What is the most powerful car you have driven?

[Saabstory02]

The most powerful I've owned was my 2008 R32. 250HP stock; mine had approximately 275.

Most powerful I've driven was a friends' Turbocharged R32: 650hp/650tq.

Insane

[daleadbull]

I'm not very experienced in this regard I'm afraid.

The most powerful car I've driven is my current car which makes around 310hp/311tq.

That is plenty of hp for your average vehicle. I wouldn't trust Average Joe with more than that - I like living when I drive.

I think the most powerful falls into the 300-350 hp category. With a gasoline engine, I drove a fairly loaded mustang when according to Edmunds has low 300s in hp when I was at the dealership. My father-in-law's farm truck is a diesel F250 which has 325 hp (though almost 600 lb-ft of torque) so I think that is the highest that I've driven.

Yea, that's more than enough especially for a small car like mine. Its hard to get an opportunity to stretch her legs without breaking all kinds of laws, I don't know how people can DD more powerful vehicles on a regular basis without losing their license.

Although, I do keep yearning for more power tho.

[ClutchDisc]

I guess for me that would have to be an 05 Mountaineer that I drove for a very little bit before I got the S-10. About 200 hp. Awful vehicle though....I'll gladly take the 120 hp in the S-10 over that Mountaineer!

[Shadow]

Are we talking actual engine HP or wheel HP? Not that it would make a huge difference, but I chose 650+ because I've driven my friend's modded Supra Turbo. It made a bit over 600 HP to the rear wheels, which means it's actually close to 700HP at the crank.

BTW, I actually ran his car at the dragstip a few times. It's insanely hard to drive because he'll only run it on street tires (for fear of tearing apart the rear subframe--again), so it's basically a matter of balancing power with traction. Best I ever got was a 12.4, but at 124 mph. For anyone who knows drag racing, that kind of trap speed should put the car solidly into the low 11s with even halfway decent traction.

[AHTOXA]

Yeah dude. New mustang on stock tires does high or mid 12s in the quarter.

[Shadow]

Yeah dude. New mustang on stock tires does high or mid 12s in the quarter.

I know. The Supra was traction problems almost all the way down the track. It was tricky as hell to drive. Only in 4th gear can you actually use all its power. But the trap speed is the true indicator of the power the car is making. And honestly, I've never in my life been in a car that pulls so hard on the top end.

[Rope-Pusher]

At the Detroit Autoshow, the models take pride in knowing a lot of background info on the cars they present. You can actually "talk car" with them, they're not just memorizing a script. The Model in the Ford exhibit opined that Ford will eventually offer a slushbox trans with their 3-cylinder once they can get it to idle smoothly enough in gear.

Well, except for the model that presented the SRT Viper - "The Viper V-10 engine makes 640 horsepower and 600 torques"

Other models in the area did a better job with the units.

[tankinbeans]

Shadow, what's the difference between actual and wheel RPM? I've heard there are two different measurements, but have forgotten where.

[potownrob]

Shadow, what's the difference between actual and wheel RPM? I've heard there are two different measurements, but have forgotten where.

http://www.ehow.com/facts_7632281_crank ... power.html

[six]

Yeah dude. New mustang on stock tires does high or mid 12s in the quarter.

I know. The Supra was traction problems almost all the way down the track. It was tricky as hell to drive. Only in 4th gear can you actually use all its power. But the trap speed is the true indicator of the power the car is making. And honestly, I've never in my life been in a car that pulls so hard on the top end.

I wish I had friends like your friends.

[IMBoring25]

I'm not Shadow, but I'm online now and he's not.

You mean actual and wheel HP, right?

The difference between flywheel and wheel HP is drivetrain loss. Some vehicles have more-efficient drivelines than others, but the rules-of-thumb with which I'm most familiar are about 15% for manuals and 20% for automatics.

[tankinbeans]

I'm not Shadow, but I'm online now and he's not.

You mean actual and wheel HP, right?

The difference between flywheel and wheel HP is drivetrain loss. Some vehicles have more-efficient drivelines than others, but the rules-of-thumb with which I'm most familiar are about 15% for manuals and 20% for automatics.

Yeah. Been up since 5:40 and my brain is scrambling. For reference it's 23:08 right now.

[six]

Don't forget brake-horsepower, which is the ancient horsepower rating of an engine in ideal conditions with no belt-driven accessories like an alternator or A/C compressor. Crank or flywheel HP is the power the engine generates with all belt-driven accessories installed, with factory header(s) and intake, and without drivetrain considerations. Wheel horsepower is the power that is actually put to the ground, the one that matters most in my opinion. That can only be measured with a dyno (or your butt).

One horsepower is equal to 746 watts. A dragster puts out in excess of a MEGAWATT of power. That's enough to power over a thousand refrigerators. Inversely, a powerplant that puts out a gigawatt of power is equivalent to a 1.34 million horsepower engine. Imagine stuffing that under the hood of a 280Z.

[theholycow]

Don't forget brake-horsepower, which is the ancient horsepower rating of an engine in ideal conditions with no belt-driven accessories like an alternator or A/C compressor. Crank or flywheel HP is the power the engine generates with all belt-driven accessories installed, with factory header(s) and intake, and without drivetrain considerations. Wheel horsepower is the power that is actually put to the ground, the one that matters most in my opinion. That can only be measured with a dyno (or your butt).

Yup, and changes in how horsepower is measured/specified are partially responsible for eras in which people thought emissions requirements had destroyed horsepower.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepowe ... _Engineers
Before 1972: BHP
1972-2005: "Net" (crank/flywheel HP)
2005+: "Certified", though its effect on ratings can go both ways.

(Some early emissions equipment really DID mess with power, though fundamental designs of combustion chambers and heads were by far the worst part of that rather than bolted-on stuff that is easily removed. There's nothing like a reduced compression ratio to hobble horsepower!)

[tankinbeans]

Would that be why whenever the Top Gear UK folks talk about older cars they're discussing horses that have escaped? They're deliberately quoting different numbers for comic effect?

That's not to say I don't find them hilarious.