Big Power?

[Rob S]

In these financially interesting times, I think it's fair to say many have had to change priorities. Some, perish the thought, have even had to sell off some "toys" (It's ok TK, ignore this bit )

There have been a few people visit the forum since I've "been" here and queried the relevance of the title Big Power.
The question I'm posing for interests sake rather than trying to make a point, is if you've had your car rolling roaded, what have you got? (Consider it a census of the local population of Petrol heads rather than a willy waving contest.)
I think, in my humble opinion, anything weighing less than 1500kgs with more than 300bhp is a pretty "powerful" car, and I know several on here have more than that. As I say, I'm not out to prove a point as I happen to think Big Power still fits the bill bearing in mind the level of skill and development gone into many cars and they way in which they're used by most.

Rob S 163bhp @ APT (I'll assume a lead briefly )

[Bart]

well ive not had my sierra GT RR as i dont want to cry as it makes less than 100bhp:sifone:
BUT in saying that i have so much fun in it i dont care about the lack of power as it has bags of torque from 1500rpm.
it handles really well and it outcorners a lot of cars round by me and i have upset a few people and when they come out with "is that a cossie" err no or i tell them at best it might have close to 100bhp the look on there face is priceless, i know how to drive my car to get the best out of it.

i think the above can be said about a fair few on here that dont need bigpower cars to be quick.
i mean look at eddy in his metro he runs rings around cars thath he shouldnt.
when stu, paul and me were at donnington we raced around like mad and court and passed a ferrari.

here is an idea, we dont have BIGPOWER cars but we do have BIGPOWER capabilities with in ourselves.

[Ben]

Lol, we used to have bigpower cars ...

First Meet



8 GTR's
1 GTS-T
2 Rx7s
2 Evo's
2 Celicas

Anyway Rob, Gary's car alone makes up for the rest of us .

Oh Rob to your sig, "Exactly how much can a turd be polished" .. don't forget you can still roll it in glitter.

[Rob S]

Thanks for the tip Ben
I know there's Garys 700+ Evo, a certain nuclear powered Mustang, Fast Eddy's got something north of 300bhp, TNT's 350+ Sierra, not forgetting the RX7's with 300 + so there are still some around (And Russ banana etc etc). I guess the gist of the post was more of a "Where are we know?" head take than anything.
I totally agree with Bart's comments though, I think power to weight is just as relevant, and putting these things into practice is a better example of the "Big Power" ethos than have 7000bhp and leaving it under a dust cover in the garage. (for the record, I do actually realise I have nt been out to play for over a year, I don't enough power or enough skill....or even a dust cover!)

[pablo]

TNT's 350+ Sierra,

420+ Sierra:D

[Stuart]

Rob S 163
Team TNT 420
Stu fuck all

Two points here. I have doubted the essence of the forum title from day one when I registered it back in March 2006. Power to weight was more important back then, much as it is today, and having fun is more important than anything; I just couldn't find a short and sweet domain that encapsulated either ethos. Roll on a couple of years when the GTR's were thinning out and the hardcore track drivers I knew were ditching their lardy road cars and getting into Radicals, Caterhams and Westfields. I wanted to change the forum name to Purespeed, another domain I owned, as I felt it was more in keeping with the essence of the club at that point but I was out voted. Fair enough as it happens.

On that cheery note, I do intend on having something utterly tarmac destroying once more, but only when I have nothing better to spend my money on (Scary to think that the most potent vehicle in the stable is Tan's 120hp Vito! )

[Harry]

Interesting thread Rob and yes times do change but in the time that I have been involved with BP it has not just about who has the biggest BP it has been about enjoying what our cars are capable of and pushing our own capabilities to improve our skill and enjoyment.

As Ben points out there were some very potent toys that due to the current financial climate have gone but lets hope that one day we will see their likes again. There still are some very potent beasts that are used in anger in competition Blackie, Garry and of course Pablo and Bart. But there is another breed of BP member and they are our Project Builders TK and Mike B who really do exploit the Power to Weight philosophy but add to that Chassis development that make their projects such great machines

To keep the thread rolling I add my humble toy to the list
Rob S 163
Team TNT 420
Stu fuck all
Harry 278

at the same time raise the issue of Torque, I heard a great analogy from an Aston Martin Engineer Torque provides Acceleration BHP top speed both are governed by Gear and final drive ratios and of course that little rascalTraction

So what are you going to do with yours?

[Daniel]

One day, one day I'll be back behind the wheel of something lairy. And hopefully with 4 litres and 8 cylinders.

Rob S 163
Team TNT 420
Stu fuck all
Harry 278
Daniel 69

[turbomart]

Mines 735 bhp







Ok so thats all of my vehicles put together lol.... Mk4 Mondeo Titanium (140bhp) wifes rover 25 (107 BHP) Mercedes Motorhome (110BHP) and of course my GTO twin turbo (378BHP)

Rob S 163
Team TNT 420
Stu fuck all
Harry 278
Daniel 69
Martyn 378

[Danny@APT]

I think the spiralling cost of fuel has probably been the biggest influence on the choice of cars that populate the forum today. I took the Ford off the road once V-Power went over