HORSEPOWER WARS ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

[NISSANSPDR]

What's going w/the HP wars? I mean cant u see where this is all going? Back a few years ago...one paid $25k for a car w/155HP...it was called the 240SX...(course I didnt pay that much since I got mine used...but I digress)...

Now for about $26k...you can pick up a 287HP car...it's called the 350Z.

And lets not forget for about $30-35k you can pick up a car w/a whopping 390HP...it's called the SVT Mustang. It has a nasty blower.

Now as time moves on and we demand more car for the money...what will see next? V8's under 30k? We already have that w/the Mustang GT...but will we see it under 20K? Maybe V10's under 40k? Who knows...

All I know is that HP keeps going up and up...450HP RS6, 500HP Viper, 405HP ZO6, 400HP M5...not to mention real exotic cars like the 508HP 575Maranello or F1 McLaren's or that weird Bugatti car EB110B or Jaguar XJ220...etc etc.

Will it ever stop or level off or are we just gonna get more HP for less?

(Rant off)

[Grendel]

Originally posted by NISSANSPDR
Will it ever stop or level off or are we just gonna get more HP for less?
(Rant off)

I hope it never stops... prices should keep falling, and hp should keep rising...

I wish it was still like the 60s and 70s, my dad was telling me about his Pontiac GTO that he bought used from some old man, I think he said he paid around a grand for it... I paid $950 for my Z... 30 years ago I could have had a car that was twice as fast for around the same ammount

-Grendel

[YogsVR4]

I too hope this trend doesn't end. Obviously, there is a point that the horsepower will be to much for a day to day driver to handle, but for the rest of us BRING THAT HP ON!













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[Gravitom]

Just wait until new emission and fuel economy laws get passed. It will be a never ending cycle. In 20 years we'll be driving 1 liter cars with 200hp and get 50mpg. Well maybe not, but you get the idea.

[Holyterror]

1 liter, 200 hp, 50 mpg... not as unlikely as you think.

Saab has a prototype motor that is sending the automotive industy into convulsions. It's called the SVC or Saab Variable Compression motor. It is almost a conventional design, except for one thing: the cylinders are built into the head, creating what Saab calls a [i]monohead./[i] A type of rubber bellows between the monohead and block allows them to effectively alter the compression ratio of the engine by tilting the monohead back up to 4 degrees. At low RPM, the engine runs at 14:1 compression, gradually lowering to 8:1 as RPMs rise. Additional power is achieved as compression drops thanks to a supercharger that miraculously cranks out 40 psi! The s/c alone is worth looking at, but the whole package is extremely impressive: 225 hp, 224 ft/lbs from a 1.6 liter DOHC inline 5. Mileage is somewhere around 60 mpg (an estimate since it's not actually in a car yet), but Saab projects 80 mpg out of the final product.

If this all pans out (and it probably will), the internal combustion engine may have another 100 years worth of steam in it. Many futurists say that they'll go the way of the dodo in the next 25 years, but compare an 80 mpg 225 hp car with the slow-as-molasses hybrids we have. Battery technology has made some major advances (mainly materials), but not enough to make purely electric vehicles feasable for most drivers. As engines become more dynamic, the massive energy potential of petroleum is better utilised in our cars.

Of course, engine development could go the other way entirely. With the ongoing development of CVTs (continuously variable transmissions), we may end up with diesel engines that only operate at a specific RPM, and let the transmission do the rest of the work.

Personally, I think that hybrids could be a good thing, if manufacturers are smart about them. Acura supposedly has a car in the works that exploits the low-RPM torque of DC motors and the high-end power of a race-tuned gasoline engine. Something around 400 hp total. Using a variable compression engine along with some powerful electric motors, you could have one mean hybrid. Pipe dreams, perhaps, but we can hope.

Sorry, I know that was entirely too long. But don't worry, you'll get over it.

P.S. - I don't know if I'll ever get there, but I'm hoping that someday my 1.8 liter will put out ~300 hp and get 30-35 mpg. It's really just a matter of how much time and effort you put into the engine. Production engines will always be less powerful and less efficient than they could be.

[Fliquer]

one paid $25k for a car w/155HP...it was called the 240SX

The base 240sx has always been less than $20k, and most of that came from its multi-link rear suspension and rwd layout. Besides, the 240sx was more of a niche car (rwd import). Seven years ago, for the same price, you could get a Z28 w/ 287 horsepower.

I agree with your "horsepower for less" statement. I just dont think you used a good example.

[NISSANSPDR]

Originally posted by Fliquer


The base 240sx has always been less than $20k, and most of that came from its multi-link rear suspension and rwd layout. Besides, the 240sx was more of a niche car (rwd import). Seven years ago, for the same price, you could get a Z28 w/ 287 horsepower.

I agree with your "horsepower for less" statement. I just dont think you used a good example.

I am talking about the SE model...I think it MSRP'ed for around 23 or so...but again...I got mine used for like 14k at the end of 96 ( 95 SE model)

[thewhiteking]

yea i was just wondering if anyone can tell me what type of japanese made car would be a car that is very very cheap and has a good number of stock horsepower? a car that has style or the type that looks good with a body kit. eclipse? integra? someone please answer this for me as i am stuck in debating what car to start with and eventually fix it up.

[klohiq]

Originally Posted by Holyterror

If this all pans out (and it probably will), the internal combustion engine may have another 100 years worth of steam in it. Many futurists say that they'll go the way of the dodo in the next 25 years, but compare an 80 mpg 225 hp car with the slow-as-molasses hybrids we have. Battery technology has made some major advances (mainly materials), but not enough to make purely electric vehicles feasable for most drivers. As engines become more dynamic, the massive energy potential of petroleum is better utilised in our cars.

100 years? lol...well before then china and many other countries will be using so much fossil fuel that there won't be gasoline-powered cars. Biodiesel and various other fuels will be much more of a pressing issue than fuel economy or horsepower.

As much as cars w/ massive horsepower interest me, I think a (relatively) low horsepower motorcycle is way better...you are more involved...theres more dynamics/varibles to keep track of and they are easier to work on and do mods yourself. On top of that, what car in production right now gets 55-60mpg while still being able to accelerate down the 1320 in 12 seconds? And cost $2500...

[new2mitsu]

dude, this thread is like uber dead...

[BurntGauge]

Haha...I posted this in 2002. LOL So funny.