Is 300 Bhp Enough For Uk Roads?

[xpoweruk]

The availability of the torque from 2-2500rpm is one of the great things about the supercharged V6 in the S4
Especially when tuned

 

[Dippy]

but most people get bhp

They may 'get bhp' in terms of 'top trumps' but do they actually know what it is?

 

[jdp1962]

They may 'get bhp' in terms of 'top trumps' but do they actually know what it is?

Only in the Clarkson sense: i.e. it's a number and big numbers are better than small numbers.

 

[Chop.]

Hahaha spot on its the only way I can communicate with the none car people :-/

 

[Gray S]

300BHP is more than enough 99% of the time. I'm sure the Ferrari 360 driver wished I had less than 300BHP a couple of weekends ago!

 

[GeoffDunk]

Living in rural Norfolk I enjoy my 450PS on a daily basis!

We don;t suffer huge traffic issues and the roads are fun although a little flat.

 

[Brodster]

Been off here for a while so now back....and No is the answer to the OP question IOMO but then again is all dependant on location as anything south of the border is congested. Where I live there is some real good roads....in fact one of the best driving roads in the UK - A702 to Biggar via Devils Beeftub. Utterly amazing on a nice day. Having that extra 120bhp on tap in mine makes the drive so much better and enjoyable as it has transformed the car.

 

[Kwatrow]

I used to run a 420hp remapped B5 RS4 which I thought was "unnecessarily quick", but good fun, although you knew you were going to get a big collar by the police one day.

 

[voorhees]

You can never have enough horse's

 

[Scott.T]

Torque is your friend.
BHP is just a mathematical calculation based on torque

BHP = Torque (ft lbs)/5250 x rpm

If you plot a cars Torque (ft lbs) and Bhp on the same scale they will always cross at 5250rpm

Feel free to do the Math's on the below plot to prove the calculation

 

[desertstorm]

If you live in the middle of London anymore than 200bhp is a waste because you will hardly ever get to use it.
I am happy with the just over 300bhp my car has ,along with the 720Nm ( 530 ft/Lbs) of torque it gets you over the legal speed limit in a matter of seconds and It's still a practical car to run.

 

[Tfsi gone]

Power to weight I would say is more important...
How many of you have speeding points...?

 

[Chop.]

Touch lots of wood 0 for me, check my mirrors a LOT and I find as long as you drive fast enough you only need to worry about what's in front ;-)

 

[Tfsi gone]

Same. Never gone quicker than 155 mph on the motorway. Wonder if the fact it's limited to that will stand up in court...

 

[Chop.]

Ha, I don't think it would matter anything over 100 and your in the ****

 

[Tfsi gone]

Why put up to 8 gears on a car then. Mine will hit 120 in forth and bike will do that in second.
Anyway let's not jinx things mate...

 

[Chop.]

Hahaha yes let's not talk about our strict obedience of the high way code and set speed limits

 

[Tfsi gone]

I was only reminiscing back to the 90's. **** knows what it's like now...
Fast track experience coming up again...

 

[razza1]

Nil points

 

[jdp1962]

Picked up three in 2002 and another three 2003; none since then.

 

[Chop.]

JDP how long do they stay on your licence ?

 

[Dippy]

BHP is just a mathematical calculation based on torque

Power to weight I would say is more important...

FWIW my comment was not necessarily the use of 'power' in the discussion, but the reference to 'peak' power. My point being that in real world driving (and the OP's question concerns UK roads and not a race track), the engine spends relatively little time at the peak power point. Hence it is the torque curve, both height AND width that really counts. This is exactly what attracted me to the supercharged V6. I like seeing the information on the MRC Facebook site. The peak figures look great, but for those with turbo engines sometimes the torque curve looks very peaky (and also with significant lag). So I can tell that those cars will need careful manipulation of the gears to keep the acceleration up. Great for those owners if that's what they want, but not for me.

I still remember when a 3.0 TDI Audi briefly embarrassed me in my stage 2 B5 S4 off the lights. That's when I realised just how good the automatic gearboxes had become. I needed to do some good shifting to keep my turbos at full boost to catch and overtake him and restore my s-car pride.

 

[Bristle Hound]

JDP how long do they stay on your licence ?

@Chop. - Points are valid for 3 years and stay on your licence for 4
https://www.gov.uk/penalty-points-endorsements/how-long-endorsements-stay-on-your-driving-licence

 

[Chop.]

Thanks I know it's just a matter of time until I get some :-/

 

[GeoffDunk]

Mmm, speeding points, now there is a hot subject over the yeas, I have zero points right now, all clean and I have had over 400 bhp in my garage for 5 years now (not including the wife's car).

Just like a dangerous dog, its the the driver not the car hehe.

Since passing my test in 1986 I have however "totted" up 46 speeding points, not all at the same time I might add. I used to work for a software company who wrote software for the UK courts and we had a in house ex-judge and he told me in the trade I was known as a "serial totter". I've always driven quickly, I've always owned fast cars and I never used to always pick the best time to go fast, I totted up 12 points once, all for speeding, was banned for 6 months which should have been 12 but was reduced because I had a driving job at the time, go figure, I still lod my job.

I have I must say been let off more than been prosecuted, I kid you not!!!!! I have never tried to talk my way out of a ticket, always owned up to it on the spot and never ever complained. The last time I was stopped was at 2AM when I stretched the legs of my B6 S4 and red-lined every gear and tested the newly removed speed limiter, I was followed by a police Mondeo which I hadn't seen as he was quite a way back with a headlight out; he had trouble keeping up but he did eventual manage to show me his lights whereby I pulled into the next petrol garage, we had a chat and he realized I had weighed up the road conditions including traffic, weather etc and he checked the car which was spot on as mine always are and we laughed and went our separate ways. I can confirm that the 155mph speed limiter had been successfully removed!

Needless to say, with 450PS I now pick and choose my moments, track days are another option and a trip to Germany always helps. There's an RS6 on the cards in 12 months so there may be more power in the garage, we'll see what the B9 RS4 is like.

 

[Chop.]

46 !

Nice job ;-)

 

[razza1]

I've just been lucky

 

[GeoffDunk]

Oh, you wouldn't believe how lucky I've been @razza1 !

 

[Tfsi gone]

I was only reminiscing back to the 90's. **** knows what it's like now...
Fast track experience coming up again...

Why was this post edited by a mod?!
Sure it's exactly as I posted it...

 

[jdp1962]

Why was this post edited by a mod?!
Sure it's exactly as I posted it...

To remove an attempt to circumvent the swear filter.

 

[opelfruit]

I don't speed and very often find average cars right up my chuff in 30.or 40 limits when I'm doing 30 or 40. As soon as it goes de-restricted you then disappear off up to 60 and they never seem to catch up.

I only ever boot it if I'm getting up to a speed limit or overtaking a slower moving car in a safe manner (less time on the opposite side of the road as possible!). Motorway slip roads are fun.

What staggers me is the number of cars that just don't pay any attention to the reason for speed limits or the conditions of the road. The amount of people who I sit behind doing 50 in a 60 limit and then drop down to 40 as they go through a 30 limit past houses, shops and schools (as I drop to 30) amazes me. And they're in fiestas, corsas, golfs etc with nowhere near 300bhp.

Don't need power to be dangerous. You just need to be an idiot. Plenty of them about.

 

[Chop.]

Well said, theres always a time and a place for fun and in town is not it

 

[GeoffDunk]

Absolutely, towns and village speed limits are to be respected for safety. 20's, 30's and 40's are there for good reason.

Its the driver not the car,loads of idiots about.

There's good reason I've been let off a lot more times than prosecuted, its because I never went fast in dangerous conditions or situations.

 

[razza1]

Worst offenders are those doing 40 in a 60, then continue doing 40 in a 30, seems they only have one speed and don't compensate accordingly...really winds me up when stuck behind them in the 60....

 

[Scott.T]

LOL...I remember following some old doddery down the A22 doing 40 in a 60.
When we got to Halland he carried on at 40, I dropped to the required 30.
He got flashed by the speed camera, I laughed.....lot's. Then promptly blew past once back outside the restriction.

 

[jdp1962]

The A22 is a hateful road.

 

[Scott.T]

The A22 is a hateful road.

Not as bad as the A21 which I have to suffer more often.

 

[Brodster]

Zero points for me and in total over the 26 years I've been legally driving accumulated 12 points.....x2 for speeding and x1 for being shafted by the Police for CD10 when I didnt even know they were around......1/2 mile behind apparently in the expert witnesses eyes with zero video footage, no onboard VASCAR and no evidence apart from yes it was that white S3......M'lord..........it was dark aswell.

 

[razza1]

CD10, is that code speak for dogging?

 

[GeoffDunk]

CD10, is that code speak for dogging?

CD10 is "Driving without due care and attention", not a good one to pick up.