i know weight is real important in getting a good e.t. esp. if n/a weight reductions would be ideal. is the importance just as high in fi cars ...of course it WILL make a difference but is that difference as important in n/a cars.

 

I guess it is a bigger deal in NA hondas because it is so much harder to make more power. With a turbo all you need do is turn a ****, and viola, more boost and more power(simplified but true).

 

12 second full interior car EZ with boost, not soo ez N/A!

 

well its all math formulas and in power to weight ratio it does not matter fi or n/a tecniclly a na car with the same hp as a fi would be quicker because of the n/a power band is alot smoother and the turbo f/i has to wait for the lag of the component. so no basiclly is the answer.

 

Two FI drag cars racing each other...100 lbs means alot between them

 

ay, nice tip

 

i think a fi honda will have a much better tourqe curve then n/a though.....

 

yup, *Torque.

A Caterpillar Dump Truck with C-12 engine
weighs somewhere between 30,000-40,000 lbs.

Some may think more Horsepower is needed to pull the weight. Nope..
The engine only produces 430 hp But... 1650 lb-ft of torque

Lesson: If you have more weight you need torque.

Its not really a matter of if its N/a or FI output.
It really depends gear selection and the torque power band.
Sometimes a engine has undesirable power curves for racing because torque dies out in the highend (depends on engine geometry & airflow).
Horsepower is not necessarily the key, since you have the potential to make more
Hp if you can produce more torque. Horsepower sells products, Torque wins.

Engines that produce earlier torque can have large gears. If ours produced early torque like a 4g63, our OE gear set would be useless. Ratios are too short ..get no traction.
High torque is key for a OE gear set. If you dont have enough torque in the highend to keep on pulling in the high against the forces (weight, friction, and the exponential increase in wind resistance) you will drop back.




[Modified by Quick 200k Mile Motor, 2:14 AM 12/26/2001]

 

To get rid of that lag u
you can always launch into boost on some sticky slicks...with or without some scrambble boost!

 

I heard that every 100 pounds extra on your car is .1 off of your 1/4 mile time. I don't know if it's true, but it sounds plausible.

 

True, but Horsepower is a more precise measurement of how fast a vehicle will be able to push/pull itself. Torque is simply the amount of turning force that the engine produces. More turning force, more power. Horsepower is the measurement of how long it takes a horse to pull something like 100kg 1 meter =1hp (I forget the actual formula). Go to http://www.howstuffworks.com for a good explanation. Anyway, horsepower is the basically the ability of the engine to move the car a certain distance in a certain time, which is more direct than the engine's turning power. Horsepower depends upon the engine speed as well. [Note that none of what I've said is exact, but basically rough concepts].

In the end, if you want to go fast, just have a lot of both

 

Heavy cars need torque so that they are easier to get going. If you had a 30000lb caterpillar with a 1.6l engine, it's power would ultimately dictate how fast it would accelerate. You'd have one hell of a time trying to get the thing to start moving, though. You'd either stall it out, burn out the clutch, or you'd need extremely short gears.