Too much power?

[squall9393]

What do you consider too much power for the street? I'm currently working on a weekend warrior but don't want it to get out of hand with the engine design to where I can't cruise on the street with it. What's a good HP cap before you have to condemn it to the garage and the track only? Also I haven't purchased a car to put the engine and tranny in yet until I can figure out if getting a convertible is just a safety issue yet cuz some track won't even let you go down the strip in vert and defintely not without a helmet if they do.

 

[Zero_chance]

A vert is going to start you out at a significant weight disadvantage to begin with. As far as whats too much, it really depends on how its tuned and the parts selected to get there. NA or forced induction? A forced induction car that is capable of 500 HP is going to be a little more streetable than a NA car that has all the stops thrown out to get it to 500 HP. Also depends on the driver.

 

[95mustang_gt]

I dd a 95 vert with almost 500 hp and 455tq.but i dont beat on it when i turn every corner.you can have 600+hp and dd just have to be gentle with it.

 

[Stopsign32v]

If you don't have a dart block then don't worry about it. You won't make enough power to not drive it on the street alow. I drove a turbo 5.0 that made over 500 at the tires daily for a while.

 

[tstang21]

A vert is going to start you out at a significant weight disadvantage to begin with. As far as whats too much, it really depends on how its tuned and the parts selected to get there. NA or forced induction? A forced induction car that is capable of 500 HP is going to be a little more streetable than a NA car that has all the stops thrown out to get it to 500 HP. Also depends on the driver.

+1

 

[Bullitt95]

That's a very open-ended question that's bound to produce different answers. I think 500rwhp is definitely too much for the street because you're never likely to use all of it except in a very short burst of acceleration.
Is 400rwhp too much for the street? For me the answer is still yes.
How about 300rwhp? Still too much for an average driver but a good driver should get a thrill out of it.
250rwhp? Enough power for a fun street ride. A 3500lb car (with driver) could still run mid-13's.
200rwhp? IMO, that's barely adequate.

I'd say 250-300rwhp is about the right sort of power level for a street-driven SN95 Stang.

 

[fasterthanthem]

That's a very open-ended question that's bound to produce different answers. I think 500rwhp is definitely too much for the street because you're never likely to use all of it except in a very short burst of acceleration.
Is 400rwhp too much for the street? For me the answer is still yes.
How about 300rwhp? Still too much for an average driver but a good driver should get a thrill out of it.
250rwhp? Enough power for a fun street ride. A 3500lb car (with driver) could still run mid-13's.
200rwhp? IMO, that's barely adequate.

I'd say 250-300rwhp is about the right sort of power level for a street-driven SN95 Stang.

Lol sorry Bullitt95, I just thought your post was funny.

My car is 315rwhp and It bores me to death on the street...

You ever driven a car with more then your cars hp? Because 250 isn't much at all.. there are tons of stock cars being produced with more hp then that.

 

[Vipersix]

One hundred million hp!!!

 

[1slow95]

I think it comes down to driveability vs. power vs. noise. My car is just about right in the power department, although I'm starting to get bored with it. The problem is it bucks below 2000rpms and idles rough and generally pisses me off most of the time when I drive it. Tuning (again) should fix it, but I haven't had the time or money yet. The other problem is that it's so loud I don't like to "play" on the street, especially in town.

IMO, something like a modded 03-04 Cobra is the perfect street car. You can get 450-500rwhp out of them easy and they drive like stock.

 

[Pops Fun]

Hi
Many different opinions. It is mainly about the tune. I drive a 500rwhp vert on the street, I don't do it as a DD, mileage is a killer. The car drives like stock, anyone could drive it, til the boost kicks in. Watch cams when you do the build, my understanding is our computer aren't big cam friendly. My Steeda 19 is fairly mild.
Ran an 11.6 at the test n tune yesterday, no cage. Haven't been kicked out yet. I can't run race days like UMTR, because no cage.

 

[final5-0]

Well

The original question was ............

What do you consider too much power for the street?

I'll share a thought or two

IMHO ... Power alone is not
what makes a successful, well thought out combo

Everybody has their idea of what is desirable in a combo

To me ... torque on the street is where it is at

When you look at some dyno charts where they produce high hp
but
They don't have much low and mid range torque to speak of

Hopefully ... you see what I'm trying to say here

But ... if we just use ... POWER ... to judge good or bad

I would rather have a lower hp combo with great low/mid range tq
as opposed
To one that produced just the opposite results

For that reason ... I tend to be attracted to forced combos that
employ KB's and Turbos over Centri blowers

Also ... part of the original question was about drivability

Sticking to what I have the most experience with

NA and OEM blocked based combo

I'd tell you you can go 300 to the wheels
and
It will drive like a stocker in every way
but
You will have to deal with some cam lope

I do expect you could push it to 350 but the lope at idle is gonna
be more severe

The original poster seems to be asking fairly basic questions so I'm gonna
assume nothing and point out these facts about what I've shared here

A combo such as I described will have these characteristic's

Cam lope at idle ... you will attract a lot of attention ... not always a good thing
Bad around town gas milage
Overwhlem the OEM cooling system
Require a very light right foot when it rains
A custom tune will be a M U S T

Bottom Line Is ... If you only have one car to drive everyday

You need to give it a L O T of thought and come up with a good plan :Word:
before
You spend your money

Grady

 

[Pops Fun]

Hi
As usual Grady has hit it on the head!! Torque is the answer for a fun ride.

Most importantly a plan for how to get there.

 

[Bullitt95]

Lol sorry Bullitt95, I just thought your post was funny.

My car is 315rwhp and It bores me to death on the street...

You ever driven a car with more then your cars hp? Because 250 isn't much at all.. there are tons of stock cars being produced with more hp then that.

It's like I said earlier. You'll get different opinions on what is too much power or what's adequate. The trouble is you get addicted to what you have and you find yourself craving for a bigger HP fix. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Grady hit the nail on the head when he said that torque is where it's at, and I'd rather have bags of grunt at lower revs where my engine spends most of its time.

 

[revhead347]

Well, that is a completely open ended question. I used to drive my 500rwhp car as a daily. I put 22,000 miles on it in one year. I was driving between Ft. Lauderdale and Daytona Beach every other week to see my old lady. I think it all comes down to money. You can build a 2000hp car that is daily drivable if you have about $500,000 to spend on it.

Kurt

 

[squall9393]

One hundred million hp!!!

 

[squall9393]

Great responses and I think I am starting to get a warm and fuzzy about being able to drop on engine in vert and not fear for my life. To help with some specific issues that were addressed let me see if I can make my "open ended question" more sharp.

It won;t be a daily driver and definitely won;t be driven in the rain, and no long trips. Most likely will be towed to the strip just cuz of gas prices and mileage but I do want to be able to keep it streetable for warm summer days of cruising. It's gonna be a vert so I got no issues with deleting the A/C however if the wife is gonna want to ride in it I'm thinking she ain;t gonna be happy without A/C. So if you can see where I'm going with this then do you recommend sticking with NA or forced? How much NA torque can I get out of a 351W stroker and where will that put my torque band? Forced - same question?

Wow I've been away from the forums for a while - lots of new names - and lots of veterans still around too. Good to be back.


:SNSign:

 

[GRGT1994]

I'll have to agree with the comments saying that opinions will vary wildly on this topic.

For my two cents, 350 to 400 RWHP is definitely doable in a DD or otherwise decent street car. My TFS top end kit gave me just shy of 300 rwhp. And it was entertaining and liveable. With my setup (LT headers and various other supporting mods) I was making a good chunk of low end. And like Grady says, that rules on the street. But . . . it doesn't end with low end on the street. My setup fell flat on it's face within 500 rpm of redline. You could really feel the power drop off. And I had Danny (AFM) tune it for the road). Don't get me wrong, it was fun. But I'd have been better off with a track heat intake and better cam.

If I were to suggest a NA build to someone asking the question like the poster is, I'd say definitely go with a custom cam, and think long and hard about building the bottom end with a stroker kit. Since I did that, I'm a happy camper (sig is not up to date ).

If I were to suggest a less involved build, I'd definitely suggest Kenne Belle!!!

 

[d1coupe]

I run a wolf factory style suspension in my coupe w/ et streets, i make 790 to the tire and have no problem driving it on the street. i look at it like this if you build the car to handle the hp then what is too much. There are plenty of people out there running 8's and lower that drive their car every weekend, it all depends on how deep your pockets are! I'd say w/ 500 hp would be a great number to shoot for, with that amount of power your looking to have a mid to low 11 second, maybe high 10 second street car (if you can drive). Also that would most likely take care of 80% of the car in your area.

 

[final5-0]

Great responses and I think I am starting to get a warm and fuzzy about being able to drop on engine in vert and not fear for my life. To help with some specific issues that were addressed let me see if I can make my "open ended question" more sharp.

It won;t be a daily driver and definitely won;t be driven in the rain, and no long trips. Most likely will be towed to the strip just cuz of gas prices and mileage but I do want to be able to keep it streetable for warm summer days of cruising. It's gonna be a vert so I got no issues with deleting the A/C however if the wife is gonna want to ride in it I'm thinking she ain;t gonna be happy without A/C. So if you can see where I'm going with this then do you recommend sticking with NA or forced? How much NA torque can I get out of a 351W stroker and where will that put my torque band? Forced - same question?

Wow I've been away from the forums for a while - lots of new names - and lots of veterans still around too. Good to be back.


:SNSign:

I'm always happy to share a few thoughts
but
It sounds like you are starting to get serious

You ask about a stroked Windsor
so
Allow me to point you in the direction

Where you can do some serious research

One of our very own 94-95 members, Mike (Low-5.0) has built what I consider
a well thought out combo along those lines

We got many peeps here who have done the same with 331-347 5.0 strokers,
forced combos, NA OEM block combos, etc, etc, etc

What I like about the peeps here is ... for the most part ... they tell it
like it really is and strive to keep things real ... good or bad :Word:

I'd advise you to pay attention to the various members sigs and focus in on
those who have built combos that you might consider doing yourself.

Grady

 

[Stopsign32v]

A 400rwhp N/A 306cid will probably not be streetable.

A 400rwhp N/A 351cid will be streetable.

A 600rwhp N/A 351cid will probably not be streetable.

A 600rwhp turbocharged 306cid will be streetable.












In other words... "It depends"