Power, Now vs Then vs Reality
Discussion
Reardy Mister said:
Because there's little to compare with the feeling of wringing the neck of something. Which would you rather have, an hour thrashing around on top of Martine McCutcheon, or a flash of Angelina Jolie's tits?
Goes off to ponder....This could take some time.....
EDIT: Martine is a filthy minx who has got a quality pair of funbags & in 1 hour I can fire off pretty much as much as a Phalanx anti-missle system!
Edited by dirty doug on Thursday 9th February 13:11
rottie102 said:
Rawwr said:
As I just posted on another thread: I'd rather drive a 200bhp car 90% than a 400bhp car at 50%.
Just because it sounds cool on PH? 
I don't understand why would anyone want to limit the horsepower. The throttle doesn't work 0/1. If the car is driveable (as in doesn't require triple plate clutch, drag gearbox etc) I'm more than happy to drive a 1000hp car at 20%, just so I can use ALL THE POWER three times a year.
Alex said:
kambites said:
I rarely have problems overtaking with my measly 200bhp/tonne.
200bhp/tonne is the sweet spot IMO.When our Fiat 500 works I quite enjoy that, even with only 20 bhp, another ten and it would be spot on
In my opinion, It is far more fun and satisfying absolutely thrashing a car with 200bhp rather than 400-500 etc.
I did a track day in a 450bhp Evo 9 FQ a few months ago and whilst it was fun, you got up so much speed on the straights that you ended up getting lazy and just tootling round the corners, only to open the taps and pass everything on the straight, before s
tting yourself and standing hard on the brakes for another corner.
The car was too fast to be fully used by an enthusiastic amateur.
By contrast I recent bought a Renault Clio 172 recently just to thrash on the track... And yes, it is massively more fun.
You spend the whole time absolutely wringing it's neck and taking every corner as well as you can to maximise the speed you carry.
I did a track day in a 450bhp Evo 9 FQ a few months ago and whilst it was fun, you got up so much speed on the straights that you ended up getting lazy and just tootling round the corners, only to open the taps and pass everything on the straight, before s
tting yourself and standing hard on the brakes for another corner.The car was too fast to be fully used by an enthusiastic amateur.
By contrast I recent bought a Renault Clio 172 recently just to thrash on the track... And yes, it is massively more fun.
You spend the whole time absolutely wringing it's neck and taking every corner as well as you can to maximise the speed you carry.
kambites said:
bennyboysvuk said:
kambites said:
Personally, I'm slightly baffled as to why people want powerful cars on the road. It just seems a complete waste of time to me. Maybe it's just because it sounds cool on PH? 
You need the power to overtake the folk who plod along slowly in the NSLs. The more power you have, the quicker you can dispatch them. 
I agree that 200bhp per ton is pretty good in a car, but 300bhp per ton would be even better from an overtaking perspective.
People love to portray an image to make them appear further up the desirability/success hierarchy. If this image can be bought with credit, without the need for talent and many years of practice, even better.
The world of bikes is an even dafter.
~200bhp in a small bike can be bought for (relatively)not a lot of dosh, so people buy them. Fast as f**k.
Most people can't ride for toffee(I'm no riding god either, I can ride for a small fudge or Milky Way on a good day) and, even in the hands of a riding genius, the performance is mostly unsuitable for the roads.
Even a bike with a mere 80bhp is fairly fast by most standards.
The world of bikes is an even dafter.
~200bhp in a small bike can be bought for (relatively)not a lot of dosh, so people buy them. Fast as f**k.
Most people can't ride for toffee(I'm no riding god either, I can ride for a small fudge or Milky Way on a good day) and, even in the hands of a riding genius, the performance is mostly unsuitable for the roads.
Even a bike with a mere 80bhp is fairly fast by most standards.
MC Bodge said:
People love to portray an image to make them appear further up the desirability/success hierarchy. If this image can be bought with credit, without the need for talent and many years of practice, even better.
The world of bikes is an even dafter.
~200bhp in a small bike can be bought for (relatively)not a lot of dosh, so people buy them. Fast as f**k.
Most people can't ride for toffee(I'm no riding god either, I can ride for a small fudge or Milky Way on a good day) and, even in the hands of a riding genius, the performance is mostly unsuitable for the roads.
Even a bike with a mere 80bhp is fairly fast by most standards.
I used to ride a Yamaha YZF-600R ...the old thundercat. By R1/R6 standards it was fat, podgy and and a a tad lardy with "only" 118bhp...but it used to scare the fThe world of bikes is an even dafter.
~200bhp in a small bike can be bought for (relatively)not a lot of dosh, so people buy them. Fast as f**k.
Most people can't ride for toffee(I'm no riding god either, I can ride for a small fudge or Milky Way on a good day) and, even in the hands of a riding genius, the performance is mostly unsuitable for the roads.
Even a bike with a mere 80bhp is fairly fast by most standards.
k out of me doing sub 4 second 0-62's or hooning it at 140+ on a track.MC Bodge said:
People love to portray an image to make them appear further up the desirability/success hierarchy. If this image can be bought with credit, without the need for talent and many years of practice, even better.
The world of bikes is an even dafter.
~200bhp in a small bike can be bought for (relatively)not a lot of dosh, so people buy them. Fast as f**k.
Most people can't ride for toffee(I'm no riding god either, I can ride for a small fudge or Milky Way on a good day) and, even in the hands of a riding genius, the performance is mostly unsuitable for the roads.
Even a bike with a mere 80bhp is fairly fast by most standards.
Yep, I remember reading all the mags and deciding what to get, a mate let me ride his early CBR 600 when I passed my CBT as a reward, it was dead easy to ride, I quickly got confident, piece of piss, then I wound the throttle open to about half and the bloody thing took off like nothing I had ever experienced, thought I was going to let go, so I just came right off the throttle, the front end dove down and I pootled it back to him hyperventilating a little The world of bikes is an even dafter.
~200bhp in a small bike can be bought for (relatively)not a lot of dosh, so people buy them. Fast as f**k.
Most people can't ride for toffee(I'm no riding god either, I can ride for a small fudge or Milky Way on a good day) and, even in the hands of a riding genius, the performance is mostly unsuitable for the roads.
Even a bike with a mere 80bhp is fairly fast by most standards.
I enjoy driving and unlike the majority of people I often seek out the "scenic route" rather than sitting on the motorway.
I'm not bothered about how my car looks or how fast it can be hustled around the Nurburgring or the Isle of Man by a professional tester/racer, I enjoy driving (and riding).
If we're honest, most of us don't use full throttle at all times in fairly modest road cars.
I like to make progress on the road, but I don't wring out the last available mph on the straight roads, because even a family estate will get you into trouble if caught at 130mph.
There are people who "like cars" and there are people who like driving them.
I'm not bothered about how my car looks or how fast it can be hustled around the Nurburgring or the Isle of Man by a professional tester/racer, I enjoy driving (and riding).
If we're honest, most of us don't use full throttle at all times in fairly modest road cars.
I like to make progress on the road, but I don't wring out the last available mph on the straight roads, because even a family estate will get you into trouble if caught at 130mph.
There are people who "like cars" and there are people who like driving them.
It's all perception IMO. Mainly depends on what car you're driving yourself or what kind of power you're used to.
If you're driving two or low three figure bhp cars, 370bhp will sound like incredible performance, no matter how old the car.
When I got my M3, I was excited at first, but got used to it quickly. It's still a rapid car by all means, there's not much on the road that'll keep up with it, and I probably use only half of its capabilities on most days, but it has changed my perception of 300+ bhp cars, and it makes it really hard to consider cars with less power. On the other hand, for a couple of my friends with slower cars it's still a breathtaking supercar.
This will also explain why many users on here are whinging about the performance specs of Toyotas upcoming GT-86.
200 bhp and 0-60 in 6-or-so seconds are plenty in real world performance, be it for daily or track use. But if you're used to drive (or read about) cars with more power, it makes it look slower than it actually is.
The 3200GT has been up there with the best sports cars of the time.
And I don't see how it's a bad or strange thing that the performance of a turbocharged 3.2 V8 is close to that of a highly tuned 3.2 I-6 E46 M3 CSL (as someone mentioned in the other thread).
If you're driving two or low three figure bhp cars, 370bhp will sound like incredible performance, no matter how old the car.
When I got my M3, I was excited at first, but got used to it quickly. It's still a rapid car by all means, there's not much on the road that'll keep up with it, and I probably use only half of its capabilities on most days, but it has changed my perception of 300+ bhp cars, and it makes it really hard to consider cars with less power. On the other hand, for a couple of my friends with slower cars it's still a breathtaking supercar.
This will also explain why many users on here are whinging about the performance specs of Toyotas upcoming GT-86.
200 bhp and 0-60 in 6-or-so seconds are plenty in real world performance, be it for daily or track use. But if you're used to drive (or read about) cars with more power, it makes it look slower than it actually is.
The 3200GT has been up there with the best sports cars of the time.
And I don't see how it's a bad or strange thing that the performance of a turbocharged 3.2 V8 is close to that of a highly tuned 3.2 I-6 E46 M3 CSL (as someone mentioned in the other thread).
Sub5s said:
if you're used to drive (or read about) cars with more power, it makes it look slower than it actually is
and the reality is that it isn't "slow". Unless, when driving quickly, you are spending the whole time as hard as possible on the gas (or on the brake, with no coasting or steady speed), then you probably don't need more power....
I can appreciate a fast car or bike as much as the next man, but I know that fun can be had without massive power.
Edited by MC Bodge on Thursday 9th February 13:40
J4CKO said:
Yep, I remember reading all the mags and deciding what to get, a mate let me ride his early CBR 600 when I passed my CBT as a reward, it was dead easy to ride, I quickly got confident, piece of piss, then I wound the throttle open to about half and the bloody thing took off like nothing I had ever experienced, thought I was going to let go, so I just came right off the throttle, the front end dove down and I pootled it back to him hyperventilating a little
Useful to know as I'll buying a CBR600 from a mate at some point this year, having done most of my riding on a 125. His advice is "don't give it full throttle until you've had some time to get used to it and are on a clear, quiet, straight road.If anything, I think I would be quicker with less power, less RWD shouty fun, but with 200hp rather than 300hp I would have less fear of putting the right foot down (maybe fear is the wrong word, but I would certainly be more stampy)
Still, it is nice to have the power on tap and the correct answer to "how much power do you have?" is "not enough"
Still, it is nice to have the power on tap and the correct answer to "how much power do you have?" is "not enough"
fourwheelsteer said:
Useful to know as I'll buying a CBR600 from a mate at some point this year, having done most of my riding on a 125. His advice is "don't give it full throttle until you've had some time to get used to it and are on a clear, quiet, straight road.
Even a 600 needs careful use of the throttle. They're not terrifyingly fast, but the speed can increase very quickly. Most fast cars wouldn't keep up and you can't just wang open the throttle mid-bend.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff