How much power is enough?

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by mreid

For most people, anything over 400hp at the rear wheels is too much in one of these cars. Unless it is primarily used on the track, you will rarely use that level of power and the car will be scary fast and easily capable of spining out of control quickly if you get on it too fast. Now I'll speak for me personally. It seems that every car I build gets more radical in the power department. My GT40 had a 500hp 347, my daytona coupe before that, a 430hp 392w (both rated at the flywheel). All the cars before them were in the 300 to 400 range. They were both scary to drive at first, but quickly became the ultimate adrenaline rush, but I also respected the power and rarely used it all. That said, I'm aiming for 500hp at the rear wheels in my Kirkham simply because HP is so damned addicting!

mreid - Sounds like that qualifies you as having significant 'power' experience.
Out of interest - how heavy is the accelerator pedal? I'm thinking of the sneeze factor, mid corner...
Cheers,
Glen

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by Tommy

The most high performance Cobra I know of that is running today is Bruce Cambern's # 3170. He spoke of the challenge of driving it in this thread: Click here. See comment #56 to read how he had to modify his throttle to make it possible for the driver to handle his 600+ HP. ... My point is that "enough power" is not an absolute quantity. It depends on the driver, the environment and all the components that must work together in the car.

I like that....“Two geezers brought a 44-year-old car and beat all the young punks.”

Of course, correct power for a situation depends on the whole mix of driver experience, environmental conditions, road or track. And I should have specified road use in the original post.
The replies are entertaining no matter what 'mix' is assumed.

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by skippy

Well again its still a good question.

After 8 years owning my SPF i tired of the 500hp of my old 392ci.

After long talks with Keith Craft we decided to up the Cubes and all the little goodies to bring that X-factor feeling back.

After now driving its first 1000 miles that factor has certainly come back, but also at a price, im now as we talk upgrading all the components to handle such power, ie front brakes SPF upgrade, upgrade axel and now suspension.

Is it all worth it ? So far a massive yes, will only know the full x-factor feeling when all the upgrades are done.

I say go big from the start, we always grow into old shoes..

Skippy.

Go big from the start? I see your logic there, but then maybe some of the 'journey' is lost as there's less of the incremental upgrades that also help with accimatizing to the big power.
Cheers,
Glen

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by ItBites

I regularly use all 700 hp from my 540cid. I can use it on the street or at the track. Don't know what folks are talking about with too much... If I had 200 more, I'd use that as well. Maybe N2O next!

Are you Crazy??
700 + nitrous? On the street? You would have to submit a proposed route to the local constabulary before you took it out of the garage, wouldn't you?
Just kidding, ItBites. Go with the nitrous.
Cheers,
Glen

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by xb-60

mreid - Sounds like that qualifies you as having significant 'power' experience.
Out of interest - how heavy is the accelerator pedal? I'm thinking of the sneeze factor, mid corner...
Cheers,
Glen

I too am thinking along those lines, but in a more esterotic sense for those people who have a pressing flatulence problem particularly after consuming vast quantities of beer and chilly. The amount of force under those circumstance is by far greater to any that can be expelled elsewhere and has a decidedly adverse reaction on the seat in relationship to ones rear in addition to being altogether distracting to the passenger.

Put another way, its all in accordance to Boyle's Law of Volume and Pressure: In a confined orifice, the volume of a gas is inversely proportional to the pressure that is applied when the temperature is constant. Stated another way, if you double the pressure, you reduce the volume by half and expel the gas in an exponentially level of real time effectiveness. And let all the dear readers who have never applied pressure to prove this hypothesis stand and be counted. Thus when experiencing this phenomenon when behind the wheel of a Cobra it may have adverse effects on ones steering abilities with a distinct probability of letting ones foot off the throttle, hence a potential TTO occurrence.

Sorry, I digress here, so how much power is enough?

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

[tin-man]

Well done Steve, and a very interesting treatise it is, however I must take issue with one of your conclusions regarding energy and movement:

"The point is that its energy, a force, what moves you, not some "esoteric" nonsense. I took liberties with the last word.

Contraire sir and you of all people should appreciate what I am about to say and its this: your avatar, if viewed for any reasonable amount of time creates a reactive condition that can arguably be described as "moving" when in and of itself it, the avatar, does not move since its in a single dimension neither having any form or substance and is just a visual representation of what almost all of the club members desire to experience once in their lives.

It is both esoteric and explicit, I rest my case.

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

[COBRANIP]

Why on earth did my post have to follow Tin-Man's????
I won't get any respect!

A quote I like:

Horsepower........is your right foot.
(i.e. use as much or as little as you choose.)

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by xb-60

Of course, correct power for a situation depends on the whole mix of driver experience, environmental conditions, road or track. And I should have specified road use in the original post.
The replies are entertaining no matter what 'mix' is assumed.

OK, I modify that to ..."correct power for a situation depends on the whole mix of driver experience, environmental conditions, road or track, amount of sneezing and farting"

Thanks for the entertainment, gentlemen and scholars

Cheers,
Glen

[Tommy]

So, may I assume that hiccups don't count?

[Dwight]

I have 400 hp (416 tq) to the rear wheels (dyno'ed) in a 2660 lb car (driver & gas). I love it.
Feels like I can pass anything up to a jet.

I have buddies with big blocks, 600 - 620 (619 - 657 tq) at the flywheel ( dyno'd) that let me drive their Cobras. I think they are a little heavier than mine. Both pull like a train after 80 mph. I drove one 50 mph to 140, very fast, felt like it would do 200.

In my opinion 500 rear wheel is a useable number. You can hook up with good tires and control the Cobra.

Dwight

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by Tommy

So, may I assume that hiccups don't count?

Tommy, as I reflect on the true meaning of a hiccup, we are decidedly in accord but at different ends of the spectrum:

Description of hiccup - American Heritage® Dictionary
A spasm of the diaphragm resulting in a rapid, involuntary inhalation that is stopped by the sudden closure of the glottis and accompanied by a sharp, distinctive sound.

Glottis notwithstanding, both phenomena's results in a distinctive sound.

Where were we, oh yes, how much power is enough.

Onwards...

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by tin-man

Tommy, as I reflect on the true meaning of a hiccup, we are decidedly in accord but at different ends of the spectrum:

Description of hiccup - American Heritage® Dictionary
A spasm of the diaphragm resulting in a rapid, involuntary inhalation that is stopped by the sudden closure of the glottis and accompanied by a sharp, distinctive sound.

Glottis notwithstanding, both phenomena's results in a distinctive sound.

Where were we, oh yes, how much power is enough.

Onwards...

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

Is there anybody out there with medical training who could add to the list of influential factors? We have driver experience, environmental conditions, road or track, sneezing, flatulence, hiccuping.....anything else?

[lovehamr]

Depending on the driver;.................PMS?

[Jerry Clayton]

Biggest problem for me is when I'm getting close to usable amount of power, I have to look for a place to hook a second parachute----

[CBattaglia]

1 of my friends wont ride in the car anymore. And I wasnt pushing it at all. I drove one him to a party and he opted to drive another guys mini van home with his 1 year old twins in the back to avoid getting back in the cobra. I guess for him, it was too much power

Another way to tell you have enough power: When you can pass 2 cars at once and do not have to go to full throttle.

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by CBattaglia

1 of my friends wont ride in the car anymore. And I wasnt pushing it at all. I drove one him to a party and he opted to drive another guys mini van home with his 1 year old twins in the back to avoid getting back in the cobra. I guess for him, it was too much power

Another way to tell you have enough power: When you can pass 2 cars at once and do not have to go to full throttle.

Assuming you don't suffer from the aforementioned flatulence?

[bdeutsch]

Maybe the question needs to be changed a bit.

Of late, Lamborghini and Ferrari have essentially said enough is enough...i.e., the HP wars (maybe not said in exactly this way, but idea is there). Suspect that primarily due to increasing demands for increased corporate MPG ratings, they have concluded that the topic is perhaps best resolved via weight reduction (those familiar with Colin Chapman's philosophy @ Lotus can perhaps smile at this). Of course, downside of approach is that HP is relatively cheap to produce as compared to real weight reduction via use of carbon fiber and other exotic, albeit incredibly expensive, material.

[mdross1]

Originally Posted by tin-man

Help this poor sinner understand "Rollons" never heard this before, guess I've been in China too long.

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man, Zhuhai, P.R.C.

Rollons! Cruising at any speed, challenged or not and hammering the throttle.Big block cars most of the time never need shifting,just aim.A lot of times out on the highway someone might pull along beside you,racing from that is called a "Rollon"

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by bdeutsch

Maybe the question needs to be changed a bit.

Of late, Lamborghini and Ferrari have essentially said enough is enough...i.e., the HP wars (maybe not said in exactly this way, but idea is there). Suspect that primarily due to increasing demands for increased corporate MPG ratings, they have concluded that the topic is perhaps best resolved via weight reduction (those familiar with Colin Chapman's philosophy @ Lotus can perhaps smile at this). Of course, downside of approach is that HP is relatively cheap to produce as compared to real weight reduction via use of carbon fiber and other exotic, albeit incredibly expensive, material.

There’s no doubt that weights of particularly the more expensive cars have headed north in recent years.
Compare a Ferrari 599 with 610BHP pulling 3725lb with a Kirkham with an aluminium 427 producing 500+ BHP at 2150lb
The red car has a p/w ratio of 360BHP/ton and the silver car has a p/w ration of 510+BHP/ton.
That’s a huge difference, and a lot of Kirkhams have a bit more than 500BHP.
A sobering thought is that a lot of the tyres fitted to Cobra replicas are S or H rated
Cheers,
Glen

[xb-60]

Originally Posted by tin-man

Tommy, as I reflect on the true meaning of a hiccup, we are decidedly in accord but at different ends of the spectrum:

Description of hiccup - American Heritage® Dictionary
A spasm of the diaphragm resulting in a rapid, involuntary inhalation that is stopped by the sudden closure of the glottis and accompanied by a sharp, distinctive sound.

Glottis notwithstanding, both phenomena's results in a distinctive sound.

Where were we, oh yes, how much power is enough.

Onwards...

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

tin-man - just saw your post "TTO, a force to be reckoned with"
TTO: a force to be reckoned with.

Yep, somewhat related, I think

Cheers,
Glen