First, an introduction to who I am and what I have done in the past.
I am a 21 year old regular car nut. I first got my feet wet when I fell in Love with a local 12 second talon. I drew up plans for what I would do when I bought mine. I researched for hours and hours. I never bought a DSM. Instead the first car I bought was the first car I bought in Gran Turismo, the 3000GT.
I've been involved in quite a few project builds witnessed many more and driven and ridden in some stupid fast cars.
Highlights:
My personal 3000 GT with TT upgrades. I've basically done everything short of rebuilding the engine. When I got the car I hadn't even changed the oil on a car let alone done a timing belt water pump ect. It is now a very fun twin turbo car.
95 Talon TSI - This car has become the epitome of a DSM. Everything that can go wrong has and its one thing after another. It was supposed to be a simple 14B with simple supporting mods. Turned into big 16G FMIC HKS cams head work ECT ECT next after a new 20 psi tune is AWD conversion and bigger turbo. (NOW WITH 20G fun)
EVO 8 with 20G turbo Hks Cams ECT pulled like a motha and didn't stop. power on at 4000 RPMS and this thing screamed. Fastest car I've driven.
911 turbo with larger turbo... not much to talk about as the owner just said its got larger turbos. No traction in first. (its awd) and in second gear the seat tries to eat you. Fastest car I've ridden in. and I've driven stock 911 turbos this was by far much faster.
HPA's Turbo Beetle making 600 AWHP It gets sideways on low boost
I've noticed lately a lot of newbies with the mind set of GO BIG OR GO HOME!! This meaning they have to have the biggest fastest car on the block. While theres nothing wrong with being the best at anything, not having a realistic goal or need is what gets people in trouble.
I'm writing this not for the guy who has the money and the team and know how to build a car for a specific reason but for the average guy or gal who wants a car that they can hop in on Monday drive to work or class, beat 90% of the cars on the street, take the new girl out on Friday with out worrying if its gonna break, go to the track on Saturday and beat the piss out of it and let your mother drive it to church on Sunday and not have to worry about her stalling it because of the clutch choice that was mismatched.
One of the biggest mistakes I notice is the numbers game. Whether it be I want 500 WHP or I want 20 PSI of boost. First 20 PSI on x turbo is x amount of power while 20 psi on P turbo is P amount of power. But that is another discussion.
The number games I'm talking about now is the horsepower game. Any number you want, think it right now, It could be 400, 500, 550, 1000, 2000, it doesn't matter what number you want its what you can realistically do. Not with the parts available but is it realistic with your budget and YOUR needs for this specific car. Sit down and look at your budget, being honest with yourself is really important because you NEED to know what you want to do with the car. Are you going to take it to the track every weekend and be competitive? Are you going to road course it? Destroy Hayabusas on the highway? Or do you want a car that you can drive every day, car that will be reliable AND fun to drive on the street? These are the most CRUCIAL questions you will ever have to decide on.
Staying on the horsepower thing. How much is to much? I used to think there was no number and internet communities today would have you thinking the same thing. These car forums will make you think a 500 WHP car is the normal and anything less is inferior and not as fun. I for one will tell you that is bull ****! I have driven a 1136 RWHP Supra before... At 70 MPH in 6th gear with the tires warm the ****ing car will get sideways. THIS WILL MAKE YOUR BALLS SHRINK. End of story never again that is to much power.
I can't really tell you what horsepower level is safe for you but a general consensus is that anything over 500WHP is to much for the street. Its just not safe to have that much power on an unprepped surface.
But then you ask me, "Hey what about that time I saw a stock 2JZ, 6G72, LS1 bottom end do 900 HP on a dyno" YES you can make that number on a dyno, once maybe twice or even 10 times. Now try to do that on the street and every day? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) That thing will be spewing its guts before you can blink, and thats only if you have managed not to crash or put other people in danger by using that much power on the street.
Ask anyone with more then 500 RWHP or more then 600 AWHP how their car drives on the street. I WILL tell you how it is from personal experience. IT BLOWS THE BIG ONE. Is it fun... ehh its great till you see the speedo coming up on 160 and you realize you JUST got traction and you are on a public road. Yeah because thats safe.
Once you break the tires loose you are no longer in control of your car. There is no argument there. Your just not. There is not a street tire on earth that can handle that much power.
While everyone's preference on fun is different, It truly is no fun for me to drive a car thats gutless for 5000 rpms and then explodes with a fury for the last 3000. And this is a problem mostly with small displacement import vehicles that rely on forced induction to produce the big amounts of power. The more power you want to make, the more driveability you lose, response goes down the ****ter and all you get back is a short period of time where your car is an uncontrollable beast thats ready to throw you into a wall or into a ditch.
If you know someone with a car that makes about 500 hp ask them for a ride, ask them to show you what its like to have a car with that much power. I can almost guarantee nearly anyone will do it, its one of the reasons we build these cars, for our own enjoyment and to show off to other people! I will tell you this: you will be in for a world of surprises, 500hp is REALLY FAST! In this internet world it may sound like you're behind the curve and need at least double that, but its WRONG!
If you still decide to go all out and be the biggest motha ever then PLEASE listen to me here when I say take NO SHORTCUTS!!! NONE! Not ONE! You will only be shooting your self in the foot. One weak bolt on the suspension could mean your death or someone elses.
Stay safe and hopefully this will wake some of you up.
