- How much is too
much horsepower?
“It’s never too much horsepower,” the old drag-
racing adage goes, “it’s always not enough tire.”
That saying oversimplifies, but only to an
extent. Substitute the word “traction” for “tire”
and the thing is pretty airtight. Along with a
vehicle’s weight-to-power ratio, launch traction is
a critical and sometimes neglected element in
acceleration. If horsepower outstrips the avail-
able traction, you’re left spinning your wheels.
Take the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, for example.
This 755-hp beast’s greatest achievement might
have been that it proved the need to move the
Corvette’s engine behind the passengers. That’s
because on the street, where most drivers accel-
erate hard from a stop and only to speeds of
about 70 mph, the ZR1’s power is too much for
the car: Despite packing 105 horsepower more
than the C7 Z06, the ZR1 is not noticeably quicker
off the line—both cars hit 60 mph in 3.0 seconds.
And up to that speed, the power advantage the
ZR1 has over the Z06 isn’t measurable.Past 70 mph, the ZR1 does have enough
traction to make the most of its strength; it pulls
ahead of the Z06 and keeps gapping it until it
arrives at its claimed 212-mph top speed. But
almost no one drives that fast. Shift the weight
distribution rearward, though, and suddenly the
ZR1 would have a bit more launch traction,
making it (theoretically) quicker because it
could utilize its power more effectively.
Rear-drivers have many dynamic benefits with a
mid-engine layout versus a front-engine layout,
and more traction under acceleration is one.
We haven’t even mentioned all-wheel drive
yet. That will increase launch traction to the point
where it would take a ridiculous amount of torque
to overwhelm all four tires. “My definition of too
much horsepower is when all four wheels are
spinning in every gear,” racing great Mark
Donohue once said. Your balk point may be lower,
but the general principle stands: Don’t look for- What
is the
chassis?
The major structure
and suspension of a
vehicle. This vital set
of components is
responsible for how a
vehicle interacts with
the road surface. The
chassis consists
primarily of the
brakes, steering,
suspension, wheels,
and tires, all of which
- What is
naturally
aspirated?
Internal-combustion
engines need oxygen
to run. Naturally
aspirated mills inhale
the old-fashioned
way with the cylinders
drawing in air like
the plunger of a
syringe. Turbo- and
superchargers force
extra air into the
engine for increased
power, but naturally
aspirated engines
respond more
intuitively to throttle
inputs because
there’s nothing
unnatural in the
induction process.
- How do I avoid ruining
my clutch while learning
to drive a stick?
TOO MANY PEOPLE who want a car with a manual transmission
end up opting for the automatic because they don’t know how to
drive a stick. This is no excuse. The best way to learn is by doing.
You won’t master the manual transmission right away, but you
don’t have to fry your clutch in the process.
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touching the throttle. This will give you a sense of where in the
pedal travel the clutch starts to engage (the car will creep forward)
and when it’s fully engaged (you’ll idle along at a consistent speed).
Once you can do this smoothly, practice letting the clutch out ever
more quickly and add a dab of gas to smooth the process. Avoid
slipping the clutch (i.e., increasing the engine revs without a fully
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you hear a lot of engine noise and the car isn’t moving much, you’re
doing it wrong. Be patient and practice. You’ll be a pro in no time.- CAR AND DRIVER. OCT/