What is too much power for a daily driver?

[hans007]

i've got a 2.0 L turbo 4 in my car. technically it makes 240 hp. probably really makes closer to 270 since bmw underrates these things.

its probably on the border of too much power already. in my 3 sedan, which weighs a little over 3400 pounds, it gets 0-60 in what 5.7-5.8 seconds.

i drove back from vegas to LA about a week ago, and you can easily be driving 100mph and barely notice it. accelerating up to say 120-130 is not hard at all.

i can't even imagine what guys with say M5s end up doing just by mistake.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

i've got a 2.0 L turbo 4 in my car. technically it makes 240 hp. probably really makes closer to 270 since bmw underrates these things.

its probably on the border of too much power already. in my 3 sedan, which weighs a little over 3400 pounds, it gets 0-60 in what 5.7-5.8 seconds.

i drove back from vegas to LA about a week ago, and you can easily be driving 100mph and barely notice it. accelerating up to say 120-130 is not hard at all.

i can't even imagine what guys with say M5s end up doing just by mistake.

I love my JB4 335i, haha. Freight train is a pretty good way of describing it.

 

[ballmode]

I think it all depends on what roads you have. For me on the east coast I prefer the awd since the hills and rain and idiots make for a bad combo. I roughly have 280-300hp and its enough but with stop and go driving I would take 250/250hp and tqe just to get off the line better.

For flat surfaces 200-250 is fine

When I was in Hawaii I would have loved a miata or frs/brz not because of the handling but because it was the right amount of power and how small the cars were in relation to the narrow roads.

All in perspective. This has turned into either a high hp truck thread or the wonderous BMW 135i that I have wanted so much as well

 

[Zivic]

If it's a short-wheelbase RWD car...good luck with that.

It is kind of like money, though; people like to flaunt it on the internet, even when it's being completely wasted.

are you implying I am just flaunting it on the net? that it is being completely wasted? or both?

 

[manimal]

lies, there's no such thing as cheating. :whiste:

truf

are you implying I am just flaunting it on the net? that it is being completely wasted? or both?

its on like donkey kong!!!!!!




Im changing my too much power number to 8000 just like ex

 

[Vdubchaos]

I come from a land of 15hp Fiats....so even 150hp is an overkill (for me).

In general, even if you have 250-500HP, what's the point on the street (unless you want to break the law).

Keep all that power for special days/weekends or at the track/drag strip/auto cross events.

For daily, it really doesn't matter much.

 

[manimal]

I come from a land of 15hp Fiats....so even 150hp is an overkill (for me).

In general, even if you have 250-500HP, what's the point on the street (unless you want to break the law).

Keep all that power for special days/weekends or at the track/drag strip/auto cross events.

For daily, it really doesn't matter much.

I too come from Fiats and 2CVs. I have had about as much fun in a fiat 131 as I have had in my 400+ hp car. Some engines obviously get peaky and harder and less fun to drive on the street as they are pushed but some setups just add power and torque everywhere and dont change the driving dynamics of the car all that much. Sure swapping a TH400 in a mk4 supra makes it fast but also makes it awful to drive with a big turbo because lag sucks. Moderation and skill goes a long way. As I meantioned earlier in jest powerful cars on the street get a bit tricky when things get wet or irregular. Now to combat that all you need to do is call race logic and have them send you a traction control system with LC.

 

[BUTCH1]

I drive a pain Jane GM with a 200HP old school V6, feels like plenty to me, you won't be racing anyone with it but it handles on ramps just fine plus it gets around 22.6 city..

 

[Viper GTS]

If you're not an idiot there is essentially no limit.

Having 500 hp doesn't mean you have to drive around at 100+ mph everywhere, obviously that is stupid and dangerous and if you do that on public roads you deserve to be locked up. That doesn't mean, however, that I can't enjoy flooring it every chance I get.

If you can get your entertainment from acceleration and braking instead of high speed you can have a ton of fun without endangering anyone or attracting attention from law enforcement.

I think the better question should be what's the MINIMUM level of power that you find to be usable on the street. I say 300+ lb-ft at the wheels.

Viper GTS

 

[ProchargeMe]

I come from a land of 15hp Fiats....so even 150hp is an overkill (for me).

In general, even if you have 250-500HP, what's the point on the street (unless you want to break the law).

Keep all that power for special days/weekends or at the track/drag strip/auto cross events.

For daily, it really doesn't matter much.

Just knowing you have power feels good. Not everyone is interested in that though. My daily has 475hp and gets bad gas mileage, but there's no feeling like having my hands on the wheel of that car. Anyway I've been debating on getting a less powerful option for my DD

 

[Sidekicknichola]

I can only speak on behalf of the last few cars I've owned and how I felt about their power

00' Civic EX - under powered... especially since I didn't feel anything until it hit like 4500 rpm

00' Prelude - 200hp was about right for a car that size.

0' IS250 - Under powered. 200hp was not right for this car, with that said the IS350 (test drove) was great... The one trip I took in my boss's IS-F was amazing. The IS was quite nimble though.

07' RL - 300 hp is about right for the car, it is heavy as can be, but honestly doesn't feel as big as it is.

With that said, I've never owned a really "fast" car. My dad has some 28-32' hot rods that are all light as a feather with big and small block V8s and recently sold is Z06, so I have driven cars with some power, but never owned/daily driven one.

With all that said,
I sold the IS for the RL to eliminate a payment, that money is now going to a savings account because my next car WILL be a current gen CTS-V... is that overkill, certainly.

 

[mmntech]

What's too much power for a daily driver? It depends on a lot of factors I think. Economy, driver's skill level, and ease of navigation. Power is kind of irrelevant in the hands of a skilled driver so it really boils down to how the car navigates around the city and whether or not it's a money pit. I wouldn't want to be driving an Aventador around here or any other car with limited visibility. Too many asshat drivers.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Just knowing you have power feels good. Not everyone is interested in that though. My daily has 475hp and gets bad gas mileage, but there's no feeling like having my hands on the wheel of that car. Anyway I've been debating on getting a less powerful option for my DD

Sure, I agree.

I remember having this feeling when I was younger. Unfortunately it no longer makes any sense to me (where I am in my life right now).

My priorities have changed. I also realized how much money I wasted on cars in the past and it makes me sad hehe.

Having a 475hp daily is NOT cheap. And ANY money towards a car = money down the toilet (when you really think about it)

 

[ProchargeMe]

Sure, I agree.

I remember having this feeling when I was younger. Unfortunately it no longer makes any sense to me (where I am in my life right now).

My priorities have changed. I also realized how much money I wasted on cars in the past and it makes me sad hehe.

Having a 475hp daily is NOT cheap. And ANY money towards a car = money down the toilet (when you really think about it)

You're right, it's not cheap by any means. And I am young (23) so my priorities are pretty much just me right now. Once I settle down in the next few years I'm sure my perspective will change and I'll be driving something dull and comfortable haha! :beer:

 

[exdeath]

...drag radials, by chance?

'cause that's cheating. ;P

Mickey Thompson ET Street Radial II 3744R 315/35/17 to be exact :awe: Can completely unload the front end in first gear if its warm out.

Cheating is AWD

I as going to go 335 but a wise little birdie convinced me its the compound more than the width, using 10.5 outlaw cars as an example.

 

[Gillbot]

If you're not an idiot there is essentially no limit.

Having 500 hp doesn't mean you have to drive around at 100+ mph everywhere, obviously that is stupid and dangerous and if you do that on public roads you deserve to be locked up. That doesn't mean, however, that I can't enjoy flooring it every chance I get.

If you can get your entertainment from acceleration and braking instead of high speed you can have a ton of fun without endangering anyone or attracting attention from law enforcement.

I think the better question should be what's the MINIMUM level of power that you find to be usable on the street. I say 300+ lb-ft at the wheels.

Viper GTS

This ^

I've seen people daily drive what I would personally consider a full on race car, but to each their own!

 

[madoka]

Once I got used to 545 HP (V6TT), whenever I drive some of my other cars with 320 HP (inline 6) and 416 HP (V8), I keep thinking that they are molasses slow.

 

[JulesMaximus]

100hp is enough for me and I can easily dust 99% of vehicles on the road with that.

 

[sgrinavi]

You guys are making me drool. Did you guys pay sticker for the BMW? I just dropped by a dealership! I think my gti s interior is nicer. did you guys pay like 50k??

I paid $29k for a 2 yr old car with 19k miles. M-Sport package, 6 speed. Lease return, new tires, CPO, well maintained and 0 mods. Dealer had it listed for $32 and wasn't going to budge until the used car sales manager saw me over at the Lexus dealer - my phone rang within minutes.

Did you drive the 135? At my price point nothing else drives like a BMW.

 

[BUTCH1]

100hp is enough for me and I can easily dust 99% of vehicles on the road with that.

I think OP was referring to cars/trucks..

 

[JulesMaximus]

I think OP was referring to cars/trucks..

He said daily driver. I've ridden my bike as a daily driver so I think it is relevent.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

In a RWD, I like the Nissan VQ cars. ~300hp V6 with a fairly high power band is hard for a decent driver to have an 'accident' in but keeps plenty of reserve for accelerating at cruising speeds. 400+ in a V8 (read: more torque) starts to get unusable with normal tires and a 'standard' RWD layout (think Camaro, not Corvette).

It's all about when the power (and torque) actually come in, and how suddenly.

1 thing i noticed with my g35 is the computer slams the throttle shut at the first sign of wheelspin. i noticed this by accidentally breaking traction while taking a left thru an intersection, and the car's reaction is total paralysis in oncoming traffic.

i bet underpowered cars don't encounter this phenomenon.

 

[BUTCH1]

1 thing i noticed with my g35 is the computer slams the throttle shut at the first sign of wheelspin. i noticed this by accidentally breaking traction while taking a left thru an intersection, and the car's reaction is total paralysis in oncoming traffic.

i bet underpowered cars don't encounter this phenomenon.

That's just traction control kicking in, in some cars it can be shut off.

 

[BUTCH1]

He said daily driver. I've ridden my bike as a daily driver so I think it is relevent.

Well there are motorcycles greater than 200HP, during last bike week Boss Hoss had a display up, one was a modded version boasting 425HP, I can't imagine what it must be like riding that thing under WOT, yikes!..

 

[phucheneh]

1 thing i noticed with my g35 is the computer slams the throttle shut at the first sign of wheelspin. i noticed this by accidentally breaking traction while taking a left thru an intersection, and the car's reaction is total paralysis in oncoming traffic.

i bet underpowered cars don't encounter this phenomenon.

Really? I liked Nissan's TCS. Other than in snow. It was generous enough that you could kick the back end out just a tiny bit in the dry. More when wet.

Maybe if I were to really give it the business (tm), I would've experienced what you're referring to. Wheelspin was generally just a slight 'oops;' I only ever intended to really use power on on-ramps, typically.

I'd just make my best 'Jeremy Clarkson is deeply focused/has to poop' face and see how many G's I could pull. Then I'd realize the trunk was stacked full of shit that I just shuffled like a deck of cards.