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After reading many threads around here, I've asked myself this question more than once.."is it EVER enough power?". I have been in the game off and on since 1996, and things have changed DRASTICALLY since then. For example, I can remember a guy that was on our local scene that had a turbo Mustang around 1999 (FI was NOT the norm at that time btw) . The car made something like 550whp, and ran somewhere in the 10s around 130ish... and all we could do was Marvel at how much power it made and how fast it was, as we were trying to get used to our 305 horses at the CRANK. I was out of the game for a few years, and got back in early 2015. Bought me a '94 z28....put a AFR headed 383 in the car because all I wanted was "something mild to cruise in". That lasted a few months....then I jumped out the window with this current car. This car makes just under 800whp....and I'm now convinced that I NEED 1kwhp (that is, after the Th400 and real rear end ). Then, to top it all off....I see comments on here saying in essence that 700-800whp is basically underpowered. It just makes me wonder, are we ever really satisfied?? I say we, because I'm just as guilty as everyone else.
I've never personally driven/ owned a car with over 500hp. I remember the first time I drove my vette (dynod only 350hp to wheels) felt like a rocket ship and now on feel like it's kind of slow. I'm building a twin turbo 5.3 to go in there, will start at 600hp and turn up from there to around 900 to a thousand hp. I'm sure we all get used to hp and want more, but to be perfectly honest, I don't crave power on the street, I daily drive a 2011 mini Cooper John cooper works with like 200hp and it's a pretty fun car to throw around. but I feel like it would be better with 350hp lol so I'm getting ready for my next project which will be a 5.3 swapped r53 mini Cooper.
I took a decade long break from about 2003 until 2013 and since then the whole perception of what is possible for the average guy has changed thanks to fuel injection and forced induction.
i used to be happy with big blocks and carbs that ran fairly good. i'd have been really happy with anything i could do to add 40 hp at the crank, and then strain myself to see if i could actually feel the difference
now if it doesnt get 100 at the wheels im like "why bother?"
i blame the auto manufacturers, every year one is trying to out do the other... its crazy to think that everyday production cars come with 6-700+hp now and it gets higher every year, its just easier to make that kind of power efficiently with todays technology, i dont think itll ever be enough for anybody lol
if you can have more why not? its easy enough if you have the money.
as long as your doing it for your self and not just to compare with other I see nothing wrong with it.
were all in it for the enjoyment of it some off us just require more power lol
on a side note what tires are you using on the street for 800whp? what sort of traction are you getting?
if you can have more why not? its easy enough if you have the money.
as long as your doing it for your self and not just to compare with other I see nothing wrong with it.
were all in it for the enjoyment of it some off us just require more power lol
on a side note what tires are you using on the street for 800whp? what sort of traction are you getting?
I'm using nittto g2 555 street compound 320....315 35 17. They do somewhat decent in warm weather, but in cool weather they are useless at any speed. Going to mount some ET streets on a spare set of wheels next season. Tired of jacking around.
I took a decade long break from about 2003 until 2013 and since then the whole perception of what is possible for the average guy has changed thanks to fuel injection and forced induction.
i used to be happy with big blocks and carbs that ran fairly good. i'd have been really happy with anything i could do to add 40 hp at the crank, and then strain myself to see if i could actually feel the difference
now if it doesnt get 100 at the wheels im like "why bother?"
I'm with you. My last motor in 2004 was a 468 with a solid roller, GM performance rectangle heads, topped off with a 1050 carb. Totally different game now, need to jump at least a 100whp or its not really worth it.
I've never personally driven/ owned a car with over 500hp. I remember the first time I drove my vette (dynod only 350hp to wheels) felt like a rocket ship and now on feel like it's kind of slow. I'm building a twin turbo 5.3 to go in there, will start at 600hp and turn up from there to around 900 to a thousand hp. I'm sure we all get used to hp and want more, but to be perfectly honest, I don't crave power on the street, I daily drive a 2011 mini Cooper John cooper works with like 200hp and it's a pretty fun car to throw around. but I feel like it would be better with 350hp lol so I'm getting ready for my next project which will be a 5.3 swapped r53 mini Cooper.
Nice looking motor. That should be a wild ride for SURE! That car can't help but to be fast with even just a very mild power plant.
700-800rwhp cars are slow as *****. Only when cars get 1500+ to the tire they start to get out of there own way. Lol. Talked to a guy at the track last week. His car only put about 800 to the wheels but trapped just under 200 in the 1/4.
700-800rwhp cars are slow as *****. Only when cars get 1500+ to the tire they start to get out of there own way. Lol. Talked to a guy at the track last week. His car only put about 800 to the wheels but trapped just under 200 in the 1/4.
I'm guessing his car weighed about 2,000 pounds? 😂😂😂
That Mini looks like it will be fun! What trans will be used in the swap?
Originally Posted by LS325ci
if you can have more why not? its easy enough if you have the money.
as long as your doing it for your self and not just to compare with other I see nothing wrong with it.
were all in it for the enjoyment of it some off us just require more power lol
on a side note what tires are you using on the street for 800whp? what sort of traction are you getting?
Agree, I just like to tinker. If tinkering results in more power then win!
295/55/15 Hoosier DR's work pretty well everywhere. Street tires with over 600hp is a pretty useless endeavor if you're actually trying to accelerate.
Nice looking motor. That should be a wild ride for SURE! That car can't help but to be fast with even just a very mild power plant.
Thank you, I put it together a few months ago, I'm hoping to make it a sleeper, stock wheels etc but with an electric cutout so I can scare the **** out of other people lol. there's an old Volvo station wagon with an ls6 in town and it's louder than my vette, ear piercing, but it's one of the coolest sleepers ive seen
Thank you, I put it together a few months ago, I'm hoping to make it a sleeper, stock wheels etc but with an electric cutout so I can scare the **** out of other people lol. there's an old Volvo station wagon with an ls6 in town and it's louder than my vette, ear piercing, but it's one of the coolest sleepers ive seen
I wonder if it's the same volvo I seen on here. I think it's called "Lolvo".
It all depends on how fast you get used to it, who you run around with, and what the norm is in your circle.
Don't race people making more power than you unless they're heavier, saves money
In all seriousness, I've been into hot rods and drag racing since '99. Back then 12 second quarter mile times were considered fast. There were a handful of old school 5.0 mustangs that would run around with stroker 347s and big n2o shots (big back then was 150-200 shot) that would run mid/low 10s and be considered among the fastest streetable cars in town.
Back in 2008 a group of friends and I put together a local group that embraced 'fast' from other stuff than GM, and around that time 500-700rwhp was considered very fast for daily driveable street cars and most of those cars were going mid-high 10s.
Now a days its all about the hp number and racing from 60-160mph. We're all getting older and things begin to have different value and meaning in our lives, at least for me - such as wife and kids - and it's not worth it to me risking losing that doing this type of thing anymore on public roads.
The closest track around here is a 1/4 mile, and that's what I always intended to build a car for. Something daily driveable, that could go out and run 10.00s and can be driven home with the a/c on full blast on 17" tires (DRs of course) has always been my ultimate goal. 9.99 is where the virtual line is drawn for much more serious safety equipment and full cage, and that's a very respectable and pretty uncommon number to run regardless of what others may say.
I started out with cam and heads SBC in my high school years and a little after, got a d1sc procharger for a 00 ta that made 460ish to the tire on a stock ls1 11 years ago then put forged internals in, upped it to 600 ish. Got bored with that and later went to an f1a with 800 or so in my daily driver. That was hellishly allow after a while�� and along came my twin turbos where I was making 1200 to the tire last year! Haven't put all that to the ground yet but I figured why not add a little more....... So now im going bigger twins and 1600 next season! Lol. The addiction never ends!
It all depends on how fast you get used to it, who you run around with, and what the norm is in your circle.
Don't race people making more power than you unless they're heavier, saves money
In all seriousness, I've been into hot rods and drag racing since '99. Back then 12 second quarter mile times were considered fast. There were a handful of old school 5.0 mustangs that would run around with stroker 347s and big n2o shots (big back then was 150-200 shot) that would run mid/low 10s and be considered among the fastest streetable cars in town.
Back in 2008 a group of friends and I put together a local group that embraced 'fast' from other stuff than GM, and around that time 500-700rwhp was considered very fast for daily driveable street cars and most of those cars were going mid-high 10s.
Now a days its all about the hp number and racing from 60-160mph. We're all getting older and things begin to have different value and meaning in our lives, at least for me - such as wife and kids - and it's not worth it to me risking losing that doing this type of thing anymore on public roads.
The closest track around here is a 1/4 mile, and that's what I always intended to build a car for. Something daily driveable, that could go out and run 10.00s and can be driven home with the a/c on full blast on 17" tires (DRs of course) has always been my ultimate goal. 9.99 is where the virtual line is drawn for much more serious safety equipment and full cage, and that's a very respectable and pretty uncommon number to run regardless of what others may say.
Man I'm with you on that 60-160 stuff. I just don't have the nerve to pull those types of stunts on the street. Up around 100 I'm pretty much done
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The never ending quest.... 
LOL 
