Ok, here is another can of worms

[FatBoy]

When you can leave 2 black lines from the apex of one corner to the braking point of the next corner, then you have enough power.

Only kidding.

Paul

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by FatBoy

When you can leave 2 black lines from the apex of one corner to the braking point of the next corner, then you have enough power.

Only kidding.

Paul

Paul, Interesting, so out of curiosity how long is the "block" i.e. street length and at what point would one start to apply the brakes assuming one had reached upwards of 130 MPH from a standing start? The assumption being not trashing your tires for the entire lenght of the event. Understand I am not trying to be a smart ass here, just curios since I am still waiting for my Cobra to be finished and I will see if I can replicate what you describe.

Anyone else have a definition of enough power?

tin-man

[pusherfans]

Originally Posted by tin-man

Anyone else have a definition of enough power?

tin-man

enough power = 9,756.37 HP plus or minus .01

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by pusherfans

enough power = 9,756.37 HP plus or minus .01

In a cobra, now that I gotta see? tin-man

[big-boss]

I know this one!!!!!
1st Cobra- Butler with 427HR 600HP
2 FFR Daytona Coupe 351 W 450 to 500
3 FFR Spec Racer 5.0
4 Autokraft Cobra 5.0 w carb
Current Kirkham with ful Iron 9.5 427 std bore- About what Mother Ford blt in 1966

The Kirkham with modest HP is the absolute funnest and easiest and best sounding one of them all. Weighs in at 2280Lbs with 30 gallons of gas. The Butler had way too much power for street driving, 5.0 AutoKraft was a *****, Spec racer sounded like a Mustang and looked too new. The good old 427 "Dump Truck " Motor is the one for me in essentailly factory crate motor set up.

[FatBoy]

In spite of me previous tongue in cheek comment, I agree with you big-boss. My Kirkham has a 427 S/O with nothing too wild and I guess it makes around 480bhp, but I can use a good percentage of it without fear of instant carnage. It's docile and tractable around town or in traffic, but has enough get up and go to annialate pretty much anything else on the road.

[Excaliber]

I really think the whole alloy light weight deal is over blown, from my experience. I'm running an all iron engine, block and heads anyway, alloy intake and water pump. "Nose heavy"? It aint, simple as that. Whats way more important is how the car is setup. Right now, I've been running laps on Infineon with SAAC-35. I ran laps on Friday and today (Saturday) and will run some more on Sunday.

The car is 100% neutral, I DID manage to get all four wheels off the track on Friday. Not a spin out, an all but perfect sideways "drift" until I ran out of pavement. The steering is remarkably light and easy, the tires (WHEN they get hot) stick very well. When the tires are cold, they are just about like street tires, not much traction.

I seriously doubt I could feel any difference with alloy heads. Maybe if I went all out and did the alloy block, etc, maybe. But then the handling might be off, I've have to re-adjust accordingly.

It aint the wieght unless your already dialed in and ready to drive in the experienced class or higher it doesn't justify the additonal expense. That assume's there might BE additional expense over an iron block to begin with. That depends on what the individual has on hand or can get at any given time.

A light weight all alloy engine ISN'T going to suddenly turn you or your car into a great handling machine around a race track. There are other variables far more important.

[FatBoy]

I totally agree. As I already said, mine, with an iron block and alloy heads has a very slight rear weight bias (52%) and I can't see that increasing that would improve matters, unless you then also cut some more weight from the rear as part of an overall weight reduction.

Paul