Can You Handle The Power?

you better be sure . . .

[lawman]

. . . before you simply mash the gas on an ultra high performance car the way you do on your grocery getter or even lesser high performance cars.

[autos.yahoo.com...]

[J_RaD]

well the way they make them these days... SUV size fit for your grandmother. *oink*

[incrediBILL]

Had a couple of friends trashed Porches within months of owning them for the same reason. The car was just too fast for them to handle and BLAMMO! it was gone.

[Swanny007]

I hope his insurance does not cover him for "stupidity".

[J_RaD]

the car isn't too fast for them, they just don't take any time to learn the car....or the brains to think they should do that.

just another shocked FWD driver. OMG THE BACK MOVES!

[lawman]

Massive torque + street tires + inexperienced driver who treats the gas pedal like an off/on switch = recipe for disaster.

[J_RaD]

on one hand I say its pretty awesome they are making factory cars with this power.....on the other, normal people shouldn't have easy access to this.

is this why cars are getting more driving aids? back up cam, lane assist, blind spot monitoring, auto brakes..... also known as KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD AND CHECK YOUR MIRRORS!

10 years ago almost nobody would want to drive a 700hp car around everyday....now they are so big and squishy mom drives them to pick up the kids.

sports/muscle/fast/whatever cars have died? I kinda think so... I don't care how fast they make them now...

[engine]

Unless i've misunderstood, this is irresponsible of the dealer/car company, imho. You don't let someone drive out of the showroom in a vehicle such as that without giving them some tuition.

I'd also add that you can spin a relatively benign vehicle easily if you're not concentrating, or you hit oil on the road, or a combination of the two. Gas/Petrol stations are danger areas where excess fuel gets spilt through overfilling, and it's always worth being cautious driving past those areas where roads get slippery.

[lawman]

To put a little perspective, the mighty 426 Street Hemi of the muscle car halcyon days was rated at 425bhp gross but actually put down about 350whp. I don't care what tires you put on that, it wouldn't stand a chance against modern muscle cars (with an experienced driver of course).

And I agree with engine about a dealer putting such a car, foreign or domestic, in the hands of any driver without first determining that the nut behind the wheel knows what he is doing.

[engine]

350bhp to the wheels is not massive these days, but those older cars had great torque!

I understand the car in question is 707bhp, but that may not be to the wheels. Either way, it's more than an inexperienced driver should have without tuition.

without first determining that the nut behind the wheel knows what he is doing.

Wheel nut! lol

[tbear]

I remember a friend of mine (head of sales at local Bentley dealer) telling me about a sales meet and greet for the latest Turbo R. Most of the customers were over 70!
The test drives scared the poop out of him. These old guys thought they were in a 'normal' Bentley and floored the throttle...

[lawman]

Turbo, haha. I've had two turbocharged cars. If you're quietly tooling along and simply floor it it - nothing to write home about until you reach the boost threshold then all hell breaks loose. I'd pay a dollar to see the old geezers flooring their turbo Bentleys.

[engine]

Lol, me too!

Newer cars have smaller, more efficient turbos which reduce the turbo lag more, but yes, when the turbos kick in its fun.

Have you tried superchargers, lawman? I had a trial in a supercharged track car and I found the performance terrific, but less of a handling issue as there was no lag.

[lawman]

My Shelby GT500 has a 2.3 liter TVS supercharger. Street tune is 650hp/688ftlbs torque (at the wheels) Superchargers are belt driven and no worries about boost threshold or turbo lag (two different things). Instant power.

Hint: There is no lag below the boost threshold

[tbear]

He, he, he, by all accounts, the lag was unnoticeable....
Nothing that big and comfy should be able to go that fast!
Best part of 7 litres of purring hand built motor.

My friend fitted an Allard Supercharger to his Ford Anglia, after fitting a 1500cc Cortina GT engine. No external changes, whatsoever, even left the 'deluxe' badge on it..... LOL
Now then, what is it they say about brown stuff off a shovel? ;D

[lawman]

Called a sleeper where I come from. :)

[Leosghost]

Things get "interesting" ;) with NOS.. :)

[lawman]

You run wet or dry LG?

[Leosghost]

Tried NOS ( on a friends car, running on an aerodrome in the UK days , and then later, in other vehicles ( again belonging to other friends, in Malta at Hal Far drag strip ( another old aerodrome) a long time ago now, so "wet" or "dry"..? No idea..not sure what that means ? ( not being a full time speed junkie, nor having the means to be :)

Was extremely impressed on both occasions..did think about getting a vehicle fitted in Malta..

Then changed countries..

In France almost all engine mods are illegal out of the question..plus I got old..and acquired responsibilities..

[lawman]

Wet system mixes with the fuel directly. Dry system is delivered separately. Usually have to change to larger injectors with dry system. I've never run nitrous but I see it a lot at the drag strip.

[J_RaD]

I don't care what tires you put on that, it wouldn't stand a chance against modern muscle cars

most old cars are like this... made of iron, bullets would bounce off them!

90's seem to be the best years for cars, tech, size, etc.

00 cool cars died......everything got fat.

Superchargers are belt driven and no worries about boost threshold or turbo lag

that S/C is also sucking off HP, turbo.... why worry about lag with a V8... its GO, and MORE GO when the boost hits... which is often in 0.2 seconds anyway. Its not like you've got some 2.0L super low compression engine that NEEDS the turbo to back out of a parking space.

[lawman]

Never heard anybody with a supercharger complain about parasitic loss. Besides, what's more intimidating than the whine of a supercharger along with loud exhaust at WOT? :)

[youtu.be...]

And yes, that's my car getting tuned on a dynojet.

[incrediBILL]

Back in the day I had a 70s Riviera w/455 which was a real sleeper. If it had wings it would've flown.

I don't remember but I think it idled in excess of 100MPH ;)

While it would fly, it had a hard ramp up until it hit around 65 or so before the carb and tranny opened up wide and it took off like a rocket. My current fuel injected beast would eat it for lunch from a cold start but I think the old Riviera would ultimately overtake it.

Some days I wish I still had the Riviera but then I remember I outran cops twice which is insanely dangerous and I'd never consider with my current ride. In both cases it was a situation where they hadn't seen my plates and I had an easy escape route to avoid a 100MPH+ ticket, but still...

Nothing like the thrill of seeing a cop hiding under an overpass start driving in reverse on a highway with the lights blazing and smoke pouring off his tires trying to get on the same ramp you just went up to avoid his ass. I had the lead on him on a winding blind country road and I ditched the car behind an abandoned gas station where I watched as he flew by. Wait 5 minutes and then I took side roads and avoided the freeway the rest of the trip ;) hehehe

Another time a cop running radar from a cycle was pointing for me to pull over and I pretended I didn't see him. Saw him pull onto the road lights blazing and I took the first right and just randomly went left or right as fast as possible to ditch him and it worked. Eventually worked my way out to a side street and slipped away

Smoky and the Bandit got nothing on me!

Again, having all that power is what gave me the bright idea to do such a thing. Plus I was probably 22 which didn't help matters as I thought it was a rush at the time. Today I'd probably be on the "Wildest Police Chase Videos" or something.

Shhhh....
Don't tell Mom, she doesn't know about this LOL

[J_RaD]

NOPE...but those same guys would make more HP if they did nothing but a turbo swap.

everyone is running turbos on factory cars these days..... so why are they bolting on superchargers to the V8 cars? doesn't make any sense.

[lawman]

I've had two turbocharged cars and one supercharged. I liked the two turbocharged cars and I like the supercharged car. Insofar as superchargers not making any sense, I've 'splained it as plain as I could. Someone else will have to chime in.

BTW, you seem to half way know what you're talking about. What are you driving. I think I'd like to line up against you at the drag strip. :)

[J_RaD]

im not saying they aren't good, i just don't understand why they won't turbo any of the V8 cars. they'll drop a turbo on other cars but a vette? NOPE!


z28... its currently waiting on an engine swap or rebuild :-(

[lawman]

No incrediBill, you're not the only one who has run from the cops. The one time I tried it I got caught and lost my license.

[J_RaD]

done that a few times as well, never caught, never testing my luck again either :-P