How much horsepower is too much?, for a road car.... |
|
Porsche, and the Porsche crest are registered trademarks of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG.
This site is not affiliated with Porsche in any way. Its only purpose is to provide an online forum for car enthusiasts. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. |
|
How much horsepower is too much?, for a road car.... |
tadink |
Apr 19 2013, 05:28 PM
Post
#1
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 379 Joined: 28-December 09 From: Napa Member No.: 11,181 Region Association: Northern California |
Hey all -
I've been looking at options for increased HP and have run across some crazy stuff, and that got me thinking about "how much is too much"? This would be an occasional track car, AX often, mostly street, preferably reliable. I've seen recently, in no particular order: 3.2L pretty stock, 3.3L race prepped turbo, 2.7 or 2.8 race prepped, v-8 twin turbo (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) , and other various mixes of suby-turbo, McMark's turbo 1.7L project, etc etc. so, for you high HP guys out there - when does the car get just too silly to be practical on the street? 300bhp? 400bhp? 600bhp? 900bhp? and what makes it not so enjoyable to drive around 'normally'? One guy described his 2.7 race engine as just too high strung for the street - - - so that means that you have to get into higher revs to get the power from the cam? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) edumacate me pls...... td |
tadink |
Apr 23 2013, 10:03 PM
Post
#2
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 379 Joined: 28-December 09 From: Napa Member No.: 11,181 Region Association: Northern California |
Great discussion - thanks for all who have contributed -
Here's why I asked the original question - there was a car for sale in SF CL that was advertised at "900 HP". I was interested since the build since the parts used seemed first class, and the the engine pedigree was top notch (Keith Black - race engine builder). Turbo V8. I went to look at it and drive it - and, well, it was as advertised but was in need of serious sorting out. What I found was that the race engine combined with a ZF trans and race pedal cluster meant that it was nearly impossible to drive! The clutch pedal throw was maybe 2 inches, and the lack of low end torque meant that you could hardly launch. Once you were on the gas and rolling - watch out - went like the hounds from hell. But in between - lack of low end grunt, lightweight flywheel, huge clutch, no throw, etc. made the car completely ridiculous for common drive around town comfort. Perhaps with some sorting and some clutch pedal work the thing might have been more workable - but the race bred high revving engine was a poor match for the rest of the build. so, I'll answer my own question, if you are driving in normal around-town-traffic, too much horsepower is probably possible if the build is not well matched to the engine. I believe the engine torque curve in this instance is probably right for the track (maybe), but starting out on a hill in SF in traffic would be nearly impossible. I'm now thinking - as result of much of this discussion - that a 3.2 would be just about the perfect powerplant for a semi-practical all around car - some street, able to get thru SF, and decent AX and track beast. Great discussion - thanks again! td |
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 2nd June 2024 - 02:14 AM |
All rights reserved 914World.com © since 2002 |
914World.com is the fastest growing online 914 community! We have it all, classifieds, events, forums, vendors, parts, autocross, racing, technical articles, events calendar, newsletter, restoration, gallery, archives, history and more for your Porsche 914 ... |