How much HP is too much?

[sveilside]

Hi all,

With all the mods available for the M5 now, I just want to ask some input from the board members. How much HP will you guys consider too much? or there is no such thing?

From my experience, I think, 400 HP at the wheels (~ 500 hp)would be more than enough for FR cars. My previous MKIV Supra had 425WHP. It was plenty for me, since traction is one of the problems. Of course it was fun on the highway during sunny days and felt like king of the road (killing Vipers to 993 TT). But, it certainly not fun fish-tailing during 3rd-4th gear hard shifts in the wet/rainy days. It was pretty hard to get a perfect launch from a dead stop too. It was either too much wheel spin or bogging.. (may be its my driving skill )

Its a different story with my Skyline. It has a nice attessa-pro 4wd system. I can mod it for more and more HP until the tranny breaks and still have very good traction

I'm thinking to supercharge the M5 if I don't like the up coming E60 M5, but am afraid of having difficulties with traction again

Any input would be appreciated

Thank you

[Jayson]

When the power band is out of control and traction is an issue, thats too much.

The M5 can use quite a bit more HP. On the track, the 996TT overtakes my S2 M5 quite easily. It would be nice to be able to keep up more easily in a straight line. 450 RWHP in the M5 would be great.

Cheers.

[MIB]

If it is smooth and driveable their is no such thing as too much.

Doesn't that V-16 Quad turbo Bugatti have 1000 BHP? That isn't too much for a car like that, but....

I've seen GTR R33's with so called 1000Hp and that was way too much for them. It was uncontrollable and wild and really dangerous.

However 500 on the Beast would be simple delightful. Add a 150 Shot of NOS if that takes your fancy and 650 is still sweet.

I think 700Hp in the Beast may be stretching and approaching the too much barrier.

I guess if it remains refined and silky smooth, it can extend beyond normal belief. But if it is harsh and unpredictably than too much can be a lot lower figure.

A 750 BHP Gemballa would not be too much. But I have seen 400 Bhp corollas that were too much.

500 Seems to be a magic number for the N/A Beast. I will be happy if Yoda one day sees 500 N/A.

[DavidS]

HP is one thing, flatness of TQ another. As long as the throttle response and TQ curve are well mannered, and thus predictable, I thing almost any amount of HP would be useful. It comes down to traction (4WD, preferrably rear-balanced) and traction control.

The M5 is traction limited in 1st and sometimes in 2nd too. We can handle that. Why would it matter if it was traction limited in 3rd, 4th and 5th? Of course it would mean a risk of provoking a skid at higher speed even on dry roads, and unlike winter driving, skidding on a dry road is a very quick and dangerous thing. I still think that with really good TC and DSC an M5 could handle huge HP.

David

[ELEVENS]

Too much HP for me is when you don't need and/or don't dare to open the throttles all the way. That only happened to me once, and it was on a modified 2001 Suzuki GSX-R 1000. That 9-second crotch rocket would pull the front wheel at 120mph rather easily.

As the saying goes....

Horsepower is good. More is better. Too much is juuust right.

-Bill

[M5Kid]

I agree with what the others have said. If you cannot control the car, when massive traction problems start to occur, and like Elevens said "when you don't need and/ or don't dare to open the throttle all the way" thats when there is to much power.

BP- I agree, it would be nice if the M5 could be easily modified to be a pain in the *** for a 911 Turbo (like the modifiying available for the Bi-Turbo 00-02' S4).

-Travis

[sveilside]

Thanks for the input

I agree that 400-450RWHP is plenty for the beast. I would think that more than that, it would be useless

Looking to the suspension, cars that are modded to drag reace have very differnt setups than cars made to corner well. You could in theory modify or change the suspension to help place all that power down, but why? The Beast is more than a drag racer, and I think more than a 100 hp increase could seriously detract from the handling balance. Example (although kinda apples to oranges due to weight balance, etc) being a 289 Cobra could lap many autocrosses and tight courses a lot faster than the 427...but hey, as long as you are alive and smiling after the throttle returns from wide open, it must be worth it

[Hamann7]

Well, I have pretty much decided to stop modding my M5 because after I acquired and started driving my Porsche, it seems kinda futile because I know it will never be NEAR as fast as my 996.

My Protomotive 996TT was measured at over 700hp to the crank and over 600 to the wheels... It is scary under full throttle! But at the same time, it is pure

I think my M5 is quite well balanced in its current modified form, however, I think 450RWHP would be nice. But for the money that it would take to get there...

[Ages]

I personally do not like driving anything with over 1100rwhp on public streets.

There is nothing nice about breaking the rearend loose @ 140mph.

[Ages]

Originally posted by sveilside
Thanks for the input

I agree that 400-450RWHP is plenty for the beast. I would think that more than that, it would be useless

Useless .. no.
More difficult to control. Yes.
The beast with 550whp would be just perfect.

[M5Kid]

If you can control it be my guest. I get the sense that a lot of the guys modifying their cars to 500-600 hp can't control it and just d do it for the macho factor .

-Travis

[louv]

Originally posted by MIB
If it is smooth and driveable their is no such thing as too much.

Doesn't that V-16 Quad turbo Bugatti have 1000 BHP? That isn't too much for a car like that, but....

More and more horsepower requ