How much BHP do you need ?
Discussion
Hi everyone. First post and all that. Anyway....
Seems to me that a lot of very ordinary cars have a lot of performance these days - certainly by the standards of my driving youth in the 80's when BHP was in much shorter supply. Some of the fun in those far off days seemed to be extracting maximum performance from vehicles that seemed reluctant to realise their hidden potential (my Mini Clubman was good at this). Often nowadays reviews will state that "you will have to use the gearbox to make adequate progress" and this in respect of small engined cars as well. Anyway, my point is - are we all becoming used to riding around on a wave of torque from our 2 litre TDi's, or is there the occasional punter out there that likes thrashing around the countryside in a smaller engined, less powerful car that requires a certain amount of thought and commitment to keep up to speed ?. I know that the last 150 mph plus capable car I had never saw anywhere near it's top speed (still only returned 25mpg though)and I find the C1 I have just bought as a runaround rather a lot of fun, although I must admit another 25BHP there would not go amiss at all.
Seems to me that a lot of very ordinary cars have a lot of performance these days - certainly by the standards of my driving youth in the 80's when BHP was in much shorter supply. Some of the fun in those far off days seemed to be extracting maximum performance from vehicles that seemed reluctant to realise their hidden potential (my Mini Clubman was good at this). Often nowadays reviews will state that "you will have to use the gearbox to make adequate progress" and this in respect of small engined cars as well. Anyway, my point is - are we all becoming used to riding around on a wave of torque from our 2 litre TDi's, or is there the occasional punter out there that likes thrashing around the countryside in a smaller engined, less powerful car that requires a certain amount of thought and commitment to keep up to speed ?. I know that the last 150 mph plus capable car I had never saw anywhere near it's top speed (still only returned 25mpg though)and I find the C1 I have just bought as a runaround rather a lot of fun, although I must admit another 25BHP there would not go amiss at all.
Most power I've ever owned all in one place at the same time was 340bhp. It was adequate 
More would have been nice but I didn't want the trade off in loss of reliability and drive-ability. Now if someone could make a car with more power that drove as nicely as that car I'd say 340bhp wasn't enough ;-)
More would have been nice but I didn't want the trade off in loss of reliability and drive-ability. Now if someone could make a car with more power that drove as nicely as that car I'd say 340bhp wasn't enough ;-)I had a 16 year old 1.5 Mitsibishi Colt as a courtesy car when having some work done on the 360. I must say, the car took me back to the days of a small engined car that needs to be driven well to make progress. It was a fun and cuckable little car, same can be said for a C1 I had as a courtesy car once.
That said, I did have an even bigger smile on my face when I got the Ferrari back, even if I don't drive it to anywhere near its full potential.
I think when you get used to any amount of power you want more, and that feeling of want can make one miserable, even if you have something powerful already.
That said, I did have an even bigger smile on my face when I got the Ferrari back, even if I don't drive it to anywhere near its full potential.
I think when you get used to any amount of power you want more, and that feeling of want can make one miserable, even if you have something powerful already.
<500bhp is for pooftahs!
Actually James Hunt said the best fun he ever had was in his old Austin A30 van.
Probably around 30bhp.
I liked my >500bhp though. Problem was - Under 4 seconds and you are already breaking the limit. Give it another three seconds of the beans and you are breaking a ton.
There was nothing like it. But the fun was over far too quickly.
I like the idea of the underpowered skinny tyred lightweight crate though.
Actually James Hunt said the best fun he ever had was in his old Austin A30 van.
Probably around 30bhp.
I liked my >500bhp though. Problem was - Under 4 seconds and you are already breaking the limit. Give it another three seconds of the beans and you are breaking a ton.
There was nothing like it. But the fun was over far too quickly.
I like the idea of the underpowered skinny tyred lightweight crate though.
Not sure how much bhp i need. Have 3 cars & all will get me around & break the speed limit if I wish. To me its how much bhp do i want. I have a choice of 90bhp, 200bhp & 838bhp. Do most miles with 90bhp & its just fine, sunny days see me totally happy with 200bhp if im feeling crazy then 838 aint enough.
I prefer a turbo diesel if the car has less bhp as you still get a useful slug of torque.
My current daily driver has just 90bhp but has so much more oomph than a 90bhp n/a petrol car I had a few years ago.
My most powerful car to date was just under 300bhp and that was a turbo petrol engine and was a good performer imho.
My current daily driver has just 90bhp but has so much more oomph than a 90bhp n/a petrol car I had a few years ago.
My most powerful car to date was just under 300bhp and that was a turbo petrol engine and was a good performer imho.
After riding for years on bikes with more than 1200cc and 170hp my current bike is a 200hp 1441cc monster. I only bought it because there was no faster bike that I could buy.
Seeing that I can comfortaby ride it WFO (not all the time, mind...) without falling off and killing myself, I would say a 1000hp car would be just what I need. For the first few months at least... ;-)
Too much (power) is never enough...
david
Seeing that I can comfortaby ride it WFO (not all the time, mind...) without falling off and killing myself, I would say a 1000hp car would be just what I need. For the first few months at least... ;-)
Too much (power) is never enough...
david
Edited by Wild Child on Monday 10th February 21:34
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