sleeper engine definition

me and my buddy are having a debate. see, i say that a sleeper engine is exactly how it sounds. it drives and sounds like a normal engine until it hits a certain gear, then wham, it unleashes a huge surge of power. my buddy says it's an uber powerful engine from the get go. it's all their the moment you start it up. so if anybody knows anything about engines like this could you please tell me what the engine is exactly.

Your right on this one. Kind of like having something like a '89 Plymoth Colt and pulling up to a nice looking camaro then once you race you lean on the gas then bam your gone. It is all about not looking like you can race it but in reality your car is a killing machine. Now I know a Colt can't probably beat a camaro even if it had mods done to it but I just wanted to use a nice example because all a Colt is, is an engine, a steering wheel and a seat. Hehe.

WTF? engine power has nothng to do with gearing....IMO sleeper=turbo with boost controller and quieter exaust....off boost for daily but when someone wants fo play you feed it the air it wants....

My definition of sleeper:

http://www.curtisandkim.com/wagonside.jpg

http://www.curtisandkim.com/newengine3.jpg

Stock stamped steel wheels with trim rings, stock steel valve covers, dual plane aluminum intake, stock carb, all emissions equipment, smooth idle, relatively quiet exhaust, A/C, and other things that make you think its a wheezer. In truth its a 400-hp thumper. That's what I call a sleeper. Looks stock but hauls butt.

Most of the time when you upgrade performance, it stands to reason (since owners take pride in their ride) that you add the good-looking stuff too, like polished valve covers, chrome plated goodies, and generally have show in addition to go.

So, my definition of sleeper is, extra go without any extra show.

I guess by that rationale, I might also say; ricers are all extra show with no extra go, or at least more show in proportion to the extra go. Most rice cars might have an exhaust system that accounts for a couple hp, but they they add ground effects, nose and tail treatments, a huge wing, and a 6" tach. More show than go.

i'm not from the days of huge muscle cars, but that is the era from which we get the term "sleeper." i have always been under the impression that a sleeper refered to a car that was usually not associated with performance, but got all of the goodies in an understated manner. such as a lincon mark 8 (i for got the roman numeral system rules) whoes owner installed a 4A 5.0L block with a ballanced recriprocating/ rotating assembly and forged pistons and crank. to top this dream block he used some well worked heads and a screw type super charger (not my thing, but it definately worked). behind this baby he put a beefed up c5 transmission with a shift kit for quicker and more firm gear changes and i'm sure that i remember the article mentioning a non stock final drive ratio. now for the kicker: this thing could haul! something like an 11 second quarter mile is surfacing in the mental excrement (slow cars don't get featured in car magazines anyway, so that is a nice conservative estimate). since a few years have surely twisted what was on those pages we will call this the discription of a hypothetical sleeper. a luxuary car that goes fast is a good illustration of a sleeper, especially with an eighty year old race car driver behind the wheel! who would expect that one?

on the other hand you could always go the other route and get a rust eaten body and throw in the hottest drivetrain that you can find. don't forget to dump some oil on the outside of the headers to complete the illusion of a car that is on its way to the junk yard for a long nap. that's enough to surprise anyone.

i guess in the end, like curtis was saying, it is all about the ratio of show to go. by the way, that is probably the coolest station wagon that i
have seen.

by the way, engine output has nothing to do with what gear the transmission is in.

that is probably the coolest station wagon that i
have seen..

Thanks :)

you guys just reminded me of something funny. me and my auto tech school buddies were thinking what ricers are thinking when they put all the spoilers, exhaust tips, and neons on their car.
we came up with practically a visa commercial.

spoiler: +5 hp
neons: +2hp
sponsor stickers: +1 hp (per sticker)
getting destroyed by an old clunker: PRICELESS

I thought it was funny.

Curtis i like that old rustey original Master cylender and resivior. gives it that original POS trash look. power brakes eh? if it drips and burns a little oil its perfect. throw some loose nuts and bolts down int the tail pipe to get them in the muffler so you get a little exaust rattle..... ;)

oh, but its still hella nice...

I got s#!t for not detailing the engine bay while the engine was out, but I kinda like it. I toyed with not painting the engine at all; just let it rust and stain, but I talked myself out of it.

I have read about a ford festiva sleeper car that whooped a ZO6

look in the video form.... motor scooter.... the ultamite sleeper.... aparently it is an old vid but it was new to me. i forget the name of the thread but it is something about Transam looses to moped....