I'd love to get a competition orange coupe, lower it, gut it, put some old fashioned hoosiers on it with black racing tires, twim turbo it, the works, and run it on 115 octane. I'd be getting like 800hp.
exdeath
Lifer
- Jan 29, 2004
- 13,679
- 10
- 81
Uhm... A Terminator Cobra regularly puts down 600-700 HP at the wheels at 18-20 lbs boost on 91-93 octane PUMP gas? And this is a STOCK engine.
In order to make 400+ HP out of a < 2.0L I4 you are running 30+ PSI boost with 116 octane, methanol injection, and nitrous, all on a heavily rebuilt engine.
You could get 1600+ HP out of a 4.6L engine with the same treatment. All else held equal, octane, boost PSI, CR, etc, you are going to being making a constant amount of power per CID, limited by a fixed maximum possible combustion temperature and pressure with the given fuel and materials. At this point, no more boost is going to do anything and we will assume we have to stick to DOT approved fuel for street use (ie: illegal to run nitromethane on public roads).
What do you do when you have the best of something and you want more but there isnt anything better? Thats right you can only buy more of the same thing. Doubling the CID doubles the power, its that simple. If you can get 35+ psi boost with 116 octane at a certain peak pressure and temperature on a 4 cyl engine made out of exotic materials, then 35+ psi with 116 octane in a 6 cyl or 8 cyl engine made out of the same materials will also have the same 35+ psi 116 octane maximum peak pressure and temperature limits. Even with the same air/fuel density and combustion temperature and pressure, more cylinders will be burning a greater volume of fuel thus releasing more energy. Everything else held constant, any engine running on the same fuel type and same material limitations will be able to produce the same amount of power per cubic inch of air/fuel mixture. This is exactly why 8L V8 top fuel engines produce 8000 HP and why a 4L I4 top fuel engine produces 4000 HP. They are actually producing the same power per piston, if you want to think of it that way, but the 8L has twice the capacity. Turn the boost up on the I4 you say? Add as much as .1 lbs boost to the I4 OR the V8 and both will destroy themselves. Get the idea? This is the true meaning of "there is no replacement for displacement".
High horsepower I4s are fun for drag racing on the weekend and showing off peak horsepower dyno slips. Thats like overclocking only to run a benchmark in an unstable state to brag about your score, when the reality is you can't and don't actually run it that way all the time. Because when you are driving to work and gasing up at the corner market on a daily basis you will be running on the 91 octane street safe tune making 250-350 HP and only half your maximum boost.
Meanwhile that Cobra is still making .... the same 600-700 RWHP 24/7 on pump gas. Twice the horsepower, a shitload more torque, and always available every single day with nothing but 91 oct. Besides, "I was only running pump gas this time" or "ran out of methanol and had to back out" or "if my NOS bottle was empty I would have pwned j00" is never an excuse.
While even a detuned pump gas 300HP I4 Civic hatchback that weighs 2000 lbs or less is still respectable and even awesome, it's still no match for a Terminator with the 4 magic words: intake, exhaust, pulley, tune. Thats still with AC, power steering, carpet, rear seats, etc. Add a twin screw and upgraded fuel system, and the 3,700 lb Terminators can dig in and rape just about anything, all for generally around $10,000 in aftermarket modifications. It's not unusual to see them keeping up with and even smoking bikes!
Not to mention the natural traction advantages of a front engine rear wheel drive chassis... That reason alone is why I abandoned the project to put a 500+ HP 2.0L 3S-GTE in my '95 Camry and instead will pursue a '91 MR2 with that same engine since it's RWD and much better suited; after all that's the car that came with that engine. After looking at what other people have done with Camry's (including turbo'ed V6s, etc) I saw that Camrys that weighed less and had more torque & horsepower than even a stock '03 Cobra were still turning ETs a whole second or more slower than the stock Cobra. There is more to it than weight and horsepower. FWD is not made to go fast
As for cars other than the Cobra like the 260 HP GT? Thats weak... You don't need a V8 to get 260 HP. Either go with a lighter smaller engine to get that 260HP or quit being stingy and wasting a V8. All you need for up to 400 HP and 400 FT/LBs and still run reliably on pump gas is a nice squared (bore=stroke) 4 cyl turbo like the 3S-GTE. Naturally aspirated however, is another story. I'm not a fan of high revving torqueless oversquared N/A 4 bangers.
exdeath
Lifer
- Jan 29, 2004
- 13,679
- 10
- 81
Ignore the haters, they are just jealous! I love Terminators, even though I never really did like mustangs just because everyone has one and thinks they are special... but calling the Terminator a Mustang is blasphemy to me... And yeah when I saw the 4100+ lbs of the Shelby and the solid rear (so much for saving cost and weight huh) I ceased any thoughts of replacing my '03.
I'm still aiming to upgrade my KB 2.4 to a 2.8 on my DSG vert, hoping to run more timing or another pound or two of boost on pump gas with the more efficient blower... but lately I've been pondering the idea of trading the vert for a coupe for the 125 lbs weight reduction before I get any more performance improvements... and also so I don't ruin my 'investment' by taco'ing and warping my unibody vert at the track... I think I would just feel safer abusing the car like that with a stiffer coupe.
Also roll cages as required by NHRA for 9s-10s don't look so hot in verts :frown: so you end up keeping the top up all the time anyway. Cruising with the top down used to seem classy to me, but now the convertible image just doesn't mix with the track monster of a car this is. A coupe with a cage and a rear seat delete is more up my alley now
Also need to look into torque box reinforcement...
Sigh...
I'm still aiming to upgrade my KB 2.4 to a 2.8 on my DSG vert, hoping to run more timing or another pound or two of boost on pump gas with the more efficient blower... but lately I've been pondering the idea of trading the vert for a coupe for the 125 lbs weight reduction before I get any more performance improvements... and also so I don't ruin my 'investment' by taco'ing and warping my unibody vert at the track... I think I would just feel safer abusing the car like that with a stiffer coupe.
Also roll cages as required by NHRA for 9s-10s don't look so hot in verts :frown: so you end up keeping the top up all the time anyway. Cruising with the top down used to seem classy to me, but now the convertible image just doesn't mix with the track monster of a car this is. A coupe with a cage and a rear seat delete is more up my alley now
Also need to look into torque box reinforcement...
Sigh...
Nice car, but the paint is a bit ricey to me. Just not my thing. Must be a nice feelin having two Cobras.
Good for you. The only 'stang I ever liked was a '67 Shelby GT500. Of course, I was a Chevy guy back in the day. Congrats on the new ride. Enjoy it and don't be (too) stupid with all that power.
The only 'stang I ever liked was a '67 Shelby GT500. Of course, I was a Chevy guy back in the day. Congrats on the new ride. Enjoy it and don't be (too) stupid with all that power.TRENDING THREADS
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