Maximum Useful Power in a street car

[ROGUE GTS]

It depends on the car and the setup. 800hp to the wheels is very easy to drive and control with a well tuned turbo car. The key is doing it with a big motor that makes enough torque N/A you don't need to scream it.

Vipers are marvelous at this. Size the turbos so they don't really come on till ~3k rpm, and they are wonderful to drive around town. I've gotten caught in the rain driving a 12xx rwhp car that was on drag radials, no issues what so ever. It's all in the power delivery.

Having a car that drives like stock, gets around 25mpg on the highway, and will clip a high 8 in the 160's on 18" drag radials and 93 pump gas is about perfect IMO. While still having a working A/C, power windows, stereo, etc.

Anything over 1k to the wheels can get a bit hairy on the highway when you stand on it, spinning the tires at 150mph.

[Gunner]

It depends on the car and the setup. 800hp to the wheels is very easy to drive and control with a well tuned turbo car. The key is doing it with a big motor that makes enough torque N/A you don't need to scream it.

Vipers are marvelous at this. Size the turbos so they don't really come on till ~3k rpm, and they are wonderful to drive around town. I've gotten caught in the rain driving a 12xx rwhp car that was on drag radials, no issues what so ever. It's all in the power delivery.

Having a car that drives like stock, gets around 25mpg on the highway, and will clip a high 8 in the 160's on 18" drag radials and 93 pump gas is about perfect IMO. While still having a working A/C, power windows, stereo, etc.

Anything over 1k to the wheels can get a bit hairy on the highway when you stand on it, spinning the tires at 150mph.

You have described my car very well other than the mileage if driven Conservative I can do better than 25 mpg
I know of a Corvette with 2400 HP and it is driven on the street in Dayton, ohio and on weekend runs low 6 second quarter.
I don't understand why some think you can only drive a 400 hp car on the street

[jdavis]

I dont think anybody has said you cant drive more hp than that. The post says 'useful" hp not max hp for the street.

I have driven a 33 ford zipper with well over 1000rwhp from a turbo'ed 440" lsx engine. It can be driven in traffic if all you want to do is idle it. Cars like that will see tripple digit mph from one small blip of the gas. It doesnt work so great when you get stuck behind some tard in a 8000lb suv who doesnt know what the long pedal on the right is for. Car is absolutely insane when you can open it up, problem is the only place you can even get close to that is the race track.

Even 450rwhp is enough to get goofy trying to pass somebody. What happens when you nail a 1000+hp car on the street at 60mph is something nobody is equipped to deal with. You can cruise a car like that with not alot of effort if its done properly no arguement there, no way can you use it all while on the street though, not even half.

[ROGUE GTS]

Even 450rwhp is enough to get goofy trying to pass somebody. What happens when you nail a 1000+hp car on the street at 60mph is something nobody is equipped to deal with. You can cruise a car like that with not alot of effort if its done properly no arguement there, no way can you use it all while on the street though, not even half.

Thats all in the power delivery, tires, and suspension setup. Done right, 800rwhp should just about dead hook in 2nd at 60mph or so on regular street radials.

Besides, this is why they made standalone PCM's with boost controllers so you can limit boost by mph or by gear. 600 in 1st, 800 in 2nd, 1000 in 3rd gets it done.

I've found if you have the turbo sized properly it won't load the motor hard enough in 1st gear to make full boost on street tires anyway. (At least on a big CI motor).

"Useful" on the street/highway really depends on what you're willing to do with it. Some people like doing highway runs against bikes and such on various closed to the public tracks And a dead hook 800rwhp at 60mph that turns into 1000 at about 100mph will walk away from a 1L sport bike like it's tied to an overpass.

[Gunner]

Even 450rwhp is enough to get goofy trying to pass somebody. What happens when you nail a 1000+hp car on the street at 60mph is something nobody is equipped to deal with. You can cruise a car like that with not alot of effort if its done properly no arguement there, no way can you use it all while on the street though, not even half.

Thats all in the power delivery, tires, and suspension setup. Done right, 800rwhp should just about dead hook in 2nd at 60mph or so on regular street radials.

Besides, this is why they made standalone PCM's with boost controllers so you can limit boost by mph or by gear. 600 in 1st, 800 in 2nd, 1000 in 3rd gets it done.

I've found if you have the turbo sized properly it won't load the motor hard enough in 1st gear to make full boost on street tires anyway. (At least on a big CI motor).

"Useful" on the street/highway really depends on what you're willing to do with it. Some people like doing highway runs against bikes and such on various closed to the public tracks And a dead hook 800rwhp at 60mph that turns into 1000 at about 100mph will walk away from a 1L sport bike like it's tied to an overpass.

Right you are.
I ran a Gixxer and I pulled him some to 80 above 80 it was no contest.
If you can not hook with only 400 hp you have a poor suspension or tire or more likely both.
If you need to peddle it in first that don't mean you are over powered what about 4th-5th-6th that is where the big torque really shines when you are not multiplying it through the gears.

[jdavis]

Yeah, i'm wrong. You can hook 1000rwhp on the street just fine no problems every time.

[ROGUE GTS]

Yeah, i'm wrong. You can hook 1000rwhp on the street just fine no problems every time.

If you drive with a bit of common sense and realize the throttle isn't an on/off switch, and the car is setup properly you damn well can easily drive 1k hp on the street and use every bit of it.

Obviously it's not going to hook a 6k rpm clutch drop, but that would be pointless anyway. It will run 80-210ish in under 10 seconds though

[Dodge Freak]

It depends on the car and how its set up too. A newer Mustang, no way, way too light in back.

Guess you can add weight in back and try to remove weight in front. Battery in the trunk is a start. Narrow rear ends and wider tires can help-until they are wet.

Now if there was someway of putting traction control like the new cars have, that be just great. Hopefully the aftermarket will soon come up with stuff. ABS could be nice too--like for in the rain, I would want a on-off switch thou.

[Gunner]

It depends on the car and how its set up too. A newer Mustang, no way, way too light in back.

Guess you can add weight in back and try to remove weight in front. Battery in the trunk is a start. Narrow rear ends and wider tires can help-until they are wet.

Now if there was someway of putting traction control like the new cars have, that be just great. Hopefully the aftermarket will soon come up with stuff. ABS could be nice too--like for in the rain, I would want a on-off switch thou.

The controls you speak of are available for forced Induction but with NA engine you are screwed because if you make big power it is NOT streetable.
Some who have them say they are streetable but if you listen to it run you know better.
That is why I stated in my first post that a high power streetable car should be forced induction.
The Boost and Nitrous are computer controlled and with the right chassis and proper setup using big power is very doable on the street
You can not use all that power in the first 2 gears but as you go up through the gears you can use more power and that is where the lower HP engine is screwed it lacks the power in the higher gears.
My boost and Nitrous is controlled by a DFI wide band fuel management system works very well.
Beats old school way of doing things every time.

[ROGUE GTS]

It depends on the car and how its set up too. A newer Mustang, no way, way too light in back.

Guess you can add weight in back and try to remove weight in front. Battery in the trunk is a start. Narrow rear ends and wider tires can help-until they are wet.

Now if there was someway of putting traction control like the new cars have, that be just great. Hopefully the aftermarket will soon come up with stuff. ABS could be nice too--like for in the rain, I would want a on-off switch thou.

The controls you speak of are available for forced Induction but with NA engine you are screwed because if you make big power it is NOT streetable.
Some who have them say they are streetable but if you listen to it run you know better.
That is why I stated in my first post that a high power streetable car should be forced induction.
The Boost and Nitrous are computer controlled and with the right chassis and proper setup using big power is very doable on the street
You can not use all that power in the first 2 gears but as you go up through the gears you can use more power and that is where the lower HP engine is screwed it lacks the power in the higher gears.
My boost and Nitrous is controlled by a DFI wide band fuel management system works very well.
Beats old school way of doing things every time.

Yep... N/A won't get it done, even superchargers aren't the best. Turbos don't need or like a lot of cam which really is the key to a happy daily driver.

Big cubes, under 7k rpm, and it will be smooth as silk.