How much horsepower is enough?

So this thread got me thinking. How much power is enough? If a car has 205 horsepower, we want it to have 206. And if it has 206, why not 207? And why not make it an even 300? Or 400?

Have you ever driven a car and thought, Yeah, this is enough?

Enough for me, is as much as the engine can make reliably.

Now, enough engine? That's what they make swaps for.

I haven't seen God yet, so im not sure.

People ask me if I want to do a pulley swap on the V wagon. Easy 100ish hp. My answer is no. The car will spin the tires under throttle and all speeds below 65. The only place it can actually put more power down is when I'm breaking the law or on track, and it's already fast enough on track that I'm genuinely nervous without a cage. So for me, somewhere just north of 550hp is enough with the rear wheels being driven. FWD is less than that though I can't put an exact number on it. Not sure with AWD, I haven't driven enough high hp AWD cars to decide where that point is. The R63 could use more than the 500 it has, but it's a bit on the porky side. I've driven a 400whp EVO that was eye opening.
This is all street cars. Put me on track with a cage and my answer is going to be different.

I have one that puts down 450 and i love it, but 500 would be nicer.

My old stock 91 miata had enough power to always put smile on my face. But Id understand a LS6 swap

I'm a chronic modder, but have 450hp in a 3100lb rwd car, and not even thinking about it.

I thought the base Viper I drove at Bondurant had enough power for a street car. It did feel a little underpowered compared to a Formula Mazda though .

I just bought a motorcycle with a 3:1 P/W ratio. I think I'm cool for a couple weeks until I get used to it.

David S. Wallens wrote: So this thread got me thinking. How much power is enough? If a car has 205 horsepower, we want it to have 206. And if it has 206, why not 207? And why not make it an even 300? Or 400? Have you ever driven a car and thought, Yeah, this is enough?

I rode in a car that could do a rolling burnout at 120 on asphalt. Ridiculous acceleration on concrete. My eyes were too focused on the laptop to see God out the windshield

Some people are just never satisfied.

My highest hp car is rated at 493hp and highest bike is 175hp. Neither was enough stock and both either have or are getting more modifications, so my answer is no, I have not driven one that felt like enough yet. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy low hp cars too, I have a stock 36hp beetle, but if I want something with power....well I guess I want a lot of it.

Well, there's the famous Mark Donahue quote, but for me, my 2011 Mustang GT had more than enough power for a street car. Instant wheelspin at low speeds, and the ability to achieve high speeds so quickly that you hardly get a chance to enjoy it before you are starting to break a lot of laws and put other people in danger.

Racing is, of course, a different matter.

Just 20 more.

The answer to all questions in my house is just one more, but 1HP just isn't noticeable even with a finely tuned butt dyno, so 20 more sounds about right.

Never had it on a dyno but i thought 12.96 was fast enough in a street car that would spin the stock tires from a 35mph roll. Then i took a ride in a car that ran 11.1, so i added nitrous too mine. Scary on the street but im guessing 400whp is plenty for something i wouldnt be drag racing every weekend

David S. Wallens wrote: Have you ever driven a car and thought, Yeah, this is enough?

On an autocross course? Nope. But I don't think I've ever driven something north of 400hp.

On the street? Sorta.

Motorcycle? Hell yes.

Funny I was bench building my RX3 wagon a couple days ago. I had it in my head that I wanted more power than my MS3 which is currently sitting at 350 whp only because it was my primary mode of transportation for a while.

I figured that 400 was a nice round number.

For reference 350 hp in a 3200lb car is 9.14lbs/hp.

The RX3 is 2100 lbs at 400 hp that it would be 5.25lbs/hp or equivalent to a 2017 SRT Viper.

In a station wagon. From 1973.

I must be getting old because even I saw the absurdity in that.

In reply to The0retical:

The rolling-burnout car had right around 1000hp and weighed around 3100lb.

The car's owner has since made changes and he found another 200hp.

Peripherally, I knwo of someone who had an 1800hp Chevelle, but pulled the engine and was building a twin turbo big-block because 1800hp just wasn't any fun anymore and he wanted to shoot for 2500 or 3000 or somesuch.

There isn't a big enough to express my feelings on that.

Some people are just never satisfied.

The 525 hp, 2600 lb ND V8 is pretty close.

The 556 hp, 2000 XXXocet was a bit past the "enough" point. It effectively didn't have a 100% throttle position. It was fun, but it didn't need more power. It did need more personality.

The 400 hp MG on 195 series Falken RT215s has enough power and lots of personality. Well, it could use a LITTLE more power, maybe, but probably it needs a little more tire first.

In reply to David S. Wallens:

"Have you ever driven a car and thought, Yeah, this is enough?"

Twice.

One was a 2004 Z06, and the other was a 2013 Boss 302. They both left a lasting impression and I'm quite sure that if I'm ever lucky enough to own an example of either, I'd be pretty content with "just" the stock power.

I was happy with the stock power levels of the C5 Z06. Although I did get used to it after a year and sometimes wanted more, but didn't want it any louder or lose trunk space (exhaust/nitrous). On the street that car is silly fast.

TL;DR 400HP in a 3100lb car is almost enough, 110HP in a 460lb motorcycle is almost enough.

The chassis is the limit on power. What can it put to the ground? Kevin Cameron had a nice description of Kenny Roberts' Daytona 200 bike way back when, an enlarged GP machine: "Power saturated." Increasing power would not lower lap times. Big tire limitation there, of course.

I've scared myself with less than 40 in a shifter kart.

The 1300 lb frankenfiat had around 220 and was all I wanted.

The p100d ludicrous will make anyone say that it's enough, supposedly in the 550-600 hp range, and in a heavy car

4lb/hp is the dead absolute limit on the street.

I want to be able to brake the tires loose from one corner to the next on the track.

I have 775hp in the Viper at the crank and I am still looking for another 50-60 with Cam's.

425 at the wheels. 391 gears, 4 speed, and 205/70/14. Scary. And enough.

Its getting a blower now for more torque.....

clutchsmoke wrote: TL;DR 400HP in a 3000lb car is almost enough, 110HP in a 450lb motorcycle is almost enough.

Guy I work with has a bike that weighs (officially) 375lb and has (allegedly) 160-180hp. It's more power than he ever wants to use, and he likes it that way because that means he has no incentive to modify it. Stock, generally speaking, just plain works.