Why I Don’t Want A Car With Crazy Horsepower

Do you want a fun-to-drive car or just big horsepower? Because they aren’t mutually exclusive
Why I Don’t Want A Car With Crazy Horsepower

The horsepower insanity needs to stop.

Yeah that’s right, I said it. And to take it a step further, I’ll throw some unsolicited advice to all the CTzens with a project car and dreams of making enough horsepower to rotate the earth. Unless you are building a proper race car to run at a proper track, put the parts catalog down. Step away from the PC. Cut up the credit card. You don’t want that kind of horsepower for a street car, never mind a daily driver.

No, I haven’t gone soft. I’m not going to become a champion for efficiency and tidy by-the-book motoring, trading opposite-lock tomfoolery for gentle Sunday drives in the park. Truth be told, I’m trying to save the enthusiast community - both from the onslaught of manufacturers and their escalating horsepower war, and from the enthusiasts themselves who continue to say too much is never enough.

Yes, there is such a thing as too much. But I see you’re confused and possibly angry, so here it is in a nutshell. There comes a point in the giddy process of adding horsepower where it stops being about improving performance, and instead just becomes a quest for the highest number. The point where that happens is also the point where the driving experience starts to deteriorate, either because of constant breakdowns from all that power, or the effort required to corral all those ponies instead of enjoying them.

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And what makes this whole situation even worse is that people often don’t even realise what’s happening. We get so caught up in the excitement of increasing horsepower that we completely lose sight of the real goal - increasing performance. They aren’t one and the same, and I don’t mean to sound arrogant here. But unless you’ve driven and owned high-horsepower cars, it can be difficult to understand.

I realised this a few years ago when I bought a 2003 SVT Mustang Cobra. These cars were rated at 390bhp from the factory, but actually produced around 420. The car I bought already had some modifications - exhaust, supercharger pulley, and a tune, and was making around 500 at the crank. Prior to owning this car I’d had the opportunity to drive a few 600bhp+ monsters, and they were just stupid fun. I had every one of these cars in mind when I got the Cobra, and I was already looking up mods for more power before the ink was dry on the purchase agreement.

Why I Don’t Want A Car With Crazy Horsepower

But then I put about 3000 miles on it over the course of a few weeks, and I realised more horsepower simply wasn’t necessary. With traction control off I could already smoke the hides effortlessly in second gear with a stab of the throttle. I wasn’t regularly taking the car to the drag strip so there was no quest for quarter-mile dominance, and it already ran 12.8s in the quarter anyway so it was by no means the slowest street car in town.

Cobras came from the factory with IRS; the previous owner gave it a mild suspension drop, and being a Fox-Body based Mustang convertible, it had considerable aftermarket bracing underneath for much-needed stiffness.

I say this because I had a shopping list of mods planned for the Cobra, but after a few weeks behind the wheel I discovered it needed none of them. It was already a blast to drive, with gobs of power that was still easy to handle. Adding more power would’ve made it a bit faster, but that’s when I asked myself a philosophical enthusiast question that I’ll now present to all of you.

Do you want the best driving experience, or do you want bragging rights? Because that’s really what this whole insaneo-level of horsepower really comes down to - bragging rights.

I won’t say real car enthusiasts only seek driving nirvana over all else, because let’s face it - we all love competition and being the best. Nor will I say that throwing stupid amounts of cash at a garage-queen car just so you can say it has the most power makes you a poseur. If you’re building a race car, bragging rights will get you trophies and prize money, and that’s cool. But if you’re building a car that you want to enjoy on the street, take my advice: don’t give into the temptation to go mod crazy.

Why I Don’t Want A Car With Crazy Horsepower

For most modern street cars, I honestly believe 500 to 550bhp is the magic range where you’ll find the best driving experience without excessive insanity. Step back to less-complicated rides under 1300kg and I’d dial that back to around 400 ponies. Anything more, and you’ll be spending far too much time just trying to keep from crashing. Or the traction control will continually be kicking in, which makes the whole idea of big horsepower rather pointless if the car’s electronic brain won’t let you use it.

So yes, there is such a thing as too much power. And with factory stock cars producing more horsepower than ever, there’s a real chance this horsepower war could ultimately take some of the fun out of that which we claim to cherish most - driving. In the end, it comes down to a simple choice. Do you want to have fun, or do you want bragging rights?

Choose fun. Always choose fun.

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Comments

iCypher(Joel Chan)

All this, I agree with. There can always be too much horsepower: The Hellcats are an example.

12/18/2016 - 14:48 |
4 | 2

I think the hellcat isn’t overpowered. Its fun comes from the fact that one minute, its an easy-to-drive cruiser, but if you floor it, it becomes a real monster, smoking tyres. That’s all right, as its meant to be a drag car which can be a daily driver. I’d say the Mercedes A45 AMG is overpowered, as the chassis can’t really keep up with the engine, and on a twisty, narrow road, feels a bit point-and-squirt, which goes against its aim of being fast down these sorts of roads

12/18/2016 - 15:29 |
14 | 0
pissoffftwat

My reasons:

  1. higher chance to spin out and crash.
    2.Everybody that you ill meet on a car meet is ALWAYS gonna ask to do a burnout.
    3.The higher the power,the more times you gonna have to do engine revisions to not destroy your engine
    And last following the 3 one more money is gonna need to be spent in oil and other stuff
12/18/2016 - 14:51 |
36 | 2
Ellie Kuik

Don’t tell me what to do *Buys hellcat engine stuffs it into datsun 510’’

12/18/2016 - 14:53 |
148 | 6

Spends $70.000 car for a $200 car

12/18/2016 - 23:02 |
22 | 0
Kyle Ashdown

My 60-horsepower Datsun 720 diesel truck is the slowest, worst-handling, and least technologically-advanced vehicle I have ever owned; and it is also the most enjoyable.

12/18/2016 - 14:58 |
266 | 4

I have had more fun on my 11 hp two-stroke bike just riding it around than I had maxing out a Porsche Cayman S.

12/18/2016 - 17:44 |
26 | 4

I own a 1.2L petrol 90ps car with three modes: Eco, City, Sport.
Once I put it in Eco mode on highway and that was fun. Took me 5 days and 2Kms of road space to hit 100Km/h mark. Felt like a quest completed. Adrenaline ran high every time I tried to overtake a truck or bus cos no one had passed them for like 5 mins whilst me being in their blind zone. If they change the lane then…….adventureeeeeeeeeee!!

12/20/2016 - 20:23 |
10 | 0
Anonymous

I agree. My bicycle is quite fun to ride. Because of low HP maybe?

12/18/2016 - 15:19 |
4 | 2
Caro

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

1 MP
Manpower.

12/18/2016 - 20:12 |
6 | 0
Anonymous

Would leaving vehicles stock be okay?

12/18/2016 - 15:22 |
0 | 0
Porschephile

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

since when is it not okay

12/18/2016 - 16:42 |
0 | 0
Max fliearman

I agree with you I love Porsche 911’s from the 70’s and 80’s but they only have 300 horsepower but they are still an insane experience because of how light and balanced they are

12/18/2016 - 15:46 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

If you can’t put then power down with stock config then don’t bother tuning the engine.

12/18/2016 - 16:01 |
4 | 0
Dat Incredible Chadkake

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Or just toss on some drag slicks and tune away 😂

12/18/2016 - 18:57 |
2 | 0
TurboManual

“Why I Don’t Want A Car With Crazy Horsepower”
talks about figures like 500hp when that is already more than of 92% of all cars in your country
Well, I guess that’s America.

12/18/2016 - 16:05 |
156 | 6
Jakob

True. Many people believe that more horsepower equals more fun. Sure, muscle cars with huge superchargers on them and twin-turbo Supras with a four-digit dyno sheets are fun to watch YouTube videos of, but you will never even come close to exploiting the car’s whole potential on the road, which makes the whole thing pointless. When you reached the point of being scared of flooring it on a straight and empty road, you have bought/built a car with too many horses under the bonnet. I’ve had fun in cars that had as little as 26 bhp. It wasn’t quick by any means and it handled terribly, but it was fun.

12/18/2016 - 16:14 |
10 | 0