Do we really NEED more horsepower?

[GTO]

Rtech,

You make me remember an uncle of mine who I have had countless discussions with. BTW his garage consists of an Indigo turbo-diesel, Uno Diesel, Sierra diesel and a Premier 137D.

First question - If you dont think you need more power, what was the point again in buying that Petes tuning box?

Of course, we dont need more power. Even my 62 bhp Jeep with a power to weight ratio of 49.6 bhp/ton takes me to work in about the same time as the 220 or Vtec do. But then, do I need a Mont Blanc? Or a Versace tie? Or even a plasma television? NO. To put it simple....Do we NEED more power? Nope.

Do we WANT more power? You bet.

GTO

[GTO]

Couple of bhp more translates to 'mine is slightly bigger than yours'.

Rudra, not everyone buys a powerful machine for one-upmanship.

GTO

[merve_extreme]

Theoriticallyspeaking "Do we need more power?" ,then the answers is NO,

but practically speeking everyone wants to have a powerful anything.some people compromise effeciency for the power,some don't(they buy Diesel's).But is sure does feel wonderful when you know that you have 500bhp under your left foot(or 1000 men under you're hand),even if you're not going to use more than 100 in normal life.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by GTO

Rudra, not everyone buys a powerful machine for one-upmanship.

I agree. But understanding of having more bhp is very different from buying just a machine with more bhp.

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by GTO

.. .......Do we NEED more power? Nope.

Do we WANT more power? You bet.

GTO

The best bit of reasoning here. I totally agree.

[veyron1]

Originally posted by GTO

Even my 62 bhp Jeep with a power to weight ratio of 49.6 bhp/ton takes me to work in about the same time as the 220 or Vtec do. But then, do I need a Mont Blanc? Or a Versace tie? Or even a plasma television? NO. To put it simple....Do we NEED more power? Nope.

Do we WANT more power? You bet.

my thoughts exactly, onto the paper, before i said it....need i say more...?

but personally speaking, with the spiralling fuel costs and what not, i would pick a modern day diesel over the petrols, in a heart beat; it makes much more sense.....which would explain my keen anticipation towards the launch of the indica "sport" turbodiesel, and the fabia 1.9 tdi...

occassionally (on weekends) though, i would like to have a souped up gas-guzzler for the tracks...

[devarshi84]

IMHO its not only the bhp's dat count.

many other factors are more important

gear ratios ( how your car goes in the city)
power to weight ( a light car is easy to manouvre and easily picks speed)
size of the car ( a small car is easy to handle in the city)
driver's skills( no comments)

and it is sometimes the satisfaction of having a fast car. you know you have 100 horses running for you when you are on the drivers seat of a palio.

BUt I think adequately powered cars are what sell well in India.

[Beemer]

Very well said Rtech and i would rate this thread as one of the most logical (not that others arent......

I am always failed to understand why do people always run after the bhp/torque when they know the fact that a person in a bicycle or any two wheeler would reach before them to the same destination(atleast in the metros) .....

May be cos of this i have never given a serious thought to the bhp/torque .What i require is adequate acceleration(like the 1.9 tdi) from my machine and i am more than happy driving it , provided it should ve a good ride quality and should be rattle free cos at the end of the day i would not like my car to behave like a Bullock Cart .....

IMO i dont think we need more power ....

[Rtech]

Originally Posted by shuvc

On second thoughts @Rtech .. to be fair, shouldn't the example be a petrol vs petrol or diesel vs diesel comparison ?

This is not a question of FE between cars. Its just about me putting my thoughts down while stuck in the mother of all jams and explaining to myself the practical advantages of the TDi over the much quicker RS.

Originally Posted by veyron1

but personally speaking, with the spiralling fuel costs and what not, i would pick a modern day diesel over the petrols, in a heart beat; it makes much more sense....

Spot on! the torque more than makes up for any BHP deficiency, and if it gets you better FE plus allows you to buy cheaper fuel, why not!

Originally Posted by merve_extreme

Theoriticallyspeaking "Do we need more power?" ,then the answers is NO,

The point I was making - while speaking from the head in a moment of frustration.

Originally Posted by GTO

Do we WANT more power? You bet.

You bet! 'coz those brief moments when you mash the pedal and feel that rush make it all worth it.

Edit: NC, I should hire you as my driver for the city if you manage to get 20kmpl in Mumbai city. I don't even get that figure on the expressway.

[abhibh]

Man this is india. Man we dont need power coz there are no roads to unleash the power. The max i went on highway is 165 with my dad optra (that also at night). Man on highway as soon as i reach 120 - 140 somethign comes in between. So we dont have roads to use the power in cars.

[Psycho]

My two pence to this:

You need enough power to be able drive comfortably and that depends on how you drive.

As for others with a view towards your ride, well everyone always has one

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by Rtech

Edit: NC, I should hire you as my driver for the city if you manage to get 20kmpl in Mumbai city. I don't even get that figure on the expressway.

RT - there is huge chasm between our driving styles. You just cant stop ripping your TDi like it is a super car more so after power boxing it. while i drive sedately , light foot . the Octy has sure made me a more sedate driver. The power is available when u need it , just a dab of the pedal and its ahead of the slow moving traffic .

The 20 kmpl figure is acheived daily going from chembur to vashi and back daily . while in the city - suburbs and town i get a figure of 16-17 kmpl .

Infact - ON hindsight i feel much better that i bought the TDi rather than the RS that i was considering.

cheers

PS - remember the alibag trip ? On the way back to bbay, i got the figure of 3.3 where you have 10 in the 4th pic ! i have a pic of that somewhere will dig it up and post it.

[Rtech]

You are a master of patience NC! I saw that whenever I was in your car. Need to learn that from you.

[BUSA]

Really nice write up Rtech but comparing your car with Petes tuning box entitles you to compare with a Petes RS which belts more then double power then your car. i.e 230bhp!

@ NC - OD guys will be after you for replacing Aspi B

[Shan2nu]

Do we really need more horsepower?

Well, that would depend on a lot of factors.

Guys staying in B'lore and Bombay maynot say so but, come to a place like Hubli sometimes and see the amount of tarmac i get to drive on.

If i owned a 720 bhp Supra, i'd have kept it in Hubli and enjoyed it there.

As far as power goes..........more is never enuf.

And with technologies like VCM (Variable Cylinder Management), performance and practicality can be achieved from the same engine.

It's just a matter of time.

Shan2nu