BHP... how much is too much?

[leafspring]

Not in super/sport/race/hyper cars, I mean in your bog standard everyday hatch/estate/saloon/MPV type car.

How much power do you actually need day to day?.. I reckon 150bhp should be enough in a 2 ton car (75bhp per ton)

I'm thinking here of why they make cars that can't handle it... like the Vectra VXR

[DocJock]

You know that advert for McCoys crisps...

[sc0tt]

DocJock said:

You know that advert for McCoys crisps...

[dm46]

I reckon a minimum of 200bhp for a hatchback, there's no such thing as too much!

[leafspring]

Sorry what I mean is... if you want a sports car buy one.

Don't by an overpowered rep-mobile and then complain when the kids are sick, your spine has shattered and the torque steer fired you into a tree.

So at what point in the power range should you stop looking at the mundane and start looking at purpose built faster models?

Anything over 150hp stop thinking Astra and start looking at M series BMW's

[kambites]

I think 60 or 70bhp/tonne is enough for people who are only going to view a car as transport.

I tend to find that anything over about 300bhp/tonne starts to detract from the driving experience on the road, but most will probably disagree.

[s m]

leafspring said:

I'm thinking here of why they make cars that can't handle it... like the Vectra VXR

Like the Vectra VXR they rated as pretty good in EVO mag?

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/cargrouptests/6518...


Perhaps they wanted to make sure that they got future Vauxhall press demos ......

[anonymous-user]

About 500hp/tonne seems right to me.

[Contigo]

I would be hard pushed to drive a car that didn't have alot of power and bhp. I think 500bhp as a rule despite it even weighing 2 tonne. If it was a hairdryer like a Caterfield or such then look at the magic bhp/ton figure but as a rule the bigger the engine output the better.

[HustleRussell]

kambites said:

I think 60 or 70bhp/tonne is enough for people who are only going to view a car as transport.

I tend to find that anything over about 300bhp/tonne starts to detract from the driving experience on the road, but most will probably disagree.

I would go with this, I think that the sweet spot for fast road use lies somewhere between 200 and 300bhp/ton. Probably nearer the lower end of that range to be honest.

[aarondbs]

Your right foot does not sit on an on off switch....there is fun to be had regulating the power and speed of a car to within its, yours, the cars or the situations safe and practical limits.

[lufbramatt]

I have ~155bhp in <1200kg, (129bhp/ton) and I'd say it was quick enough day to day. But it's not in any way "fast", although with no traction control whatsoever you still have to be careful in the wet. I think it would be best with around 200bhp but wouldn't want any more with no TC and FWD.

From time to time I borrow the same car but with 90bhp (although it's a povvo spec saloon so around 1100kg) and it's actually ok with 81bhp/ton, just runs out of puff on motorways a bit earlier, but it's geared slightly shorter so real-world it's perfectly driveable.

When I drive the pool cars at work, mk6 golf 1.6 103bhp, and they are tediously slow.

[McWigglebum4th]

I really do think anything below 1000Bhp is dangerously slow


And look my willy is bigger then yours

Look at my goatee


Aren't i powerfully built


fk this is getting tedious now

[kambites]

aarondbs said:

Your right foot does not sit on an on off switch....there is fun to be had regulating the power and speed of a car to within its, yours, the cars or the situations safe and practical limits.

Indeed, but equally there's fun to be had from compensating for a car's lack of straight-line speed, and for me that's the greater of the two past a certain point.

I'd rather have moderate power and low grip levels than high power and high grip levels or high power and moderate grip levels, if that makes sense.

[MC Bodge]

For me, this is too much:



....if I'm not feeling on top form

Edited by MC Bodge on Sunday 4th August 21:14

[leafspring]

^^^ So you reckon an Astra chassis can handle that much power day to day?

Never mind... the original question didn't translate well from thought to paper and nobody is going to take it seriously now

[rehab71]

leafspring said:

Not in super/sport/race/hyper cars, I mean in your bog standard everyday hatch/estate/saloon/MPV type car.

How much power do you actually need day to day?.. I reckon 150bhp should be enough in a 2 ton car (75bhp per ton)

I'm thinking here of why they make cars that can't handle it... like the Vectra VXR

Get out!

It's never enough!

[kambites]

If you mean "how much power can a basic shopping car's chassis take without ruining the hanlding?" I suspect the answer will vary massively from car to car.

[leafspring]

kambites said:

If you mean "how much power can a basic shopping car's chassis take without ruining the hanlding?" I suspect the answer will vary massively from car to car.

That was basically what I was asking yes... Like I said didn't translate well on the way to the page

[Chilliman]

I've got a '96 Golf VR6, it's about 170 odd Bhp, no idea how much it weighs though. They weren't the best handling Golfs but power wise it's great, easy to make good progress, and still plenty fast enough four up with luggage. Not great on mpg but I don't think you need more power than this in a family hatch. I'd say the power is well matched to the size and weight of the car (and its handling/road holding qualities)