Don't kill yourself:D

thats a lot of power in a small car!

The Ks bowed for 1981 as the Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant [and, in Mexico, the Dart]. A 2 door coupe, 4 door sedan, and 5 door wagon were available. Base power was a 2.2 (135 cid) in-line-four fed by a 2 barrel electronic feedback carburetor with a progressive opening (like 4-barrels of yore, opening first the primary bore and then, as the pedal was depressed further, the secondary bore) churning out 82 hp. Transaxles were a 4-speed floorshift manual or a 3-speed automatic. The car did 0-60 in the 13 second range [not bad for the times]. A 2.6 Mitsubishi motor was optional, and cars bearing this motor - for 1981 at least - were adorned with the badge "2.6 HEMI." (Yes, they were hemi-heads!)
from:
(an interesting Chrysler site, if you're interested)
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/3.html

(C'mon, no one can reasonably say "no offense" and then call "shit.")

Well now, at least two of you are turning this into a US vs European car bashing fest.
Shame on yall.

Mr. Mephisto, I am adressing you, simply because yours is the first post that assumes American engineering is at fault for the differences in perception over horsepower.

I will set aside the issue of weather or not American engineering is done well.
Instead I suggest you look at the wide gap in perception Americans have about power in thier cars, and others; that will solve why we think 175hp is just "okay."

I don't know if Austrailians drive more Euorpean/Asian cars, or American. I will refuse to assume I know.

To wit:
Americans, rightly or wrongly, tend to drive big, heavy, pig like vehicles. In such vehicles 175hp is barely passable. Especaially when it's hauling 4000lbs around. The base engine in a Ford Explorer, one of our best selling SUVs is a V-6. It puts out 210hp, but weighs 4300+lbs depending on options.

I drive a Mitsubishi Lancer, it's got a 2.0L four putting out 120hp. I understand that in other countries it's percieved as a much larger car than it is here.
Here, in the US, it's an enconobox. A small, underpowered, toy car. Pehaps elsewhere it's a mid size, powerful sedan.

Perception makes a huge difference. I suggest you consider that before bashing a culture's engineering skills.

2004 subaru wrx sti at 300hp :)

Good ole stock Honda Civic... 115 hp. Ill see what I can do to up that soon though.

If my dad ever finishes his 67 Camaro RS/SS with the 327, it'll be pulling over 300 hp. He says he will let me drive it...

We shall see whT he says after its all shiny sittin there in the garage and I wanna take it for a rip.

That is going to be one nice car, just needs a 396 or a 454!:D

Yes they can. I just did.

I meant no offence to you when I say that, based upon my previous statement, US automotive engineering must be "shit" (in my opinion) if it can't get decent performance out of 175 HP.

No I wasn't, and I don't believe the other poster was.

If you reread my comment, I go on to say that "that BHP is not the measure of all things" and "You have to take into account the whole package. The quality of the breaks, the torque (Nm or lbs you Americans) and the actual weight of the car
".

I suggest you reread my comments before jumping to assumptions.

Mostly Australian cars, followed by Asian. Now you know.

Actually reading and understanding my comments means more than perception. I suggest you do that, before "bashing" me...

...the irony here being that you are NOT bashing me, but making a polite enough (if misguided) comment.

I was NOT bashing an entire culture's engineering skills. That's just silly. I also think you're showing a slight sensitivity to the issue. Who knows?


Mr Mephisto

American engineers are encumbered by the same laws of physics the rest of the world faces. Our cars tend to be big and heavy, therefore 175 hp isn't all that great.

If we all liked to drive around in the sardine cans that the rest of the world seems to be happy with, then our 175 horses would be just as fun as Europe's or Asia's.

My old '91 Corsica was rated at 135 horsepower. Factor in the 18 percent power loss that a naturally aspirated engine experiences at mile high altitude and you are down to 111 horsepower. Factor in 200,000 miles of wear and tear, and I bet there isn't more than 95 horsepower at the flexplate now.

340hp; picture at left. Catalytic converter deleted, performance chips added.

Just curious....have any of you actually dyno'ed your cars? Or are you just spouting factory ratings and guesses.....

Excellent point. I love all the speculations of power. I on the other hand am no stranger to the dyno.

Who's got the time for a dyno? Either you believe the manufacturer or you don't. When my cars are screaming, I want them to be going very fast, and I don't particularly want to extend either the six or the twelve without great gobs of air cooling the engines...Or do they take care of that somehow?

I know what you mean man. My friend derrick and I are trying to get him to modify the engine, suspension etc... But being as its an RS/SS hes gunna leave the 327 (which I dont actually think was orig, because the range on the tach wud indicate a big block) and modify it how someone in the 60/70s would.

Still going to be fun.

They put blower fans in front of the car, and the load isn't quite so great as on the street so the car won't get as hot.

Dynos are for people to tune/modify their engines...if you haven't done anything to your car, then there is no need.

~ 190+ HP A4 Manual Quattro with mods - looking into a blower

just a 200 2.8l V6 Jetta GLI

Volvo S60 AWD with 208HP. Really, it's all the power I would know what to do with in a car. I love it: solid, safe, and fast.

1991 Nissan 300zx Twinturbo. I put in new turbos among other things to get it up to about 440HP, with minimal turbo lag.

94 Camry with 130 hp (according to Edmunds)
No surprises here. Not terrible, but pretty pathetic next to my friends' WRX's, Camaro's, etc.

That would have to be my friends `97 Geo Metro. All it's 0.9L 55hp glory. God that thing is slow. She would always just goof around and try to race me in my car, which at the time was my 89 BMW 325. 167hp. Over 3 times the power. Was always fun.

EDIT: BTW, current car is a 2003 VW GTI 1.8L 180hp

Cool car..A friend of mine has an '01 GTI 1.8t. He installed an aftermarket boost controller with a control knob mounted on the dash. It's fun to turn it down to the stock level, floor it, and crank it back up. Very effective demonstration of what a few extra psi can do. :)

346 hp out of a real car, 67 Chevy Nova SS, 327ci, 700r4 Trans, very fast in a straight line.

'67 Camaro RS 327 = 340 hp on new rebuild of original engine
'65 Fleetside Chevy = 445 hp on a 400 sbc
'65 Stepside Chevy = 220 hp on original inline 6
'66 Fleetside Custom = 250 hp on original 283
'04 Chrysler 300c = 345 hp & 390 lb/ft torque
'03 Chevy Silverado = 310 on Vortec 5300
'01 Honda Accord = 150 hp on stock 4-cylinder
'02 Nissan Xterra = 170 hp on stock 6-cylinder

Well, that covers all of my cars. I am lucky enough to have such a wide diversity of cars with all types of power. It's hard enough to decide which one to drive in the morning! (Note* All the 60's cars listed are restored and are not just sitting, rotting away.) If only I had a bigger garage...

How do insurure(sp) all those cars at the same time?

The more cars you insure, the cheaper it gets per car. The isnurance company knows you can't exactly drive all those cars at once. Chances are they'll only have to pay for one damaged car whether you own one or a dozen (unless yor garage blows up or something), and they take that into consideration.

CamaroRS-- how do you like your 300C? I just got back from looking at one, but it was the last one on the lot and had been sold so I couldn't drive it. It looked very nice though. The one I saw had a dishwater gray interior which I thought was a bit spartan for that type of car, but the quality was very good.

Pain, the 60's cars I have I only pay $20-90 a YEAR for full coverage. Also, same as irseg said for the others.

To answer your question, the 300C is amazing. I have never loved a sports/sedan/luxury car more in my life. This car has smooth styling, awesome power, and luxury features. This car sticks down to the road very well. (Though it is a little noisy in the back seats on the highway) I got the Mercedes silver color(Bright Silver Metallic Clearcoat) with the dark slate interior. If you are interested in one, I would definately look into getting one. It is worth it.

I had 302 AWHP in my eclipse before the engine died... now I've got a stroker kit that upped my engine from 2L to 2.37L, so however much more power that gives me... I dunno. Haven't had a chance to dyno it yet.