Topic: How much horsepower is enough for you?

[aquadorhj]

nowdays, cars get bigger and heavier, hence, generally need more power anyway, but compared to olden days, even mid size family sedans move at lightening speed.. (290HP Camry??  Ferrari 348 made less than that!!)

but really.. how much of those power do you use?
you barely ever see more than 50% throttle in your day to day driving, do you?

and like TTbob says, for me, 550HP supersedans are becoming less interesting as more white hairs creep into my scalp.  (must be losing testosterone..    )

but i don't want to give up power entirely..  sure I WANT to experience 550+ HP sometime..  but i think i will do nicely with 400.    RS4 is going to be my next ride..    (way way in to the future...  )

what about you?   what power are you happy with now or you think you will be happy with?

[mmret]

I'd take 200hp if it came with 260lbft at 1500rpm. Torque is where its at in the real world.

[aquadorhj]

I'd take 200hp if it came with 260lbft at 1500rpm. Torque is where its at in the real world.

isn't that the 2L VW/Audi turbo?  211 HP 256ft/lbs? 

[mmret]

Yes. But I would improve upon those numbers if I could only stop kidding around in amateur hour.


Achtung baby. 211hp 400tq depending on year.

[Fobroader]

Well, since I love AMGs and GM V8s.....I gotta say at least 400HP+ in any kind of dream car. Daily driver, Id say anything about 300HPish is ok.

[Snowman]

Depends on weight.

[blur911]

Depends on weight.

Yup, 190hp is adequate in my lightened 911, 212hp is a bit anemic in our Outback VDC.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

The 3.6R had 256hp, but it was very seldom that I'd use more than half of that.

The XV has 148hp. I use more of the throttle than in the 3.6, but I could probably count the number of times I hit the power peak on the fingers of one hand.

I'm pretty much at the point where I'm more interested in seeing sights and chatting with Lady Osis than setting new speed records between landmarks. She's actually accused me of driving like an old man. I asked her if she'd prefer that I drive as I did when I was 24. She said categorically "NO!". I'm fine with that.

[johngenx]

One great thing about the Miata is that I can use everything the car has to offer without driving well, too far, into illegal territory.  Even though the car only has 128hp, the 2200lb weight means it's pretty perky.

Driving the LS3 Miata was incredible, but using the power means you're in constant danger of prison time.

[aquadorhj]

Depends on weight.

of course it depends on the weight.  but given weight of the car (or class of car) that you prefer, how much HP is enough for you(not just you snowy, in general)?

i think 200hp per metric ton makes a very entertaining compromise.  more is better but doesn't have to be exceedingly powerful.

which in RS4 would be slightly less than 400...  (

[Black Hatch]

Depends on weight.

of course it depends on the weight.  but given weight of the car (or class of car) that you prefer, how much HP is enough for you(not just you snowy, in general)?
i think 200hp per metric ton makes a very entertaining compromise.  more is better but doesn't have to be exceedingly powerful.
which in RS4 would be slightly less than 400...  (

How about acceleration time from 0 - 60 MPH (100kph) time instead (as a function of weight and horsepower)

Less than 2.5 seconds
Less than 5 seconds
Less than 7.5 seconds
Less than 10 seconds
Less than 12.5 seconds
Less than 15 seconds
Greater than 15 seconds

Much better measuring stick than strictly horsepower.
Too soon?

[blur911]

I thought every vehicle I owned had adequate horsepower, until I drove something faster

[Fobroader]

I thought every vehicle I owned had adequate horsepower, until I drove something faster

Thats the perfect way to put it!!!!

[huota]

One could cop out by saying nothing's ever enough or it's enough when you can break traction at will in any gear at any speed.

Meanwhile in the real world, in a place far away from race tracks and autobahns, it's a different story.

I find one hp per kg is very entertaining, but way too much to properly enjoy on public roads (excluding autobahns). Getting to 200+ kph in a blink of an eye on an off-ramp or similar is fun, but stressful at the same time (is that a cop car in front of me, will that driver see me or pull in front of me, will this cost me my license or thousands of coins and so on).

400-ish hp is mildly entertaining most of the time, but can be very entertaining if you can find that perfect little piece of twisty back road. This is of course assuming that that 400+ hp is coupled to a capable sports car, not a truck or a camry.

I used to think that 300 hp would be the minimum acceptable hp for my next car. Then for some reason I went from a modest 230 hp to a very modest 140 hp thinking that it would make a difference to the velocity of my travels on a daily basis. It didn't change a thing. Perhaps thanks to more low end torque (diesel) I find myself zipping along at the same pace and finding everybody else on the road to be on the slow side ;P

I know people who drive their "sporty" or "powerful" V8s in a point-and-squirt way. I suppose these drivers feel that they can never have too much power to accelerate down the next straight line. At the same time, no amount of power can save them from the poor driving skills they're trying to compensate with power.

Power is nothing without control.

[tpl]

My last 4 cars have all had bhp  in the 200 bhp region and torque over 240 lbs/ft
A4 chipped     200
BMW              230
GTI                200
B                   208

All but the B had turbochargers and their torque came on strong below 2000 rpm. I think that this made them better to drive ( believe it or not!) than the BMW which needed 3500 rpm to really get going.

So I'd say that for me 200-240 bhp and a flat torque curve does it...in any car of a size and weight that I'd buy.

[me_2]

Torque is everything, hum .. almost  My Chevy Volt with its 370Nm (273Lb-Ft) of torque from 0 RPM are quite enough for me. Oh, btw it is rated  111kW (149Hp)

So, what is torque? As per definition seen http://www.physics.uoguelph.ca/tutorials/torque/Q.torque.intro.html : "Torque is a measure of how much a force acting on an object causes that object to rotate". In my short book, its translate by: Torque force X rotational Speed = developed Power.

Have you memory of the preview here on Autos.ca preview about the Chevy Spark EV ? http://www.autos.ca/auto-shows/preview-2014-chevrolet-spark-ev/ or for a quick summary, there is http://insideevs.com/gm-general-says-spark-evs-400lb-ft-of-torque-no-misprint/

Why do I bring up the Spark EV to the subject? Maybe because I had an opportunity last week-end to test drive one, privately imported, so I jumped in. This was a "torquey" kicking a..  experience I must say, nothing compared to a Tesla but as city / suburb sub-compact with enough room to fit comfortably 4 adults, it can be a "kick down ready" funny daily driver!!

ps: the sticky greenish color material add-on is removable!

Unfortunately, for now as 2014MY, it is only available as fleet cars in Canada. Maybe next (model) year it would become available through the retail channel, who knows..?
Not exactly in the same category but the BMW i3 should become on sale here about that time (unless they are overflow by mondial orders  ) more options are better than none!
 

[No H2O]

Sitting behind a left-lane dreamer with his thumb stuck up his butt and a clear lane ahead of them, I always joke about how they probably asked the salesperson "how much HP does it have". Cripes, they can't even find their gas pedal (or right lane) if their life depended on it.

I prefer low end torque to some high reving sewing machine. And in the end, I'll get on two wheels if performance really matters.

[phazotron]

Torque. The kind of torque that can get you going off the line quick in city driving.  My van has more than enough hp but it can use more torque.

[Thinking Out Loud]

The jump from 3.8's 202 hp / 237 lb'  to 3.6's Pentastar 285 hp / 260 lb'  makes a HUGE difference in drivability in my Wrangler Sahara vs my friends Wranglers with the old motor.

The 200 hp / 200 lb' in the 2006 Mazda MPV has been adequate even when fully loaded.

I voted 250 by the by.

[me_2]

GM shows at the latest SEMA show, a fine tune Spark EV with 450Lb-ft of torque.
http://insideevs.com/chevy-spark-ev-tech-performance-concept-to-debut-at-sema/
Please note the standard one is rated 400Lb-ft from 0-2000 rpm

A short but funny video review http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTL8upQrBVE

But as huota already said

Power is nothing without control.