What does 600bhp feel like?

And this is the thing. Gearing. In olden times a 330d would get to 62mph 0.2 seconds slower than the 330i, and this was widely accepted to be because the diesel needed a gear change, despite being down on bhp it's torque figure was significantly more, and it weighed more than it's petrol stablemate.

It took a while for the omg petrol heads to realise they could indeed have it all, power, speed, torque and mpg.... :D
 
Frozennova said:
That's more of a gearing issue than the lack of torque though.

First gear on most litre sports bikes is ~95mph, reduce that to a more typical 32-34mph and you've got almost 3 times as much torque applied to the road where it matters.

Peak torque for a sports bike isn't any lower than you a typical naturally aspirated 1.2 found in a small hatch
Click to expand...
Don't they normally rev to something crazy like 19,000? Also im sure you can get kit cars with bike engines in.
 
theone8181 said:
Don't they normally rev to something crazy like 19,000? Also im sure you can get kit cars with bike engines in.
Click to expand...
Lots of bike engined kit cars, and when you consider some of the larger bike engines they don't fall particularly short on the torque front. A hayabusa produces almost identical peak to torque compared to a 1.6 MX5

Typically 14,000rpm for most bikes.
 
Torque is literally the turning force of the engine but in isolation the measurement is meaningless to determine acceleration. If you had 500Nm @ 5000 rpm you have a decent engine with which to power a car. However if you have 500Nm @ 1000 rpm you have a tractor engine and NOT a good engine for a car for acceleration. The reason is gearing. If you want to do 0-60 quickly (you could select any specific speed) you select gearing as low as you can to reach 60 in your chosen gear. If you have an engine that can apply 500Nm @ 5000 rpm you can aim to hit 60 @ 5000rpm. This means relatively low gearing. If you have the other engine you have to try to accelerate in a VASTLY higher gear hitting 60 @ 1000rpm. We all know acceleration is greater in lower gears. The torque is in fact multiplied by the gearing. Remember you legs don't get stronger when you change down gears on a bike, the gearing makes it easier to turn the crank.

What you want to go fast is the ability to run high rpms whilst sustaining the torque. Low down torque makes for relaxed cruising, good emissions and can aid acceleration when you do not use the gears, BUT its not faster. This is why many diesel engines having LOADS of torque but modest power, are not faster than a petrol engine with lower max torque but more power.

Spread of power is important too and then you get into the specifics of the gearbox used. Type, number of gears, etc.

In summary power is the rate at which the engine can do work. It is the best single term to use to compare engines for acceleration. If you can adjust the gearing the engines of the same power will accelerate at the same rate. I have studied the science behind this.;)

If you want an example my 550BHP/ tonne Ariel Atom has bugger all torque but its high POWER to weight makes it one of the fastest accelerating cars on the road. Partly due to screaming to 8250rpm and running relatively low gears. But for long distances it would drive you mad.:D
 
OCPete said:
If you want an example my 550BHP/ tonne Ariel Atom has bugger all torque but its high POWER to weight makes it one of the fastest accelerating cars on the road. Partly due to screaming to 8250rpm and running relatively low gears. But for long distances it would drive you mad.:D
Click to expand...

Or the S2000 which also doesn't have a lot of torque.
 
Had a BMW 340i for 2 years. I can count on one hand the amount of times in the UK I used all the power and didn’t break the speed limit...

In Germany it was great having the power, but I’d Say for uk roads 320bhp is absolutely plenty. For my next car i’m Looking at around 200 or so, but something significantly lighter
 
Just went for a drive in ferrari and enjoyed using all 600HP with ease and my god no car has ever felt so rewarding to drive before. :)
 
W
Gibbo said:
Just went for a drive in ferrari and enjoyed using all 600HP with ease and my god no car has ever felt so rewarding to drive before. :)
Click to expand...
WWhile I only have a measly 400hp, I agree. There's places to use the power, even during the commute. I actually want more power though it a turbturboed car, mine requires to much gear changing to overtake.
 
Yep. This ‘too much for the road’ is probably a combo of going a bit fast and a car that is at the edge of its capability.

Fast car and powerful engine should not be confused.

I will admit that going fast is far too easy in fast cars so u end up going even quicker. Those ‘oh crap’ moments when you look down still crop up.
 
Amazing how time flies! Since I created this thread I have driven quite a few cars, notably a GTR with 550bhp and today an E63s with 612bhp. I expected the E63s to feel faster than it did given that it is outputting 612 ponies (313bhp / tonne). The car felt "fast", but not much faster than my existing 420bhp car. I was surprised to find it scrambling for grip in many scenarios when going wide open throttle, I had assumed the car would grip with 0 issues being 4matic, but it seems even 4WD has it's limits. I have heard similar things from people with RS3's who are north of 500bhp, with quattro struggling for grip in some scenarios. Despite it not being as fast as I expected it is a lovely comfortable car and I can see its appeal.

So to answer my own question "what does 600bhp feel like, say compared to a car that has 400bhp". Not that different in this instance, bare in mind my car is circa 1600kg, and an E63s is circa 1950kg.
When I get the chance to drive a 1600kg vehicle with 600bhp (375bhp / tonne) I will report back, I expect that to feel drastically faster (Provided it can grip)!

Thanks
 
Last edited:
A 600bhp E63 is very quick. Sensation of speed is what your talking about. An E63 is a luxury big saloon car, it wont feel as fast as something lighter with less power but it is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom