How hard is it to climb back down the HP tree?
Discussion
For those of you that have had cars with reasonable BHP/ton, and then had (for whatever reason) to buy something with less BHP/ton is it a bit of a let down?
After having bought an S Type R, I fear there is no easy way back now (please, i am fully aware the bhp/ton figure isnt too impressive, but it still is rapid.
Whats it like?
After having bought an S Type R, I fear there is no easy way back now (please, i am fully aware the bhp/ton figure isnt too impressive, but it still is rapid.
Whats it like?
My HP car is ill, its been sitting in the garage for a year now.
It's not been hell, the gay car is brisk and the smoker coupe holds its own. But I do miss the rush. It's only temporary for me.
I realise there's a light at the end of the tunnel and my plan is slowly coming together.
The HP car will be alive soon and the gay car will be replaced with a higher HP gay car returning a reasonable mpg.
If I had to sacrifice power long term, I'd be looking at a very light car. Throw out the seats etc.
It's not been hell, the gay car is brisk and the smoker coupe holds its own. But I do miss the rush. It's only temporary for me.
I realise there's a light at the end of the tunnel and my plan is slowly coming together.
The HP car will be alive soon and the gay car will be replaced with a higher HP gay car returning a reasonable mpg.
If I had to sacrifice power long term, I'd be looking at a very light car. Throw out the seats etc.
Not too bad.
I went from 986 Boxster S (250) > Z4 3.0 (230) > Volvo S60 D5 (163) in terms of daily drivers. Not just less bhp but also more weight. Seeing as I do alot of motorway driving, I quite enjoy having the waftability of the Volvo 9 days out of 10. 2 years on I still find it nice when doing the daily grind to work jut getting in, sitting in a comfy seat with a good stereo and driving to work in comfort.
Guess it depends on how much driving you do and the type of roads. Having something in the garage for the weekend also helps alot.
ETA - I suspect its more difficult going from an 'ordinary' (ie saloon/coupe) high powered car to an 'ordinary' lower powered car than it is going from a two seat convertible to a saloon/coupe in that you are getting something completely different as opposed to a lesser version of the same/similar car.
Plus there is only a certain number of pot holes you can hit on broken up winter roads with hard suspension, in the freezing cold with rain beating on a canvas roof before it starts to take away part of the enjoyment of the car.
I went from 986 Boxster S (250) > Z4 3.0 (230) > Volvo S60 D5 (163) in terms of daily drivers. Not just less bhp but also more weight. Seeing as I do alot of motorway driving, I quite enjoy having the waftability of the Volvo 9 days out of 10. 2 years on I still find it nice when doing the daily grind to work jut getting in, sitting in a comfy seat with a good stereo and driving to work in comfort.
Guess it depends on how much driving you do and the type of roads. Having something in the garage for the weekend also helps alot.
ETA - I suspect its more difficult going from an 'ordinary' (ie saloon/coupe) high powered car to an 'ordinary' lower powered car than it is going from a two seat convertible to a saloon/coupe in that you are getting something completely different as opposed to a lesser version of the same/similar car.
Plus there is only a certain number of pot holes you can hit on broken up winter roads with hard suspension, in the freezing cold with rain beating on a canvas roof before it starts to take away part of the enjoyment of the car.
Edited by soprano on Tuesday 25th September 23:27
I've just gone from a 390BHP Maserati 4200 Cambiocorsa as a daily driver to a 82BHP, 900cc Fiat 500 Twin Air. I find it a completely different experience. Other drivers treat you differently too.
I picked the Maserati up this morning from garage after having its clutch replaced. A quick blast down the A1 was fun. But, when I needed to pop out into town this evening, I took the Fiat.
I'm much more laid back in the Fiat. I feel more mentally relaxed at the end of journeys too. Maybe that's because the Fiat encourages one to just waft along and go with the flow. While the Masser always tells me to push on.
I won't be selling the Maserati in a hurry though. A man can only do so much wafting about.
Oh, and the Hawk Stratos @ 225 bhp, will be the one that finishes me.
I picked the Maserati up this morning from garage after having its clutch replaced. A quick blast down the A1 was fun. But, when I needed to pop out into town this evening, I took the Fiat.
I'm much more laid back in the Fiat. I feel more mentally relaxed at the end of journeys too. Maybe that's because the Fiat encourages one to just waft along and go with the flow. While the Masser always tells me to push on.
I won't be selling the Maserati in a hurry though. A man can only do so much wafting about.
Oh, and the Hawk Stratos @ 225 bhp, will be the one that finishes me.
Having these thoughts myself, as I'm thinking of selling my VXR for something a bit less thirsty. My head is saying do it and reap the benefits of something a bit more economical, but my heart is pulling the opposite way. I'm sure I'll cope though, when I think that the majority of the miles I cover now is my daily commute rather than weekend blasts around the countryside. I think I'd appreciate something more sedate at 6.30am.
MattGTA said:
I made a conscious decision to come back down the HP tree - point and squirt to warp speed is fun for a while, but it's bad for the driving license and the real enjoyment (IMO) comes from having to really **drive** a car and being able to push it when the road / conditions allow.
Yep!
I just realised I went from 355bhp to 75bhp. Just couldn't make up my mind what to get next and was just sitting on a continually depreciating asset that I just wasn't enjoying so got rid and bought the most interesting car within a 10 mile radius that cost under £1k at the time.Depends on the car and why you are "downgrading"
It's very frustrating in a Griff 500, if you drive it like it wants to be driven you won't keep your licence for long.
A standard MX5 is great fun on an open road as you have to thrash the hell out of it to make progress but its also frustrating when you can't get past dawdlers due to bends / traffic.
I find a happy medium in my 210bhp MX5 and drive it far more frequently than my 340bhp RX7
However would I be happy downgrading from an SC'd V8 S Type to a V6 S Type - NO
It's very frustrating in a Griff 500, if you drive it like it wants to be driven you won't keep your licence for long.
A standard MX5 is great fun on an open road as you have to thrash the hell out of it to make progress but its also frustrating when you can't get past dawdlers due to bends / traffic.
I find a happy medium in my 210bhp MX5 and drive it far more frequently than my 340bhp RX7
However would I be happy downgrading from an SC'd V8 S Type to a V6 S Type - NO
As with others on here, I don't find it too much of a problem. Have dropped from 280-300 bhp ish cars down to 150-200 ish and you just drive differently.
I enjoy the wafting in the Beemer and the sense of trying to keep momentum in the bus although I miss the warp speed of my faster cars.
In real world driving, the only time I miss the power is when there's a train of cars pootling along and I don't have the sheer pace to take on more than a single car overtake safely now so often just sit back and pootle with them.
Pretty sure next car will be upwards on the bhp tree though.
I enjoy the wafting in the Beemer and the sense of trying to keep momentum in the bus although I miss the warp speed of my faster cars.
In real world driving, the only time I miss the power is when there's a train of cars pootling along and I don't have the sheer pace to take on more than a single car overtake safely now so often just sit back and pootle with them.
Pretty sure next car will be upwards on the bhp tree though.
Went from a 210 leon to a 130 bhp lightweight weekend seveneque kit car, and a classic mini then now 62bhp turbo kei car. Mini Nd thd Vanzato put a zmkle on your face evefy dfive, leon was effortless and boring, kit car the most fun you can have with ,cothes on, so i say if yoj pick wisely the drop is eaxy.
Riknos said:
I went from 300 BHP to 49 BHP - It was a shock at first
Similar to me, I switch from 270bhp to 55bhp (in similar weight cars) quite regularly. In every day driving, the main difference is joining motorways/pulling out at junctions, cruising on the motorway is hard work too.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff