SW17LS

I was watching an episode of TopGear (the new "Perfect Road Trip special) the other night in which Jeremy Clarkson made a comment that some of these cars with insane power get to be so frightening to handle that he a lot of times prefers a car with a little bit less power, because driving it in the upper limits of its capability is more comfortable and enjoyable than trying to constantly reign in and try not to over drive an overpowered car on the street or on the track.

He put the amount of horsepower beyond which he feels there is this difference in around 500 in general depending on the car.

I thought that was interesting as we discuss upcoming cars like the RC-F and GS-F and people are disappointed about power figures under 500hp.

Here's an article in which he discusses it:

http://www.topgear.com/uk/jeremy-cla...wer-2013-09-16

A quote:

What do you all think?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

well truth is i don't think anyone "needs" more than 300hp, so in that sense i agree with jeremy,

too much power? i guess it's more about personal preference but i do see why and how it gets dangerous after certain point, mainly about how traction is being done, from tires to suspension to drive systems.

gtr with so much power but with awd and advanced computer system, it's one heck of an "easy" car to drive. on the other hand cars like porsche gt, also great power but given it's "requirement" on the drivers, it's one heck of a hard car to drive.

but one thing for sure, the more power it is, the more responsibility it is in the driver to make good use of the power and not do something stupid. there is a reason why to certain extend, driving an exotic or supercar brings extra untold stress, to make sure owners don't engage in something stupid that end up with them being headline in newspaper. the thing is on high power cars, when things go wrong, they go wrong with little to spare.

with that said, today even if i have a veyron, i probably wouldn't "complain" that 1000hp is too much. i am likely going to be very afraid to use all 1000hp and be very cautious though. and 500-600hp in say all the amg / m cars? i guess that's where experience comes in

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

There can only be too much power if the driver doesn't have enough skill.


And we all have seen how "skilled" people are out on the road...

Marklouis

agreed - Take a 1995 Ford Mustang GT - fun car - only 176 ponies (however 1k lbs less weight than todays GT) that car can get squirly in a heartbeat if you're not careful. There are a great many wrecked GT and Cobra edition mustangs in salvage yards because of putting young drivers in fast loose cars.

I've seen GTRs push the 1,000 HP boundary and still have better control than certain vehicles with less than 200. That much power for the street (especially for less experienced drivers) really does need precise traction/control/safety measures in place.

pbm317

Agree. I hope that horsepower wars may come down. And with more focus on lightweight, less HP can still feel "fun"

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

driving very high horsepower cars on public roads is pretty much asking for trouble because you can't use more than a fraction of the power, so you're to feel like a caged tiger all the time, but the only cage 'bars' are your ability to contain your right foot. i could imagine a day where gps only allows a 'street mode' on the street, and full on open when you're at a track.

also, the speed and acceleration difference between the average car and cars with monster power is so huge that it can be pretty scary to the person in the average car.

plus we've all seen the crashes of very high hp cars... not pretty, and happen even with very experienced drivers (like the person driving paul walker's porsche gt recently).

very high hp is more fun OFF public roads. i don't trust myself or others on public roads in them.

SW17LS

I don't think he was getting at a question of safety so much as saying that sometimes these cars have so much power they are less enjoyable to drive than they would be if they had less power, even on a track...

mmarshall

No matter how much (or how little) power you have under the hood, one thing is guaranteed not to change: Speed Limits.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

It would be nice.

But then when the lightweight and super-agile BRZ/FRS came out, every enthusiast out there bemoaned "It's too slow..."

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Great post Henry

Blackraven

JDM versions of the Nissan GT-R (R35) have this feature.

On public roads and in normal operation, the car is limited to 180 kilometers per hour max speed.

However, once the GPS detects that you're within the premises of certain Japanese race tracks approved by Nissan Japan, then the limiter will be disabled.

Toys4RJill

I think there is indeed a point where too much HP is stupid. I would trade HP and TQ for better gearing, less. drive train loss and less weight on the car.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

well imho it's more matter of design and engineering. there is a reason why a car like the lfa, with over 500hp, is such a pleasure to drive both on street and track. it's because the car is very well designed and balanced out. but as mentioned, if a car is poorly designed say with huge weight bias, it can be 300hp and it's still very tricky (and thus not enjoyable) to drive.

mmarshall

In a general sense, you're right, but it depends, of course, on the vehicle's power-to-weight ratio, transmission/final-drive gearing, and a number of other factors. 300 hp/300 ft.lbs. of torque in a Ford Focus ST or Subaru STi, for example, is obviously much different from the same amount of power in a full-size pickup or SUV.

RNM GS3

Couldnt agree more.

Recently got to experience Ferrari 458 Italia and Mclaren 12C for a day of driving - present from wife - these cars are very easy and such a pleasure to drive on the street.
Balance is key, the new electronin nannies are so good, its hard to get in trouble unless u turn everything off.

I would take the extra power for sure.....