Your favorite power level?
 

What has been your guys favorite level of power? I always hear the 800+whp guys saying they wish they'd stayed at 600whp, which seems to be what everyone says is perfect for a light street car.

My C7Z was 530-540whp bone stock and I was having a blast and not losing to much. I'm starting to my research and trying to figure out what's a good starting point for modding my C5Z. I'm thinking of doing a single turbo build and "overbuilding" the motor to keep the 600whp from damaging the internals or grenading the engine.

:lurk:

That NHRA drag car level hahahah

Doesn't seem like the kind of question that's going to lead to a particularly entertaining thread. You should probably save your popcorn :thumbs:

I would ask in the FI section, that’s what it takes to go over power, if there is such a thing. The main problem is breaking stuff and trying not to go wot all the dang time. :)

I’m around 550hp/tq and have a built motor and transmission with a stall, a transzilla diff w342’s ... something just started to howl/whine:ack: I fear I have just broke something else, so right at this second I wish I stayed stock...:shrug:

I sure is fun though, it’s like a sleeper Corvette vert.;)

Sounds like fun though! Had a BMW vert a while back and it's a hell of a time with the top down!

Low 500s for me. Anything else is expensive for tires and clutches

Well hmmm my C5 is sitting at ~315hp at the wheels... my SS sedan is probably around 350 at the wheels so anything above this would be perfect ��

I think that will be a good range for many. Still fast, but manageable. Of the C5Zs I have had, the power levels varied quite a bit as follows:

• 1st one had 700+ whp with a D-1 and built engine. Fun, but things break at that level and hard to use on the street. 140+ traps in the 1/4 mile made for a fun time.
• 2nd one was a basic bolt-on Z with 380whp. Nice car to play with but felt slow after the 700+ power level. It really wasn't bad at all looking back. Solid 11 second passes at ~120mph.
• 3rd one was back to 700+whp but I kept it away from the track so no breakage. Still had issues with that much power on the street. Far too easy to hit very high speeds in inappropriate situations.
• 4th one was the sweet spot of 500whp. Just a basic Procharger P-1 kit with headers and the rest of the car stock. Probably should have kept this one, it was very clean, drove great and decent power.
• Current one is at stock power level. I bought it because of the low mileage and great condition. I assumed I would add a P-1 or ECS kit to bring it to the power of the last one. But to be honest, the more I drive the car, the more I think the stock power level is enough for a car that will never see a track. That may change as I find myself wandering over to the ECS website far too often.
• YMMV, everyone is different.

Good luck to you whatever direction you decide to go.
Wayne

I like reliable horsepower that doesn't make a lot of noise and doesn't have me working on every other thing in the car that breaks all the time. I'm a pretty busy guy between my house and work and I really don't have a lot of time to muck around with a car that needs constant attention. So I'm going to say 450 wheel horsepower is about it for me. You can easily go to jail in 10 seconds and you still have a car that doesn't destroy everything in the transmission and rear and break axles constantly.

350 works well for me.

500 wheel seems a sweet spot on the street. Even that will rip most tires apart readily.

Anything that can get me to 60mph in under 5 seconds and a top speed of more than 2x the nation's highest speed limit and deliver 30 mpg on the highway (for the cruising range, not economy) In other words, stock horsepower is ideal for me.

8-900 is perfect for me, it feels fast, is manageable, and can be fairly reliable if you build it properly... I know people with 1000+ cars and they are sweet don't get me wrong but they are harder to keep together no matter how much money you spend and while I do enjoy working on mine I don't want to be doing that all the time just to fix broken parts

Building mine to get to 650 to 700 and I think I Should be happy

8-900? I need more stuff:rofl:

700 will keep you happy for awhile;)

That's what I'm afraid of.. Only happy for awhile