menehune

Why are all the races being talked about is on the street. I won't take any sides, my close friends have V8's that are tried and true to the strip and the street, but I think the disputes should be taken to the strip. Surely one can find a GT,cobra,Z28, or firebird that wouldn't mind "lining it up" with us Z's.

I praise all the visitors to the forum, they have all too respectable numbers for their rides.

350Z33

I wasn't reffering to you or anyone in particular. You seem to bring valid arguments and good points to the discussion. I just meant the guys who register here with nothing smart to say... but its a free world.

StockLT1

Lol, thats a myth. They aren't as strong as LS1's up top, but there's nothing that makes their horsepower less powerful on the freeway. A stock LT1's torque curve is falt from 2000-4800 RPM, then falls off a bit but the horsepwoer stays pretty flat after that. Weird stuff happens in street racing though.

BriGuyMax

iTrader: (4)

I'm just speaking from experience. For example, last fall me and a bunch of guys had a shootout at the strip in BEAUTIFUL weather (55-60F, sunny and almost NO humidity). I had my maxima with a 50-shot and was running 14.0-14.2@98-99 all day long. There were 2 LT1s in our group. One was a stock 6-speed trans am and the other was a lightly modded auto Z28 (intake, shift-kit, cat-back IIRC). Both were pulling 14.2-14.4@96-98mph all day, and I would consistantly beat them down the track every run. My Z is a good bit quicker than my maxima was...especially at highway speeds. So from "my" experience the Z gets the nod from a roll with an LT1, and it's a driver's race from a stop.

StockLT1

First, I was referring to the LT1's top end sucks comment, not saying anything about a 350Z vs. an Lt1. That should be a close race. With great drivers in both cars I'd give the nod to the 350Z by a couple of tenths at the track. Nothing that driver error or reaction time couldn't tip the other way though.

Second, my experience with LT1's at the track has been very different. Those guys need some driving lessons or a tune up, in air like that there shouldn't be a problem hitting very low 14's/high 13's, especially an auto with the mods you listed. With basic bolt-ons (CAI and full exhaust w/shorty headers) I've trapped 106+ and pulled pretty consistent low 13 second passes. I've seen autos do nearly the same ET with those mods but at a lower mph. But I don't want to turn this into a huge f-body vs. 350Z thread, there's plenty of those already. I'll just say LT1's aren't dogs.

sukkoi19

I like your sig stockLT1, that chicagoez guy is rather amusing isnt he.

Zmeflyby

i also raced a 94ish z28 the other month and pulled about 1/2 - 1 car length on the interstate. it was a close race though.

BriGuyMax

iTrader: (4)

I said lack of top end becuase my modded maxima with 180whp could pull them on the highway.

StockLT1

Like I said, weird stuff happens on the street, like 180 whp cars pulling on cars that have 50-70 more RWHP.

BriGuyMax

iTrader: (4)

my car also weighed in at just under 3000 lbs.....

StockLT1

I'm not doubting you man. Anything can and will happen in street racing, and your maxima (off the bottle) isn't that far from a stock LT1's times or trap speeds.

BriGuyMax

iTrader: (4)

it is SO true that ANYTHING can happen in a street race. I ran a LS1 trans am once out of a light with the maxima (off the bottle) and this kid couldn't drive worth anything. His launch consisted of a smoke show, and when he finally hooked up and starting reeling me in, he MISSED second, dropped to about 4 cars back, and then started gaining again, he gets to about 1.5-2 cars back and MISSES THIRD!!! at this point I was laughing my *** off and I let off just before 100 mph about 4 carlenghs ahead of a car that SHOULD have been 10 carlengths in front of me....

D'oh

Just a few comments. First, all cars require full throttle travel to get full HP at whatever RPM you are on. However, many cars have pedals, that for whatever reason, get you about 90% throttle with only 50% movement. That can make a car feel more powerful.

Second, in any car, you will get the best acceleration when you are in the lowest feasible gear. So yes, you will need to wind up the S2000, but at the same time, the S2000 is just as fast as other cars with the same HP/Weight ratio even though the engine puts out less torque. You will also need to wind up any other car to take advantage of its power.

Finally, I didn't mean to imply that torque doesn't matter, just that HP is far more important. Big torque is good because it typically requires a large engine, which means that it will have lots of low end power, and will be easy to drive. Now, when you have a high revving, low torque engine, you will need to keep it in the upper rpm ranges to take advantage of the power. Also, smaller engines are typically more peaky, although these days many high revving engines still have a linear torque curve. Therefore if you have a shifter that is easy and quick, you can easily downshift when required and the torque is no longer a factor.

I do know the theory behind torque, power, gearing, etc, so that's why I am comfortable arguing with the initial premise that HP sells cars and torque wins races. It is truly HP that is most important (but I wouldn't turn away from an engine with plenty of both, hehe). Actually HP is second behind a good driver.

-D'oh!

joeshow750

They way I've always thought of it is: more torque is needed for more weight. Which is why motorcyckes are extremely fast with very little torque...because of their low weight. F-350's are slow with GOBS of torque but can pull anything. Without hp torque is useless as far as speed goes. You could have a car with 3000ft lbs of torque and 1 hp (theoretically) and it would be slow as hell, but the it's top speed would be the same if you were pulling your house with it! And with alot of weight, hp is useless without torque. If you had a car with 3000 hp and 1 ft lb torque and the car weighed 3000lbs...well, you probably couldn't even get the thing rolling!
Love the torque vs HP argument .