Technical What's the deal with Horsepower Lately?

H&H Flatheads.
The polar opposite of the state of the art. Not my scene, but this stuff stops me in my tracks every time. Keeping alive where it all came from. For those who get it, and those who don't are missing out IMHO.

 

That's the crux of the problem & here's the best solution I've heard yet. I'm not into labels.

Get the (giant) plank out of your own eye before you help your brother get the (tiny) spec out of his eye. And of course it's easier said than done.

 

Good old fashioned HP had to depend on certain things that were considered a given and taken for granted. It was raw, sloppy, wasteful and freaking awesome.

Those things depended on were taken away, being cheap premium fuel among the top contributors. Technology over came much of that problem and now we have econo boxes capable of yesteryear HP levels.
Trust me, it's not funny when a 4cyl Honda puts a Radical BBC on the trailer.

 

as we get older we get smarter and usually more cash

that =s more hp

 

My 29 Ford roadster has a 340HP 425 Nailhead in it weighs about 2000 Lbs, 5.88 lbs per hp, it gets with the program.

 

I run a dyno proven blown Dart based 540 in my 2900lb 41 p/u, it makes 640 ft lbs at 2500 rpm and tops out at 760 ft lbs, the truck goes nowhere fast, just blows the tires off.
I also have a dyno proven 489 BBC that makes 600 ft lbs naturally aspirated that's going into my 2400 lb (when it was sbc) Henry J, I'm hoping for better acceleration than the sbc but who knows.
I still like Horsepower in my garage, but also like the dyno sheet to back them up.

 

The modern stuff does deliver the HP and torque, but it utilizes "torque management" to get the car moving. It Backs the torque down to the available traction and cranks the torque up to as rolling traction improves. It stops that sledge hammer type development and release of torque. If you want to have 700 lb ft or torque under your foot, you've got to have a very strong and sticky containment and transfer system to get it to the road without blowing parts up or then tires off. The other way is to control the release and ramp up of the torque on a slope that follows the traction. In the old days guys would slip the clutch to ease the explosive torque into the drive line.