Brothers and sisters we are gathered heah today...
 

While cruising along? No - I'd just sneeze. Lol! Sometimes you guys make it sound like driving a Cobra is like walking a tightrope with no safety net; one split second lapse in concentration and you're a goner. My car is rock solid at speed and handles quite nicely even on our twisty uneven roads. With right about 500hp and all the usual short wheelbase Cobra characteristics, I can get it out of shape very easily if I want, but it doesn't just up and do it on its own.

My analogy is that a powerful Cobra - assuming its in sound working order and not a claptrap assembly of junk parts - is sort of like owning a gun. It can be dangerous if misused, but it cannot do anything on its own. Its all up to the operator.

So, what caliber of handgun is simply ridiculous to own - anything over .38? 9mm? .44 magnum? The truth is even a .22 in inexperienced or incompetent hands is a disaster waiting to happen, while a .50 Action Express in the hands of a competent, sensible owner will do no one any harm (unless of course they're really asking for it :LOL:).

Hand over the keys of a 500+ hp Cobra to an eager novice whose only experience with speed is hitting 60 mph in a 3 ton sedan and we've all seen the sad result. On the flip side, there's guys on this forum who've been driving brutal 700 + hp monsters for years without incident.

I'd sooner say putting some people behind the wheel of any Cobra is simply ridiculous - far more so than any predetermined level of horsepower.

My last Cobra had an 870hp supercharged motor. Traction was non existent at any speed on 285/40/17 street tires. Like Bizz said, it could be dangerous if I was careless, but it could also cruise around as a docile, pump gas street car without incident.

My next Cobra will be a small block variant, with a well built high rpm small block that might only make 600hp. I think the sound and sensation of running a car through the gears with 7000+rpm shift points will be more fun than feeding in the excess power to the point of losing traction and just feathering the throttle pedal until you decide enough is enough...

To each his own.
For me, too much is almost enough.

On another thrread not too long ago , we were asked how fast we had driven in our Cobras........
Most guys have not even had their cars over 100mph............How much do you need for that??????

Kind of funny, if you're a pro driver you'll say between 400 and 500 is more than enough. If you're a rookie driver with no sense, you'll say between 650 and 800 is OK. If you're a rookie driver in the hospital recovering from injuries with the people you crashed into, you'll probably by a Prius next time.

:lol:

Good Point! :LOL:

I have no problem letting my wife drive mine even though she has little experience in high performance cars. But she has enough sense to keep her foot out of it. I also have friends that will never drive the car because their foot is bigger than their brain.

Just under 100HP should get you there in this weight vehicle. :LOL:
Really.

lol!

Dd

You say that as a pro driver, I assume?

In all seriousness....the best answer has already been given...essentially, "no more than you can handle."

"If you can make black marks on a straight from the time you turn out of a corner until the braking point of the next turn, then you have enough horsepower."

-Mark Donohue

It's not how fast you can go, it's how fast you can get there.

The problem here that its because of statements like this that ones ego doesn't let them admit that less is sometimes more, particularly on the street, and to be honest most street tracks ;)

An example to this typical American (& in many cases Australian) psyche is the "UPGRADE" to the the "BIG", "JUMBO" or "MAN" size meal deal at the local fast food joint. When the truth is for a lot of us a DOWNSIZE would be an UPGRADE :cool:

It becomes a bit of a pissing contest of "My d!ck is bigger than yours" or "I'm the man" cos I have more HP than you & I can control it, that's why I have it and that's why I'm better than you... scenario.

Again, it's a little bit like the BB vs SB argument. Even if your right, fighting about still makes you sound like a retard!

--
So, I'm compelled to write this for those who in future will do the search & who are seeking advise on what power to build in their ultimate chariot, please subscribe to the theory that "less is more".

Horsepower is NOT king!! but IMHO traction IS!!!

You'll still be able to blow the doors off any production car including Vetts, Lambos or Ferraris. You don't need, and in many cases may regret 550-650hp engine. So in summary anything more than 400-500hp at the flywheel on street tyres is ridiculous and some might even say that is ridiculous. **)**)**)

Not all of us Yankees "Supersize" it. Narcissistic Ego Syndrome knows no borders.

I think the "how much you can handle" also needs to be qualified with "under what conditions". Being on a track changes everything. Yeah, handling 800 bhp on the street is one thing, making it work on a track is something else. The measure of a racer is not the horsepower---and I say this as a non-racer---but his abilities in handling the machine.

DD

Thanks Dimis. You said what I wasn't game to say.
Cheers,
Glen

It has as much to do with what gearing you have and how fast you want to go, as much as it does torque verses traction.

With a TKO 600 and 3.5:1 rear gear, first gear is ~10:1 total ratio. 300 lb-ft of torque would get you 3000 at the wheels (ignoring drive train losses). Can you hook that to the ground? Maybe depending on tires. At 6500 rpm first gear will get you to 50 mph.

2nd gear is ~6.6 total ratio and will get you to 77 mph. So about 450 lb-ft of engine torque will get you to 3000 at the wheels in 2nd gear.

3rd gear is ~4.5 total ratio and will get you to 114 mph. So about 660 lb-ft of engine torque will get you to 3000 at the wheels in 3rd gear.

Bottom line is how much torque can you reliably keep hooked to the ground and what speed are you willing to go to. Personally the idea of having the tires break loose at over 100 mph does not sound fun to me anymore. If your not going to stay on the throttle past 2nd gear, about 450 Hp give or take should be enough, depending on tires and gearing.

Been building and racing cars and motorcycles all my adult life.A lot of people I know love telling the world how much horsepower is lurking under their hoods and really never wring them out because they do not have the ability.Nothing wrong with that, I for one could care less what the numbers say as long as the motor is talking to me the drivetrain is tuned and up to the task at hand,then pull along side and we will see what happens.Most of the time all I ever need for a fix is out by myself early am no one around and let it all hang out.Never been stopped or caught,life is good.

like that :)