What power is sensible for the road?

[LeeThr]

Inspired by the Reliable 1000bhp thread.

J4CKO said:

Is a 1000 bhp fairly pointless in most applications though ?

The Veyron was engineered to deploy it, as a package, whereas something that just has 1000 bhp sounds fun, I would
imagine it would be a mixture of utter terror, expense and limited opportunities to actually use it, without 4wd it wont make its way to the tarmac, most 4wd systems wont put up with it and self destruct and RWD being the other option just results in a lot of smoke or the requirement for drag slicks.



Great in Gran Turismo, Dragsters and Gran Turismo but a 1000 bhp road car sounds like overkill to me.

Still, wouldn't mind finding out for myself.

What power would be sensible not to be an overkill on the road. I know this will depend on the setup and the drive train etc.

Also no smart comments about only needing what will get you to 70mph either.

[LeeThr]

RWD cossie wil said:

About 400Bhp is entertaining, but you can NEVER have too much power

I know you can never have too much power. What im getting at is at what point does it start to become too impracticle for daily use. Like I know I wouldnt like to be sat in one of Londons rush hour 10mph traffic jams in a 900bhp supra.

[LeeThr]

twazzock said:

Urban Sports said:

Surely in this country you only need enough power to get to 70mph

Yes, but what if you like doing track days as well? I know the obvious awnser is two car's one for commuting one as a track day slag. But for the small minority that use there commuter as there track car at the same time, what would you balance the power at vs practicality.

[LeeThr]

marcosgt said:

It doesn't matter as long as the car can put it down in a tractable and docile manner.

Having 1000BHP doesn't mean you can't tootle along at 10MPH in traffic.

Power's not the problem, it's how you've obtained it and how the car delivers it.

M

Yes I know that, but with the clutch you would need to handle that power how long are you gonna lost stop start traffic?

[LeeThr]

ewenm said:

LeeThr said:

marcosgt said:

It doesn't matter as long as the car can put it down in a tractable and docile manner.

Having 1000BHP doesn't mean you can't tootle along at 10MPH in traffic.

Power's not the problem, it's how you've obtained it and how the car delivers it.

M

Yes I know that, but with the clutch you would need to handle that power how long are you gonna lost stop start traffic?

You won't be putting all that power (and torque) through the clutch when in traffic unless it all comes at 1500rpm.

I didnt mean like that, I ment the clutch you would end up with would be extremly heavy, and being on and off that for an age during traffic would be a daunting task.

[LeeThr]

ewenm said:

LeeThr said:

ewenm said:

LeeThr said:

marcosgt said:

It doesn't matter as long as the car can put it down in a tractable and docile manner.

Having 1000BHP doesn't mean you can't tootle along at 10MPH in traffic.

Power's not the problem, it's how you've obtained it and how the car delivers it.

M

Yes I know that, but with the clutch you would need to handle that power how long are you gonna lost stop start traffic?

You won't be putting all that power (and torque) through the clutch when in traffic unless it all comes at 1500rpm.

I didnt mean like that, I ment the clutch you would end up with would be extremly heavy, and being on and off that for an age during traffic would be a daunting task.

Fair enough, does come down to the driver at the end of the day as well. I was just going on from what ive experianced. My little pug has a fairly heavy clutch for what it is but its fine, I did notice it a bit after climing out of my instructors fiesta. I really dont notice it anymore and completly forgot about it, untill the other night when my mate sat in it and put his foot on the clutch commenting it was fairly heavy. I do however know how heavy the clutch on my dad's Evo is, and I really would strugle to drive that around town. Im sure after a few trips Id get used to it. But the first few would be hell and my left leg would be significantally bigger than my right

Possibly, although the road legal high power Audi dragster that was on Fifth Gear a while back seemed to be well behaved and drivable in town.

[LeeThr]

J4CKO said:

marcosgt said:

It doesn't matter as long as the car can put it down in a tractable and docile manner.

Having 1000BHP doesn't mean you can't tootle along at 10MPH in traffic.

Power's not the problem, it's how you've obtained it and how the car delivers it.

M

I agree to a certain extent but a normal 200 bhp car will exceed every speed limit in the land within about 9 seconds, not wanting to sound like "Brake" but once you get past 300 bhp in an average weight car it is differing degrees of overkill, if it spends most time "tootling" that's fine but when you do open it up you are so far away from legality it is such a risk to your licence.

I think we have lost our way a bit, the German power battle where we have 500/600 bhp monsters, that make all that power only to have it show as a flashing light on the dash until silly speeds (Unless 4wd), these kind of cars are epic but too competent and like a Eurofighter, that without the computers is unflyable for the pilot, for most, a 600 bhp Merc without the electronics would be a recipe for exiting the road very quickly, like my dads old boss that binned 2 of the original XJR's when 300 odd bhp didnt mix with a wet road.


Its probably more down to bhp/tonne and a host of other factors.

Yes, I dont think there ever will be a deffinate awnser to this question. Theres just too many factors, which is the reason there are so many different types of car on offer from various manufactures. Stating the obvious I know, but there we go.

[LeeThr]

ewenm said:

A lot of it can be down to clutch setup though - the clutch feel in the Caterham improved substantially when I replaced the cable and re-routed it slightly. It went from surprisingly heavy to quite light with a very simple change.

True, I think it's just down to the 6 padle clutch thats in it now. When it had the standard clutch in I remember it being a lot lighter.

[LeeThr]

TheArchitect said:

Max_Torque said:

I think at about 150bhp/ton, you have a car which is brisk enough to be fun and can overtake other slower cars ok. Any less than that and a lot of oportunities to overtake become too risky. Any more is not neccessary/useable really in modern road conditions in the UK ;-(

Completely Agree, any more is nice but its a good place imo.

Yer, also depends on where you drive as well. For instance if you just drive around towns and cities at 30-40 you wont need as much power. However if your like me in the towns but also out in the countryside the extra power is useful for when you get stuck behind a tractor, or tourist or just an incompetent driver. I have missed countless overtaking opportunities simply because I felt it wasnt safe to do so because of how slow my car picks up. I think with maby an extra 5 or 10 bhp I would have been able to execute them safely.