Highest level of power appropriate for a street driven car
 

This has been going on for a long time. Monster machines with ever more power, but they really do get kinda ridiculous for street driving after a while. I figure a stout RWD platform putting down into the low 500s is really about the peak. Of course "how" it makes and puts down that power is important. A ZR1 or exotics can be fairly docile when driving calmly, but most home spun high power cars are, uh, a bit less refined. Whattaya think.

This all depends on how much driving you are talking about as well as what type of driving and how you are making the power. If you are talking about a car that you can take out on the weekends to enjoy I think you can go over 600rwhp. But if you're talking about a daily driver I think 500 - 600 is max that you would want with something like my Cobra with a small block and a SC. If you had something larger like Carlos's 408 but had a SC with it I think you could get away with 700+ and it would still drive nice day even in traffic.

I wonder for a couple reasons. One is that at some point up there street cars with ultra race car power become squirly as all hell and bad things happen. The other is that, at least here in the OC, I RARELY get anywhere near the mere 390WHP I have and honestly it's big plenty having lots of fun. :huh: I'm sure'd be different if you lived out in an area with nice roads and less traffic in a car that was fully properly setup. Probably the reality is that for most people that have cars with this much power, they're really getting anywhere near it either, just a stab for a second or two here and there in which case maybe it's way more about the swagger than anything.

Out here it's a lot better. Most of my drives require me to get on the freeway so I get to enjoy my 436rwhp quite a lot. The Cobra puts it down well too. Now the Chevelle is a different story. Even with only 461rwhp you can't jump on it in first or second gear on the street tires. That's because it makes peak torque below the 3600 rpms stall speed of the converter so it will just blaze the tires. Even if you are doing 65 and drop it in second gear it'll smoke them.

I'm a little biased...but for sure, you don't NEED 625 rwhp....but do you WANT it?...yup. Just for those special occasions.:D BTW, my ride idles at 750 rpm and under about 3K you have no idea what is under the hood.

That's kind of what I'm talking about. Your car would be no problem driving in traffic every day. But imagine a N/A combo that made the same amount of power at the wheels as your Vette. You wouldn't want to drive it in day to day traffic.

I have to agree with Ben on this. I think that 400 to 500 is a good number. Day in and day out driving will not get you much enjoyment. Of course if we are looking at it Ron's way and it is a weekend driver then I think 500 to 600 is not a problem. I think FI cars have a much easier time as well in that just cruising around in traffic they are pretty mildly mannered but stomp on it and it can kick you in the teeth.

I've thought about this a bit more. Once entering the 400 - 600 WHP range which we seem to generally agree is big plenty for a street car, there's kind of three basic ways to get there.

- Big boost low displacement. The problem is these won't be super friendly street drivers, they may lag then hit with a wave of boost.

- Bigger cube high comp motors. Great, but there on all.the.time. and swill the gas.

- Moderate displacement and boost, say 302 - 383, with around 8 - 12 psi. You can easily get into these power ranges on pump gas, and with plenty of torque from the displacement you can drive around in something like a regular car.

What's wrong with 13lbs?!

Bad luck.