It's about the money sucka
 

This is all about the money. My old Monte carlo and Mustang both felt like they had more than what was streetable with 350-430 rwhp. Both cars sucked. The vette is in the mid fives and very streetable. I can drive off in second or third off idle with no throttle.


Stay in school!:thumbs_up:

That's because of the low end torque, not the horsepower. Phil can do the same thing in his FJ40 and it only has 220-230hp at the flywheel.

Oh, and it's not all about the money. I don't make a lot but I build my own and I have an 11 second dily driver and a 10 second fun car.

The whole history of hot rodding is about middle class guys scrapping together what they can to have some fun. But, all other things being equal, mo money always opens doors to mo goodies.

I'm afraid the era of affordably tweaking out cars may be winding down. Parts themselves are considerably more expensive (I'm always stunned by what the old timers say they used to pay for stuff, and that's accounting for what people used to make), people have less discretionary income for a variety of reasons, and the next generation of cars (ODBIII) are going to be radically more difficult to do performance modifications on. Sure, there will always be big dollar kits and mods, but the "whack it with a hammer" days are closing I think.

Really torque not horsepower? I had no idea. Wow, that is so interesting. Why is the sky blue? Awesome.


It is ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. The your cars are fast because of slicks and the effort you put into them. But we are talking horsepower not timeslips. There are big horsepower cars that are driven daily. <1000 is just not big power.

Smart ass! So what you're saying is because you spent $15,000 to have someone build your engine to make 550rwhp that it is better than say Adam's Vette that probably makes the same amount or my buddies GTO that does make the same amount just because they did the work themselves for a 1/3 of what you spent? And the only reason my cars are fast is because of slicks? It doesn't have anything to do with the way I built the engines? Should I have paid someone else to do it? Should I also assume that means you don't think I can build an engine that can make 1000 horsepower? Well, I guess we'll see someday when I build another engine for the Chevelle.

Ok.

Didn't you just say it was all about the money?

My guess is that the number of DD > 1000 HP cars is < 0.00001% of cars on the road. There are Veyrons, but those aren't DDs (even though you actually could). In fact, I've never seen a street driven >1000HP car at all. I guess there's some big turbo Supras, but they probably kinda suck as DDs. :huh: The only >1000HP cars I've seen are some PSCA cars, but those ain't DDs either.

Dude you state the obvious and then get worked up. Relax.

Those are nice motors that are built to make "ok" power for a very limited period of time. Road racing is more expensive. Shit has to handle heat soak and and extended use. Your friends motor is nice, but how long do you think it will last on a road course?

Yes, I spent a lot of money for a 550 rwhp motor. I spent a lot of money on a motor that will last years racing. Can the motor handle more power?? Yes for the same money I could have gone with higher compression and a much more aggressive cam. But that would be self defeating. I am limited by the power to weight limits on TTU. I'm there with a motor that will last.

Aren't you getting ready to start racing Ron????? Get ready it get's expensive with rules buddy.

Carlos, racing the Chevelle isn't anything new for me, just racing in the PSCA is. I've been racing on this engine since 7/22/05. So I'm pretty sure I did an okay job of putting it together.

I built the current engine in the Cobra back in August of 2005 and it has over 70,000 miles on it. I did go through a set of Felpro head gaskets though and moved up to their MLS ones and I've had to fix little things here and there such as oil leaks and so forth but the long block is still the same. So I'd say I did an okay job on it as well.

Do I think both of my engines would survive in a road race car? Yes, I do. As you already know I run track days with the Cobra and the temp never goes above the R in NORMAL (about 190) and that's without an aftercooler for the supercharger. It's all about keeping the rpms under control. I guess we'll also find out if I can build an engine for road racing as well since that's what I'm doing with my '83 Camaro. It'll have a 355 that should make about 460 at the flywheel with 9:1 compression, a hydraulic flat tappet cam and cast iron heads.

Talk is cheap, make it happen. :beer:

Hope you're not talking about my motor.

I wouldn't compare it to your LS motor as far as reliability, but it's no Indy motor. It's also been alive since 2005 and it shows almost no wear internally. And "ok" power? ...You must not be talking about my motor.




Baddass, sub 1K hp is not big power? ...C'mon, be real. I know you're Mr. experienced baddass racer guy, but 500hp is big power, 700hp is really big power and 900hp is lunacy, I don't care who you are.