HP wars

[OS]

I'm sure as anyone knows, cars from all classes keep adding power. 240, 250, 260 HP accord, altima, maxima, would have seemed impossible 10 years ago. Does this mean in another 5 years, best selling family sedans will have 300+ HP? At what point is there too much power or not possible to add more power?

 

[Kipper]

It's like the MHz wars between Intel/AMD. It will stop as soon as someone realizes that HP isn't everything when it comes down to owning a car...

The Prius is sub-100HP but has a ridiculously long waiting list: case in point.

 

[wfbberzerker]

its funny that even though the HP increases... the speed limits stay the same...

 

[Nebor]

You have to realize that we're just now capable of getting power from cars again after the crippling changes in fuel and emissions standards in the late 70s early 80s. Back in the day, your average family station wagon was pretty darn fast, and had tons of torque.

I think HP will level off among regular econocars like the Accords and whatnot. They've pretty much reached their limit as far as high compression ratio, and RPMs. The only things they could do is: more displacement or forced induction. And it's not sensible to have that on everyday family cars that 80% of America drives.

Feel free to disagree with me. Imagine if every 4-door family sedan on the road had the power of a BMW M5. That wouldn't really be safe. I don't think things will reach that point.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: wfbberzerker
its funny that even though the HP increases... the speed limits stay the same...

And cars get safer too.

 

[Frew]

As soon as the Rotory engine becomes the new standard.

 

[luvya]

If there is such war, it certainly hasn't advanced fast enough for me.

 

[allisolm]

Originally posted by: OS
I'm sure as anyone knows, cars from all classes keep adding power. 240, 250, 260 HP accord, altima, maxima, would have seemed impossible 10 years ago. Does this mean in another 5 years, best selling family sedans will have 300+ HP? At what point is there too much power or not possible to add more power?

OS must be too young to have experienced cars like the Oldsmobile 442 (I had a '69) which had 350 horses. Sigh. That was some car! Don't know that anyone would call it a family sedan, but we were a family and that was our only car.

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: allisolm

Originally posted by: OS
I'm sure as anyone knows, cars from all classes keep adding power. 240, 250, 260 HP accord, altima, maxima, would have seemed impossible 10 years ago. Does this mean in another 5 years, best selling family sedans will have 300+ HP? At what point is there too much power or not possible to add more power?

OS must be too young to have experienced cars like the Oldsmobile 442 (I had a '69) which had 350 horses. Sigh. That was some car! Don't know that anyone would call it a family sedan, but we were a family and that was our only car.

Plus, I'm sure that 442 knew how to cook the rear tires, too. Not only did those cars have HP in that era, but they had torque to boot.

[edit]: Did a little research on the '69 with the 400 c.i. 350 HP engine:

350@4800rpm (HP)
440@3200rpm (Torque)
1 4-bbl (Carburator)
10.25:1 (compression ratio)

Sweet, real sweet. As I was growing up, my friend had a '67 442 that had been modified - a 455 C.I. engine had replaced the stock engine. That car was a powerhouse.