So, your Maserati, or whatever, does 185 ...

… but you don't want to end up like Joe Walsh ...

The car thread, all this talk of horsepower, what do you do with it if you don't live near the autobahn?

Do you take it to the track?
Do you cruise Main on Fridays, replacing rears every month?
Are you self-insured and as long as they don't lock you up tickets don't matter?
Do you floor it every time then lift completely going out of second?

I understand horsepower. I think horsepower is awesome. But in a street car, at some point does it become vanity or a waste of money?

 

In the mid-90's, I had a Cadillac STS. I'm not a gear-head, but I think it had 300 HP, which was plenty to send that thing into orbit. I loved that car, as I frequently made trips down the hill to Sacramento and throughout the central valley. A lot of passing on 2 lane roads... that car would pin you against the seat and made getting around folks so safe and easy. Since, I've driven Tahoe's and Yukon's... whole different experience.

When I was a young guy ('76-'79) I had a 1970 Mustang Mach 1 w/351 Cleveland engine (balanced & Blue-printed), twin Holly 4 barrels center squirters on a dual tunnel-ram intake system. Before jumping on it, I had to remember to flip on the aftermarket fuel-pump or it would literally suck the line dry. It was crazy to drive, as that big old tunnel ram stuck way outta the engine compartment and you had to kinda look around it. It was a fantastic 1/4 miler, but geared so low you couldn't take it on the freeway much. Gas was only .60 cents or so a gallon then and man the car drank it up. Though I rattled off some equipment earlier and said I'm not a gear-head... I'm not, I bought it that way... just remember some of the "specs". Took it to the Livermore cruise the first night with a couple buddies and lit the tires up... smoke got so thick inside the car we had to pull over... got out... coughin' like hell! People on either side of the road were laughing like crazy!!! I learned not to hold the burn-out that long!!!

I love 0-60 power and acceleration, not so much top-end speed for extended periods.

 

I have a limo, ride in the trunk ...

I lock the door in case I get drunk!

 

Every now and then you take it out on the highway, out in the country, and you let her rip, and if you get a ticket(which you wont), you pay it. As far as weather or not you can have too much power/hosrepower, that is not up to you or me to decide.

 

Around here, the bikers & car clubs love to ride the Tail of the Dragon. That's not so much about speed as skill (and I have no desire to drive it, personally) But when we used to go to the BMW roadster homecomings in SC, lots of people would drive it on the way down or back up.

http://tailofthedragon.com/dragon.html

We also live near VIR and love when we see the cars come through town for the racing weekends! I haven't been there, but my husband and FIL have.

 

I didn't ask either of us to decide. I asked for thought and input. It's called dialogue, learning about why people do what they do and why.

 

I love the Sierra passes for just that reason.

The turbo spools up pretty good on the Passat. Certainly not a Porsche slayer even remotely, but it adds a kick to a box that carries people and a lot of gear in the truck, and it didn't cost an arm and a leg, and I can get over 30 on the road. Guess for me at the end of the day I do a hp v $$ curve. We had a 5 series BMW as a loaner and loved the extra kick. But at twice the price …

Agree on acceleration. But can they at least let us open it up on the interstate when conditions are favorable? What was more un-American than the dreaded Double Nickel?? 70? Five more in AZ? Please.

 

You asked whether it can be too much or not worth the money, and that is all relative, to someone poor it's a tremendous waste, to someone rich, it wouldn't mean a thing.

The bottom line is that if you know you have it, you dont have to use it all the time. The peace of mind comes from knowing it's there.

 

As Sammy says...

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I am not into muscle cars, but I do want a car with some power and off the line acceleration. I'm actually planning to buy/lease the new Lexus RC when it comes out later this year, but I haven't decided yet whether it will be worth the extra cost for the RC-F. I will probably just stick with the RC - 350 because the RC-F is overkill unless I was planning to race it.

 

I've often wondered the same thing. I always tell my husband "where do they drive these things?" Meaning...drive like they were built to drive...not just crusin to walmart down the street

 

There are alot of event for high HP cars. Mile (and half mile) shoot-outs. Dyno competitions. Texas 2K just happened. The Silverstate classic is a great place to really open her up on the road.

The best part of having a high HP car is when you take someone for a ride who has never been in a fast car, the look on their face (or scream they make) when you stomp on it...priceless

Another one of my favorites is when you pull up next to some punk kid in daddy's viper or corvette and blow his doors off.

 

Also, the drive from AZ to vegas has some pretty straight open roads...could easily max out your super car there

 

I would like to think that if I had the cash available to buy a really high end sports car, I would give half to charity and settle for something with what's leftover.

I do have a few cars on my bucket list that really are quite affordable. A 65 Mustang convertible and a 1977 Stingray to name a couple. I think having those 2 sitting in my garage side by side would make me a happy man for a long time.

 

I can drive home through the back roads of the canyons which I have driven for 50 years now. There are some places where I'm able to open up and really push it through the esses.
I've driven all manner of cars through there, even my old Triumph 650 bike.
I have a C4S now that can get a real workout except I now have to watch for the mortocycles who do some very serious racing there. Oh, and the CHP.
I also had an old VW squareback that, while driving through Kansas in 1970, I couldn't reach the 75 MPH speed limit.
The run to Vegas used to be like Montana is now. As long as it was wide open, clear and dry (like always in 1968) the cops wouldn't hassle you. Great spot for my old '63 Stingray except the thing was so light with no downforce that I almost got airborne a couple times. No seat belt of course. Sheeesh.

 

AHHH. nothing like Encinal Canyon thru the canyon.....

 

My SL V12 has 600 hp and 600 lb ft torque. It's not about the upper end, it's more about the ease of which the car does even every day stuff. It just seems like everything the car does is effortless.

Yeah, the SL will do 187 mph out on the salt flats. But, I've only had it that high a few times. It'll actually go faster, but the limiter kicks in - not because the car can't do it, but because the commercial tires made at the time could not handle speeds above that.

Bill

 

When my husband & I were teenagers we used to build street rods - the best of which was a '68 Firebird - a Frankenstein inside Chevy motor, Mopar rear & a bunch of things I cannot remember except it was fast - we used to go to the Hollywood motor speedway for grudge matches & cruise the strip in Ft. Lauderdale. One day after adding a nitrous system he took it out on the old US 27 & opened it up - passed a police car doing about 140 & here comes the jelly - he gets it up to over 160 & loses the cop & then BAM the window trim pops off. Replacing the trim was a lot cheaper than that ticket would have been.

We had another Firebird we did SCCA races with - those were a lot of fun.

It's funny, we have had more expensive & fancier cars since then but we talk about building another old muscle car again once the kids are grown & gone. A brilliant red barchetta from a better vanished time -as Rush said.

 

I totally forgot - now he does this for his car fix:
http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/

This is a blast - your car cannot cost more than $500. You can put all the money you want into safety, brakes & tires - and of course decorations.

 

Was at the Palms maybe 10 yeras ago and they had a black Firebird outside on display,one of the Smokey and the Bandits movies I belive...Full blown if that is the correct terminolgy,with the 3 door intake sticking out the hood
looked so bad-ass..and across the way- the real high end valet cars..I'd rather try out the Bird..