Horsepower dilemma

Not with stock tires. I had a 1969 RamAirIV GTO that in stock form was running 13.9 to 14.1 at OCIR in socal. I stuck N50 mickey thompson semi slicks and was able to pull a 12.9 with no other mods. And the LS6 chevelle had a lot more power.

 

I'm very familiar with da and drag racing. At one point, maybe still do, I held the record for a stock cobra (01) 1/4. My point is I don't think those cars were truly stock. Manufacturers give ringers, magazines fudge things like adding slicks, open exhaust, no air filter etc.

I just dont see a 280 whp 4000 pound car on shit tires running 13.1

I agree here. The car has the power, as evident by the mph, to run that time. Just the massive low end tq and shit tires it's going to be a spin fest.

 

160hp? It was a stock lock block 93 EFI engine with a port matched lower stock intake, 65mm throttle and EGR spacer and 1 ½ unequal length shorty heaters with a 2 ½ H-pipe and Super Turbo mufflers. I also had solid control arms and a set of cheater slicks. I was running too low in RPM through the traps, really needed 3.73's. Also the cheaters were weak... a launch above 3500rpm caused wheel spin into 3rd. I dialed it in.. shift points, tuning, removing excess weight. With my weight and trap, it calculated out to 286hp.

 

Torque under the curve, that's what you feel ion the seat of your pants. A bigger engine makes more torque then a comparably equipped smaller engine.

 

Again....it depends. Toyota's V35TT engine is only 3.4 liters or 210 CID. Yet it developes 443 lbs ft of torque at only 1600 rpm in the Lexus LS500 and 583 lbs ft of torque at 2100 rpm in the Tundra/Sequoia.

210 CID = 583 tq. Right off the top of my head I can't think of a single gas engine in any truck, including Ford's 3.5 TT Ecoboost that has that kind of twist....especially from only 3.4 liters. Maybe the Ram with the Hellcat engine. But I would have to see the numbers, as I don't know off the top of my head. But even if it did have a higher peak torque number, it's from an engine that's much larger and probably higher up in the rpm band.

 

Ok....I looked it up. The Hellcat powered Ram's engine is supercharged 6.2 liter, or about 379 CID V8. It developes 650 lbs ft of torque at a fairly high 4800 rpm.

 

Calling it an 84 mustang gt with a “factory stock long block” is a bit misleading when it’s a stock long block out of an entirely different car


In other news, my bone stock long block 72 pinto is running hard in super gas. 9.90s at 165 on the throttle stop. Bone stock LSA long block

 

That 583ft-lbs is with the hybrid system, so the engine isn’t producing that.

on their own, the Toyota and the 3.5ecoboost produce almost identical peak torque, with the ford making more power

 

Well...that is with the hybrid booster. The V35 alone is still a very healthy 479 lbs ft of torque at 2100 rpm.

 

Sure, almost the same numbers Ford gets out of the 3.5, and rather startlingly, not that much more than GM gets out of the L3B four cylinder at only 1500rpm

 

Would you rather have the 2.5 Subaru engine in your Tacoma? I wouldn't purely for reliability.
There are plenty of architecture/tune reasons for the difference in power. Just like we see in the motorcycle world where displacement does not always equate to horsepower.

 

The trucks aren't underpowered per se, they're overburdened. The Gen 2 AC 4x4 5MT weighs in at 4000lbs. The 3rd gen is heavier still. With 2 or 3 people in it, a stock truck has acceptable, IMO, power, but will not set your hair on fire.
When loaded up with 3/4 yard of gravel, it will still accelerate, but is limited by its ability to deaccelerate and turn safely.
As mentioned, the LCE header is probably the only/best safe way to get more power and places the torque curve even lower. Synthetic lubricants will also see minute performance gains.
In regards to seat of the pants feel, going with lighter tires and wheels made an absolute night and day difference in how the truck accelerates, handles, sounds and the fuel economy it returns.
Not sure how muscle cars pirated this thread, but I will say I buy or drive a vintage cars not for the safety, performance, or anything else. I buy them because they are a nice change of pace to a slower time and a different engineering approach (even if the technology and indeed some of the parts (down to thebpart number)are EXACTLY the same in my 1991 Toyota as my 2009.

 

Peak HP/TQ is not the be all, end all in a street driven vehicle. There are other things to consider like torque and HP curves. Without knowing what these are for both engines, it is impossible to answer this question.

 

True.....but doesn't that mill blow something over 20 pounds of boost to get that torque?

Still though....we live in the day and age of huge power out of amazingly small motors.

Just 30 years ago a GM big block 454 pushed just 220 hp and 395 pounds of torque.

 

Not misleading, I mentioned a 5.0L EFI. If you know about Mustangs you know that they were '86 and up. And it was quite common place to through the new engine I place of older ones. Although not as many did the EFI swaps. That was my specialty.

 

I wonder if people have ever put EFI on a non-EFI long block

I know I have

 

Pretty much what my 66 gto with a stock 389 tri power engine that ran with a set of small tire slicks, and 4.33 gears at lebanon valley ny. Best run was a 13.6 Following year I dropped nearly a sec., and a half with the modified dual quad 421 engine, with bigger gears, and slicks in the car.

 

Yes. 1984 Bronco with a 2 barrel 302. I put a speed density 5.0L EFI setup on it. That thing was quite nice to drive afterwards.

 

When we're you racing at OCIR ????

I was stationed at MCAS El Toro from 1981-84 and spent many of my off duty hours Drag racing at OCIR in my 68 Camaro RS/SS that had a 427BBC , It ran a best of 11.98

396 , 427 and 454 BBC engines are all outdated and now just sought after by car collectors and restorers

The Big Block Chevy engines now popular especially in a Crate engine are now 540 , 565, 582 , 598 , 615 and 632

 

I was racing there in the mid to late 80's. One of the fastest cars was a 454 powered chevette with mufflers. mid 11's. Use to go to angelos in Anaheim for cruise night.

Was your camaro an L78? if so I might remember that....