HP Comfort levels

Juice

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I am actually thinking about a different hp to weight ratio build. Keeping reliability in mind, as it would be an HPDE car..mostly.
Radical racing chassis, to use a motorcycle engine and trans. Had a few Radicals come to a Glen event one year. Stupid fast little things running liter bike, 180~ish hp.
Put a turbo hayabusa engine in one, and tune for 500hp. (700 is the reliable hp limit for an unmodified engine)

https://www.radicalsportscars.com/

Street legal if you want
 

Bingo

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I think it all depends on the gearing to have fun on the street. The T-56 Magnum XL has pretty tall gearing, so I can only really use up to 2nd gear before I get into trouble with speed, but with the stock gearing, I'd just be blowing the tires off all the time. Honestly, a small car with 300-ish HP, 4 low gears, and 2 tall OD gears would probably be the most fun to mess with on the street.
 

Laga

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I’m at 475-500RWHP and it’s not enough. I’d go higher if the bottom end could handle it.
 

eighty6gt

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I don't have any idea what power my car makes... but with 12+ psi on 91, cams, LT's, 3.73's, it's the absolute best to flog around town. Has to be about 550rw/500tq and instant with the TVS. Even just the M90 was great with no cams and stock exhaust. You can't beat the instant hit of a PD blower.
 

Hawgman

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It is all in the perspective. My Mustang is a little over 600 to the wheels on pump gas, and still to this day, after 15 years of owning it, when I get out of it I have a smile from ear to ear and a hard on. But honestly, I can say the same thing about driving my wife's Mini Cooper S series. That little bastard is lightning quick, a complete blast to drive, and only has 190 crank horsepower.
 

Sactown

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I made 490 to the tires for years driving around on the street, first and second gear no traction, but 3rd gear from a roll was a blast, once i got above 600 the on street tires the power is not usable IMO, to much spinning not enough going.
 

Pentalab

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You can't beat the instant hit of a PD blower.

That instant TQ hit with a PD blower is something to behold. Instant boost, even from idle..and instant tq. Toss in the bigger TB, LT's, 94 tune etc, and it just gets better. No need to drop down a bunch of gears. 0-160 kph comes damned quick like. But from say 50 kph to 100 kph...... or 80 kph to 140-160 kph is stupid quick. Effortless going up hills on a hwy. Gas prices dropped like a rock with the CV-19.... but have now come back up a bit. Time to fill up.
 

Laga

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You can't beat the instant hit of a PD blower.
PD blower, headers, cam, E85 Lito tune, new TC and driveshaft. Took it on the highway last week. Cruising at 55 mph, I floored it. Trans downshifted, rear end broke loose, fishtailed, and then hooked up. 120 mph before I knew it.
 

06 T-RED S/C GT

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For seasonal driving/street usage 425rwhp provides just enough fun for my particular application needs. If taken to the track? then that's a whole different can of worms altogether IMO lol.
 

13v6

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Yeah, my slightly-tuned '11 5.0 has like 450 at the crank. In some ways, it is extremely frustrating driving on the street, because it's actually quite rare that I can safely use all 450 of those horses.

For street driving, the perfect amount of horsepower is 300. That's enough to actually use and still be fun. So think Ecoboost Mustang.

That 300 mark is a bit less than my 3.7 makes and it's a lot of fun. Since the front end is so much lighter, it cuts corners much better too. All around, it's a great daily driver. In fact, I rarely can use all the ponies I have even.

BTW, gearing also has a lot to do with how a car feels. Lower gears can make a huge difference.
 

06 T-RED S/C GT

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For N/A applications, I prefer 4:10 gears. When it comes to F/I applications, 3:73 gears are great for daily driving and also provide enough of a difference when it comes to having some spirited driving fun. IMHO 3:73 gears are like the sweet spot between stock 3:55 and 4:10 gears.
 

dangstang

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It’s always been my reasoning to be satisfied with hp level That I can afford but always have a shot of nitrous to never loose.
 

Forty61

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I’m running like 400 at the crank and 3.73s, I’ve considered jumping to 4.10s but for typical street driving and highway cruising the gains don’t outweigh the cost. While I would love to have closer to 5-600 for the laughs of driving it I’d never actually USE that power.
 

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