficulty of fitting 800 horses between the wall and centerline.) :laugh:
 
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