While at the Dentist's Office.

[Carnut]

Yesterday while I was waiting at the Dentist's office I was reading the March Issue of Car and Driver.

Read a roadtest of a hot new 2011 Mustang coming out with a 'real' 5.0 V8 with Dual Overhead Cams, Variable Cam Timing and 4 Valves per cylinder and Fuel Injection with a claimed 412 horse power.

Oh My God!!, where have I been, I was under the impression back 'in the day' our torque monster V8's were figured on a more lenient SAE HP figure so when our Hemi's and BB's were in the 425hp range they really weren't near that HP as modern day ratings are figured.

So. That Mustang with 412 Hp in a small Mustang must really be a supercar compared to what we had 'In The Day'.

Then I read that the poor Mustang was actually 'down on horsepower' compared to Camaro with 425hp and Challenger with 426 hp, or vice versa, Geese are these monsters actually available to customers and on the streets?

Why haven't I heard more about this? Talk about glory days for factory street racers.

Guess I better come out from under my rock more often.

[UGLY OLDS]

My son just ordered a Camaro "Stripper" .. Only option was a trim package & a spare tire & jack..( YUP..spare tire is now an extra cost option..$150.00... )

 His V-6 is rated at 307 horsepower..  The "SS2" package is 425 horsepower.. ...
I see insurance people rubbing their hands in glee.... :?

In 1970 I paid $950.00 a year for full coverage on my 440-6BBL Road Runner ...Insurance was almost more than the monthly payment    

Bob........

[Old Blue]

Yes, these high powered cars are made and available to anyone. I had and sold (because it was just not what I wanted it seems) an 04 SVT Cobra Mustang that had the 4.6 DOHC Eaton Supercharged handbuilt engine.

It was under-rated at 390 HP and 390 lb/ft of torque and I opened up the breathing and put full aftermarket exhaust on it. It was putting 475 HP to the rear tires and would run the 1/4 at 12.95 on street tires.

With a little more money spent the 03-04 Cobras will run easy 10's and sometimes faster. The respond very well to simple upgrades.

With the 6 spd box and IRS the car was insanely fast and easy to drive.

The modern muscle cars do everything the old muscle cars did and do it better.

They even do what the older cars could not, with power handling and driveability the old cars could only dream about.

If you have the dollars, now is a wonderful time to play with new performance machinery. Bring your biggest wallet though it ain't cheap !

Larry.

[enjenjo]

the 86 year old farmer across the street just bought a 2010 SS Camaro with 425 HP

[purplepickup]

They even do what the older cars could not, with power handling and driveability the old cars could only dream about.

If you have the dollars, now is a wonderful time to play with new performance machinery.

Larry.

I agree Larry.  A year ago I had a chance to drive a ZR1 Vette 6 speed that had been upgraded to 685 hp.  The owner was with me and told me to get into it but be careful.  I expected it would be fast and handle like a go-cart but I sure didn't expect it to be as extreme as it was.  I can't imagine cars getting much faster than that one is.  

Stats say that 50-65 yr olds are the safest drivers and insurance premiums are the lowest for us.  ....another reason to invest some of our retirement $ in some fun before we hit the nursing homes.

[brucer]

Yesterday while I was waiting at the Dentist's office I was reading the March Issue of Car and Driver.

Read a roadtest of a hot new 2011 Mustang coming out with a 'real' 5.0 V8 with Dual Overhead Cams, Variable Cam Timing and 4 Valves per cylinder and Fuel Injection with a claimed 412 horse power.

Oh My God!!, where have I been, I was under the impression back 'in the day' our torque monster V8's were figured on a more lenient SAE HP figure so when our Hemi's and BB's were in the 425hp range they really weren't near that HP as modern day ratings are figured.

So. That Mustang with 412 Hp in a small Mustang must really be a supercar compared to what we had 'In The Day'.

Then I read that the poor Mustang was actually 'down on horsepower' compared to Camaro with 425hp and Challenger with 426 hp, or vice versa, Geese are these monsters actually available to customers and on the streets?

Why haven't I heard more about this? Talk about glory days for factory street racers.

Guess I better come out from under my rock more often.

 
i have an 80 stepside with a 427 in it.. i can tell you the power the 427 in my truck puts out is way more than what they said a 427 was suppose to. the 427 was rated at like 390- 425hp depending on year, mine will hit over 500hp and 575ftlb torque at the rear wheels,and its pretty much stock, the cam is a little bigger than stock, undercut valves in small chamber oval port heads with minimal work done on them.. just think to add a blower or nitrous to that, your knocking on 750hp or better and as much or more torque..

i drive an 04 dodge hemi, bought it new, it has 46,000 miles on it.. i put a cold air intake on it, 4:10 gears, cat back exhaust and a superchips programmer on it..  factory rated at 345hp, after the cold air intake, exhaust and programmer it put out a whopping 295hp at the rear wheels, on a chassis dyno... to me its a pig but it runs better than most trucks ive been in, except for lightnings, and the chevy ss trucks. but most of those are blown.. the older lightnings i can run with theyre not blown..

so dont let the numbers fool you, i think most are hype, some makes of these cars dont respond well to mods,namely the dodges, the computer kills the dodges..  also dont forget to deduct atleast 20% driveline loss on the factory ratings, plus the more power you put out the greater the percentage of power loss there is..

thats where i think the old ratings and the new ratings differ... i'm not sure but i do know the old ratings are different from the new hp ratings.

i'm not knocking the new cars and trucks, but i can knock their price tags, take an older car, spend 1/3 the money on it and blow the doors off the new rides, and drive away laughing..

[tomslik]

Yesterday while I was waiting at the Dentist's office I was reading the March Issue of Car and Driver.

Read a roadtest of a hot new 2011 Mustang coming out with a 'real' 5.0 V8 with Dual Overhead Cams, Variable Cam Timing and 4 Valves per cylinder and Fuel Injection with a claimed 412 horse power.

Oh My God!!, where have I been, I was under the impression back 'in the day' our torque monster V8's were figured on a more lenient SAE HP figure so when our Hemi's and BB's were in the 425hp range they really weren't near that HP as modern day ratings are figured.

So. That Mustang with 412 Hp in a small Mustang must really be a supercar compared to what we had 'In The Day'.

Then I read that the poor Mustang was actually 'down on horsepower' compared to Camaro with 425hp and Challenger with 426 hp, or vice versa, Geese are these monsters actually available to customers and on the streets?

Why haven't I heard more about this? Talk about glory days for factory street racers.

Guess I better come out from under my rock more often.

 
i have an 80 stepside with a 427 in it.. i can tell you the power the 427 in my truck puts out is way more than what they said a 427 was suppose to. the 427 was rated at like 390- 425hp depending on year, mine will hit over 500hp and 575ftlb torque at the rear wheels,and its pretty much stock, the cam is a little bigger than stock, undercut valves in small chamber oval port heads with minimal work done on them.. just think to add a blower or nitrous to that, your knocking on 750hp or better and as much or more torque..

i drive an 04 dodge hemi, bought it new, it has 46,000 miles on it.. i put a cold air intake on it, 4:10 gears, cat back exhaust and a superchips programmer on it..  factory rated at 345hp, after the cold air intake, exhaust and programmer it put out a whopping 295hp at the rear wheels, on a chassis dyno... to me its a pig but it runs better than most trucks ive been in, except for lightnings, and the chevy ss trucks. but most of those are blown.. the older lightnings i can run with theyre not blown..

so dont let the numbers fool you, i think most are hype, some makes of these cars dont respond well to mods,namely the dodges, the computer kills the dodges..  also dont forget to deduct atleast 20% driveline loss on the factory ratings, plus the more power you put out the greater the percentage of power loss there is..

thats where i think the old ratings and the new ratings differ... i'm not sure but i do know the old ratings are different from the new hp ratings.

i'm not knocking the new cars and trucks, but i can knock their price tags, take an older car, spend 1/3 the money on it and blow the doors off the new rides, and drive away laughing..

until the next gas station.

[cr55]

It's incredible how much power the new cars make! And Tomslick said it right about the "next gas station" with the older cars as compared to the new one getting good mileage. I have a friend that has an 08 Mustang....Wow is the term that comes to mind! Another term comes to mind when I read the earlier post about the 86 year old buying a new Mustang! :?: ..CR

[brucer]

Yesterday while I was waiting at the Dentist's office I was reading the March Issue of Car and Driver.

Read a roadtest of a hot new 2011 Mustang coming out with a 'real' 5.0 V8 with Dual Overhead Cams, Variable Cam Timing and 4 Valves per cylinder and Fuel Injection with a claimed 412 horse power.

Oh My God!!, where have I been, I was under the impression back 'in the day' our torque monster V8's were figured on a more lenient SAE HP figure so when our Hemi's and BB's were in the 425hp range they really weren't near that HP as modern day ratings are figured.

So. That Mustang with 412 Hp in a small Mustang must really be a supercar compared to what we had 'In The Day'.

Then I read that the poor Mustang was actually 'down on horsepower' compared to Camaro with 425hp and Challenger with 426 hp, or vice versa, Geese are these monsters actually available to customers and on the streets?

Why haven't I heard more about this? Talk about glory days for factory street racers.

Guess I better come out from under my rock more often.

 
i have an 80 stepside with a 427 in it.. i can tell you the power the 427 in my truck puts out is way more than what they said a 427 was suppose to. the 427 was rated at like 390- 425hp depending on year, mine will hit over 500hp and 575ftlb torque at the rear wheels,and its pretty much stock, the cam is a little bigger than stock, undercut valves in small chamber oval port heads with minimal work done on them.. just think to add a blower or nitrous to that, your knocking on 750hp or better and as much or more torque..

i drive an 04 dodge hemi, bought it new, it has 46,000 miles on it.. i put a cold air intake on it, 4:10 gears, cat back exhaust and a superchips programmer on it..  factory rated at 345hp, after the cold air intake, exhaust and programmer it put out a whopping 295hp at the rear wheels, on a chassis dyno... to me its a pig but it runs better than most trucks ive been in, except for lightnings, and the chevy ss trucks. but most of those are blown.. the older lightnings i can run with theyre not blown..

so dont let the numbers fool you, i think most are hype, some makes of these cars dont respond well to mods,namely the dodges, the computer kills the dodges..  also dont forget to deduct atleast 20% driveline loss on the factory ratings, plus the more power you put out the greater the percentage of power loss there is..

thats where i think the old ratings and the new ratings differ... i'm not sure but i do know the old ratings are different from the new hp ratings.

i'm not knocking the new cars and trucks, but i can knock their price tags, take an older car, spend 1/3 the money on it and blow the doors off the new rides, and drive away laughing..

until the next gas station.

well yea i get about 10miles to the gallon, with the 950dbl pumper on it, you could put a fast fuel injection on it and probably get 15-18mpg maybe a tad more.. but i didnt spend $30,000 either, i have about $12000 in it.. shoot my T-bucket will have less than $10,000 in it..
so i can drive about $20,000 worth of gas in it before i can complain plus i dont fork out $400 a month for a payment...

[OldSub]

I was at my dentist a couple weeks ago and he talked about his new Model A that he is going to hot rod.  I have no idea what modern car he might drive, but I know his hot rods pretty well.  I like that better than the new stuff!

[Crosley.In.AZ]

From what I read and hear a custom tune on the new muscle car stuff brings  out more power than the programer boxes do.

A friend with a TrailBlazer SS used the HP  Tuner software.  The vehicle spanks many modern "muscle cars" on the drag strip.

No modern muscle car  for me ,can not afford it

[UGLY OLDS]

No modern muscle car  for me ,can not afford it

Me either ...Besides , I'd only get in more trouble .....  



Bob..