What is too much power for a daily driver?

[Midwayman]

I think there is a point where there is too much HP for a given driver- either their skill level or maturity can't handle it. I don't really think there is an upper limit for the car however. With stability and traction control on some cars it makes really high HP pretty tractable.

 

[JulesMaximus]

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!..

Yeah, with a dry weight of 1100 lbs it probably isn't anywhere near as fast as say a Ducati 1199 Panigale.

Most supersport literbikes are in the 180hp range and weigh around 430lbs and can hit 100mph in 1st gear. Way more power than you need on in a daily driver. 10 second quarter mile? No problem.

Ttrust me, 100hp is plenty for a streetbike that weighs 400lbs.

 

[hans007]

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.

i had a first gen G35 and the traction control was pretty lenient. you could easily slide the tail out if you wanted even with it on, probably just not as much.

that was 8 years ago though, my current car has similar power and is RWD and the traction control wont let you do anything at all if its on. probably a lot safer in the rain in general, can be turned off though if you really wanted to do donuts

 

[The Boston Dangler]

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.

it's a 2006 6mt. the throttle-off reaction is due to the difference in wheel speed from front to rear. the intersection it happened most at is uphill, heavily sanded and usually full of crash debris, so conditions are good for spinning up. on ramps and such i can rotate the car as much as i'd like without the computer doing anything, that i know of.

in the snow, if you want to move at all the only option is "VDC Off" and then it can drive 1 of the rear wheels (kinda). with it on, you will get no response from the accelerator at all.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

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

actually, in most cars it cannot be shut off, despite what it tells you.

 

[BUTCH1]

Yeah, with a dry weight of 1100 lbs it probably isn't anywhere near as fast as say a Ducati 1199 Panigale.

Most supersport literbikes are in the 180hp range and weigh around 430lbs and can hit 100mph in 1st gear. Way more power than you need on in a daily driver. 10 second quarter mile? No problem.

Ttrust me, 100hp is plenty for a streetbike that weighs 400lbs.

They come with a Corvette motor, this dude had made some mods to his and had the "425HP" painted on his massive gas tank, I have no idea if it's really that powerful or not, interest seems to be waning on the Boss bikes, I didn't see a lot of people around..

 

[phucheneh]

actually, in most cars it cannot be shut off, despite what it tells you.

The 'VDC off' button should turn all your traction/stability off. It's ABS that can't be disabled.

Although I do know what you're talking about with occasional differences between 'it says it's off' and 'it's truly off.' I just remember a couple days with snow and having the mentioned issue: the car won't let you do anything. Most importantly, it won't move out of the parking space...but hit the button and it quits caring. Sometimes I'd just have to spin until it burned through the bit of compacted snow/ice it was sitting on and grabbed some pavement.

 

[jlee]

actually, in most cars it cannot be shut off, despite what it tells you.

Oh, mine can...stability control, too.

 

[nerp]

Some cars let you turn it off, but it's only 'partially off' in the sense that traction control is off but stability control kicks on, or traction control remains on even if it says its off if the temp is below 33 degrees, the wipers are on, tire pressure is above or below a set amount, etc. You really have to look beyond the owners manual sometimes to know exactly what level of control you have. Some cars have two- or three-mode control so you can turn it off or on in stages. And then there are people who just yank fuses.

 

[Vic Vega]

Hard to say what is enough or too much power.

My VF1200 F makes 170HP and weighs 590 pounds. It's plenty fast.

In a car, hard to say because there are so many factors.

 

[BUTCH1]

Some cars let you turn it off, but it's only 'partially off' in the sense that traction control is off but stability control kicks on, or traction control remains on even if it says its off if the temp is below 33 degrees, the wipers are on, tire pressure is above or below a set amount, etc. You really have to look beyond the owners manual sometimes to know exactly what level of control you have. Some cars have two- or three-mode control so you can turn it off or on in stages. And then there are people who just yank fuses.

Yea, I remember reading a comparison of the Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger retro offerings and the writer of the article cited Dodge's traction control as only partially turning it off whereas the GM product it was in fact completely turned off, seems some manufacturers want a safety factor in there with these high HP offerings..

 

[Plugers]

360 works for me, but AWD makes it pretty tame. 450 would probably be nice though also.

 

[Raduque]

I have 240hp - I need more. Of course, I'm moving 7000ish lb. I did bounce off the speed limiter the other night... I need to find a way to disable that.

 

[Midwayman]

I have 240hp - I need more. Of course, I'm moving 7000ish lb. I did bounce off the speed limiter the other night... I need to find a way to disable that.

If you do, remember that speed limiters are often set in combination with the speed rating of the tires on the car. Just make sure you have enough tire to safely do whatever speed you're planning.

 

[Arkaign]

Somewhere around here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZymTLk2a8s

Pump gas 7s baby!

 

[BUTCH1]

Somewhere around here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZymTLk2a8s

Pump gas 7s baby!

Wow, that's crazy fast for pump 93 octane fuel!.

 

[MagickMan]

If the throttle is properly linear, and the driver isn't an idiot, there's no such thing as too much power.

 

[Vic Vega]

If the throttle is properly linear, and the driver isn't an idiot, there's no such thing as too much power.

Why do people make absolute statements like this? Suppose 1/10th throttle is 300 HP? It doesn't matter that the throttle is linear.

 

[MagickMan]

Why do people make absolute statements like this? Suppose 1/10th throttle is 300 HP? It doesn't matter that the throttle is linear.

Oh, you're talking about those 3000hp, street legal, nitrOMFGshitinyourpants funny cars? My bad. Wake up, no one's talking about dragsters. Geez.

 

[Gillbot]

Oh, you're talking about those 3000hp, street legal, nitrOMFGshitinyourpants funny cars? My bad. Wake up, no one's talking about dragsters. Geez.

:hmm:

I've seen many people daily drive cars that had quad digit wheel horse power figures. They weren't idiots and it was just fine for them. Debating what is too much power for everyone is just as silly as debating how much anything is for anyone. People have different thresholds for everything so their own personal tolerance will set the maximum.

 

[JulesMaximus]

:hmm:

I've seen many people daily drive cars that had quad digit wheel horse power figures. They weren't idiots and it was just fine for them. Debating what is too much power for everyone is just as silly as debating how much anything is for anyone. People have different thresholds for everything so their own personal tolerance will set the maximum.

Until they crash... or grow up. At which point they will probably lower their maximum.

 

[Vic Vega]

Oh, you're talking about those 3000hp, street legal, nitrOMFGshitinyourpants funny cars? My bad. Wake up, no one's talking about dragsters. Geez.

I'm not talking dragsters. It's just a silly statement to make. Wake up. Geez.

 

[Apex]

Depends on how much the car weighs, but a 200HP GTI is just the right amount of power for that car.

High performance cars such as M3's and M5's etc are more status symbols than anything. Hell, even the majority of Corvettes (the iconic American sports car) are sold with automatics.

At the end of the day, who wants to take a $100,000 M5 to the track. I doubt many would want to risk that and 99% of owners don't.

Speed limits here are 60 MPH, so that gives me 3.5 seconds to enjoy it on the on-ramp to work everyday or look like a douche guning it stop light to stop light not even getting out of second gear. One ticket over 85 and it's a reckless driving ticket for 25 over the limit. And let me tell you, even at a 100 mph, a German sedan feels like it's doing 45 solid and stable, and it doesn't take much at all to get there.

To me, if you are a true driving enthusiast, you buy something like a Lotus Exige purely for the track, or a poor mans track car such as a Mazda MX-5. The amount of money you will spend for these sports cars is just not worth it and will get old in around 6 months give or take.

We've taken the wife's M5 to the track and strip multiple times. Here it is at Willow Springs racetrack just after the initial break in, you can see the tires are near full depth still:

Lots of my friends take their M5 or M6 to the track as well, so we're certainly not alone in this.

While it's certainly different than driving a nimble, lightweight car, it's still loads of fun. While I still wince going off-track, cars are meant to be used. The wife's 911 Turbo has gone over the berms and into dirt as well. Such is life; fix what you need to fix and go again.

Despite not fitting the mold, I would consider myself a true driving enthusiast.

 

[Gillbot]

Until they crash... or grow up. At which point they will probably lower their maximum.

Unless you have half a brain. They've been driving them for the better part of 7 years with typically increasing numbers and they have yet to crash. Most don't fall for the morons trying to get them to race on the highway, they just go about their commute as normal. Personally, I have a LOT of respect for their discipline because I would find it hard to resist. :twisted:

 

[JulesMaximus]

Unless you have half a brain. They've been driving them for the better part of 7 years with typically increasing numbers and they have yet to crash. Most don't fall for the morons trying to get them to race on the highway, they just go about their commute as normal. Personally, I have a LOT of respect for their discipline because I would find it hard to resist. :twisted:

Well, not everyone of course, but I've found as I've gotten older that I'm going more for comfort and fuel economy in a daily driver than speed. Hell, I'm not even taking the bike to work as much anymore.