Usable power within Uk speed limits
Discussion
I am talking about the sports versions of models or sports cars or hot hatches.
Basically all the ones I have driven I can only achieve maximum power that the engine develops in first and second gear by third max power is notably above the 70moh motorway speed limit.
So how often do people really get to use the power they have available to them legally? I mean getting full power in first would strictly be off a standing start I'd not change down from second to first to get a little bit more acceleration so really if moving I'm only ever going to get maximum power in one gear.
Is it now not the time to have a gearbox which can allow you to run at peak power revs and continuously alter the gear ratio up to 70mph. Otherwise unless you track a car or use the autobahn or break the law it's a paper statistic that your car has xbhp which you never use.
If the continuously variable transmission with engine held at max revs wasn't available would a shorter final drive be a better option to allow maybe the full use of third and maybe fourth gear in the public highway but at the compromise of lower mpg.
I think this nay turn into a heated debate so let's hear your views. Chris Harris et al welcome to comment.
Basically all the ones I have driven I can only achieve maximum power that the engine develops in first and second gear by third max power is notably above the 70moh motorway speed limit.
So how often do people really get to use the power they have available to them legally? I mean getting full power in first would strictly be off a standing start I'd not change down from second to first to get a little bit more acceleration so really if moving I'm only ever going to get maximum power in one gear.
Is it now not the time to have a gearbox which can allow you to run at peak power revs and continuously alter the gear ratio up to 70mph. Otherwise unless you track a car or use the autobahn or break the law it's a paper statistic that your car has xbhp which you never use.
If the continuously variable transmission with engine held at max revs wasn't available would a shorter final drive be a better option to allow maybe the full use of third and maybe fourth gear in the public highway but at the compromise of lower mpg.
I think this nay turn into a heated debate so let's hear your views. Chris Harris et al welcome to comment.
Welshbeef said:
I am talking about the sports versions of models or sports cars or hot hatches.
Basically all the ones I have driven I can only achieve maximum power that the engine develops in first and second gear by third max power is notably above the 70moh motorway speed limit.
So how often do people really get to use the power they have available to them legally? I mean getting full power in first would strictly be off a standing start I'd not change down from second to first to get a little bit more acceleration so really if moving I'm only ever going to get maximum power in one gear.
Is it now not the time to have a gearbox which can allow you to run at peak power revs and continuously alter the gear ratio up to 70mph. Otherwise unless you track a car or use the autobahn or break the law it's a paper statistic that your car has xbhp which you never use.
If the continuously variable transmission with engine held at max revs wasn't available would a shorter final drive be a better option to allow maybe the full use of third and maybe fourth gear in the public highway but at the compromise of lower mpg.
I think this nay turn into a heated debate so let's hear your views. Chris Harris et al welcome to comment.
won't most cars these days top 70 in third? Basically all the ones I have driven I can only achieve maximum power that the engine develops in first and second gear by third max power is notably above the 70moh motorway speed limit.
So how often do people really get to use the power they have available to them legally? I mean getting full power in first would strictly be off a standing start I'd not change down from second to first to get a little bit more acceleration so really if moving I'm only ever going to get maximum power in one gear.
Is it now not the time to have a gearbox which can allow you to run at peak power revs and continuously alter the gear ratio up to 70mph. Otherwise unless you track a car or use the autobahn or break the law it's a paper statistic that your car has xbhp which you never use.
If the continuously variable transmission with engine held at max revs wasn't available would a shorter final drive be a better option to allow maybe the full use of third and maybe fourth gear in the public highway but at the compromise of lower mpg.
I think this nay turn into a heated debate so let's hear your views. Chris Harris et al welcome to comment.
Why not optimise the 2nd and 3rd gears in the gearbox to keep the car just above 100mph that way you can make the most of the engine.
k15tox said:
furrywoolyhatuk said:
Torque is king! Bhp on the roads doesn't count for much with as you say speed limits, but torque makes a car much more useable on a daily basis.
Oh dear.Driven a ford F-250 pickup with a tweaked 7.3 litre diesel V8 and despite only having about 300hp it had over 500lb/ft torque
would light the back tyres up with a blip of the throttle and was very chuckable (for what it was)
got good fuel economy too
If your gearbox was tuned to hit only 70 mph, every motorway journey would be a screaming, revving nightmare. That's why gears allow higher speeds - so that we can have a quieter, more efficient cruise at a lower speed. It also stops the engine from shaking itself to pieces within the first few months.
IIRC, most reasonably powerful cars (ie anything other than a shopping trolley) are geared to give at least 62 mph (100 kmh) in second gear so that the 0-60 time doesn't include another gearchange. That's pretty irrelevant on the road but it helps the car to look better in the magazines.
IIRC, most reasonably powerful cars (ie anything other than a shopping trolley) are geared to give at least 62 mph (100 kmh) in second gear so that the 0-60 time doesn't include another gearchange. That's pretty irrelevant on the road but it helps the car to look better in the magazines.
Welshbeef said:
ewenm said:
In the Caterham I can use all the power (160bhp) fairly often on UK roads and it is a lot of fun to do so.
Can you confirm in what gears you can use all the power (max power) 
Welshbeef said:
ewenm said:
In the Caterham I can use all the power (160bhp) fairly often on UK roads and it is a lot of fun to do so.
Can you confirm in what gears you can use all the power (max power) rb5er said:
I am sure he can happily use full the power in every gear. Perhaps you mean for how long can he use all the power?
This thread is very clear it's about maximum usable power so the max power an engine produces clearly Boone can do that in 5th 6th 4th and very very few if any could legally do that in 3rd. Flooring the throttle isn't what I mean.
The caterham owner has highlighed he does drive on b roads holding onto 2nd gear at full power often so yep makes sense. I doubt hot hatches super saloons sports models would do that for prolonged periods of time
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