Cobra Safety and HP

[Richard Hudgins]

Hi Folks,

There is much being said about how dangerous these cars are.

Well, I beg to differ. Any of the chassis's currently available can handle 10 lbs per horsepower quite well and would be quite safe in the normal drivers hands. They would also be quite fast.

Let us look at some examples to prove the point of being a fast car.

Stock Porsche 993. 3250 lbs and 300 hp. 10.83 lbs per hp.
Corvette C5 3174 lbs and 305 hp. 10.40 lbs per hp.

Are not these cars quite fast? Maybe not the fastest, but they are not bad.

Now, let us look at some race cars.

Formula Atlantic, 1275 lbs 245hp 5.20 lbs per hp.

NASCAR Winston Cup. (Road race Configuration) 3500 lbs, 775 hp 4.51 lbs per hp.

CART 1575 lbs, 750 hp 2.1 lbs per hp.

F1 1350 lbs. 780 hp 1.73 lbs per hp.

Now let us look at a John Marseys JBL in go-kart stage.

2200 lbs 545 hp 4.03 lbs per hp.


You will notice that John's power to weight ratio is better than the Cup car and the FA car.

Can this level of HP get you in trouble? (I guess so, it got a pro drag guy in deep Sh$t and cost John a bunch of cash)

I notice that everyone here who has or is building a Cobra wants 500+ hp.

WHY?

The best drivers in the world have a hard time with power to weight ratios below 5 to 1.

Therefore, what makes you guys so special that you can handle power to weight ratios below this level, when the best drivers in the world have difficulty?

The bottom line here is that a 2500 lbs car for street use needs no more than 300 hp. Anymore then this is just plain stupid!!!!