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Horsepower VS Balance
For some, horsepower rules and for others balance is king. What do you think?
We often discuss a lot of things in the 0-60 office: what to eat, what kinds of free stuff we should try to scheme on and what time to leave. But lately, the discussion over what is more important has come up: high horsepower or balance. Would we pick 0-200mph in 30 seconds or would we rather have the 300 horsepower car that is more balanced? The office is torn. We have argued till red in the face about the topic with no favorable outcome.
This isn’t the kind of topic that is easily discussed—such as hoon of the year—which was won over with the help of Kenny Powers. Ok, well maybe he’s not, but damn it is funny watching that.
But the discussion of horsepower over balance is often brought up without a definitive answer. You will always have your 1,000hp cars that will break the quarter mile in 10 seconds and devastate any straight strip of land with nuclear like power. On the other hand though, you have your skilled assassins that will dance around the tarmac like a laser guided missile using a quarter of the horsepower.
So how do we come up with a conclusion? I think the contenders need to be recognized in order to grasp what we’re working with. In the horsepower corner you have the Bugatti Veyron, 9FF GT9, Corvette ZR1, Dodge Viper ACR and Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series among a ton of others. Each of these represents the epitome of engineering within each respective manufacturer. Every inch of those vehicles has been honed in order to be fast…seriously fast.
On the other side you have the ones that make more with less: Lotus Elises, Porsche Caymans, BMW 1-Series, Caterhams and the Ariel Atoms. Each of these is light, have a respectable amount of horsepower and when put on track, can drive close to the limit. These vehicles tend to have a track-focused agenda: less power, but with the ability to be tossed around while still maintaining composure.
This whole discussion is based on the question of what’s more usable and user preference. Sometimes, based on the track or situation, a monstrous quad-turbo 16-cylinder might be in order. Yet sometimes, the 200hp, 2,000lb. two-seater could be better equipped for the job. It’s all a matter of how you go about things.
I want to stir something up, cause for me; a freshly prepared car with 300 horsepower is more fun then a car with 800. I’d rather be able to make my mark on a track then make it on a strip of straight road. Sure, high horsepower can get you around a track fast, but unless you are seriously skilled, you’re not going to be breaking any track records. I’d rather have control over power eight days a week.
So the question lies on you. And take these new cars as an example but don’t forget about the oldies: BMW E36, Porsche 964, McLaren F1, Ferrari F40, etc. There is no right or wrong answer. What’s more usable, better for the track; what’s your preference or what makes the most sense to you? Forget about gas mileage. Forget about price. Forget about everything except what excites you and what you believe is better: power or balance. — M.C.
A happy medium between the two? (lame answer)
for me its definitely balance, i just love sideways G pull, hitting the apex and powering out as fast as possible. closed course of course ;)
Balance all the way, with a healthy dose of torque pulling you out of that apex as you slam through the gears.
Turning is for people in slow cars with no horsepower. rowing through a gear box with great urgency, while your head is stuck the the seat is the greatest feeling ever....
power VS balance... having driven the same car with balnce, then having driven the same car witha lot more power. it is a very differant world. My STI was very well balanced and had a lot of power. but i did not give it the built motor and larger turbo untill i had finished the rest of the car. 380mm Alcon BBK, all the suspension modified to handle the abuse of daily driving as well as track life. giving the car 560whp made it a lot more fun, as well as a lot faster around the track, duh. but i dont think i would enjoy driving the same car with 800+ whp. i twould be slow as hell on the street and not be fun to drive unless on track or in the standing mile. Balance to the extreame > HP to the extreame
Balance is key, it doesn't have to be high HP a car setup with a good balance between power and traction can out dance much stronger cars around a track. My first was a 96LS Integra at only 140 hp my DC4 was able to out lap DC2 type R's and on occasion S2000's at MAM or Gingerman. Balance is key
Balance is relative to what you are doing with a car. A street car is totally different from a road race car which is totally different from a drag car. Just my .02
Balance is very important but if you don't have enough horse power to run with the big boys you might as well stay home. I have an'04 M3 with a stageII VF Engineering supercharger pumping 8.5 psi. What a hoot! Great handling and it will smolder the tires.
Agreed Bill - as long as your power doesn't affect traction and your suspension you are good to go. And breaking the rear tires loose every now and again is fun!