Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > General Efficiency Discussion
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 08-21-2009, 03:10 PM   #1 (permalink)
Master of 140 hamsters
 
superchow's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Lacey, WA
Posts: 183

Hamster - '07 Honda Civic EX
90 day: 29.41 mpg (US)

Whooshy Wagon - '04 Volvo V40
90 day: 23.33 mpg (US)

Minotaur - '09 Ford Taurus X SEL
90 day: 19.05 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1
Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts
Minimum HP requirement

Hey All,

I was cruising down a suburban road heading to work wondering how much power I would need in my car to keep the current speed (50 mph). It got me thinking about what other peoples' needs in a car would be. I know my father in would not consider anything under 160 hp.

Here people idolize Metros and the such, which must have around 60-80 hp.

I suppose I should really be talking about torque - which is why maybe the Prius doesn't "feel" slow when accelerating from a stop, and my Civic feels taxed when loaded with passengers and luggage.

What are your Friday afternoon ponderings on this matter?

__________________
  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 08-21-2009, 03:12 PM   #2 (permalink)
Administrator
 
Daox's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Germantown, WI
Posts: 11,203

CM400E - '81 Honda CM400E
90 day: 51.49 mpg (US)

Daox's Grey Prius - '04 Toyota Prius
Team Toyota
90 day: 49.53 mpg (US)

Daox's Insight - '00 Honda Insight
90 day: 64.33 mpg (US)

Swarthy - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage DE
Mitsubishi
90 day: 56.69 mpg (US)

Daox's Volt - '13 Chevrolet Volt
Thanks: 2,501
Thanked 2,585 Times in 1,553 Posts
You can use this nifty calculator Darin put together to calculate your HP requirement at speed. You can access it from clicking "tools" at the top of the page.

Aerodynamic & rolling resistance, power & MPG calculator - EcoModder.com


Horsepower requirements for cruising are pretty small.
__________________
Current project: A better alternator delete
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2009, 03:23 PM   #3 (permalink)
Master of 140 hamsters
 
superchow's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Lacey, WA
Posts: 183

Hamster - '07 Honda Civic EX
90 day: 29.41 mpg (US)

Whooshy Wagon - '04 Volvo V40
90 day: 23.33 mpg (US)

Minotaur - '09 Ford Taurus X SEL
90 day: 19.05 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1
Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts
Yes, I realize that. But what would one personally find acceptable in terms of "excess" or "passing" power? Sorry for the confusion.
__________________
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2009, 04:06 PM   #4 (permalink)
EcoModding Newbie
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Southern Ontario
Posts: 284

Parachute - '03 Chevrolet Tracker LX
90 day: 28.55 mpg (US)

Peon - '95 Plymouth Neon Highline baby!
90 day: 31.39 mpg (US)

Slocus Wagon - '06 Ford Focus SE
Thanks: 0
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Interesting question, "passing power" is quite often why people don't like to get smaller engined cars. I still pass people in my 127hp Tracker but it takes some planning and technique. The tailgate, pull over, and then nail it method doesn't work well with it.
__________________


  Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2009, 04:30 PM   #5 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
tasdrouille's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mirabel, QC
Posts: 1,672

The Guzzler - '08 Hyundai Elantra GL
90 day: 33.12 mpg (US)

Got Soul? - '11 Kia Soul 2U
Thanks: 35
Thanked 86 Times in 57 Posts
At the speed I drive on highways I have roughly 55 to 65 hp available in 5th. When I want to pass I just mash it and it goooeeesss (relatively speaking...). So imho in a passenger car 60 hp right where you need it is plenty.
__________________



www.HyperKilometreur.com - Quand chaque goutte compte...
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2009, 05:24 PM   #6 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Madison AL
Posts: 1,123

The Geo - '93 Geo Metro
Team Metro
90 day: 45.16 mpg (US)
Thanks: 30
Thanked 40 Times in 37 Posts
Geo's have 55 or 49hp, assuming you mean the 3cycl. I would think you could get by with 40hp or so at 55mph. Assuming it had a Cd of .32 or so, and was smallish.
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2009, 06:32 PM   #7 (permalink)
Batman Junior
 
MetroMPG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,513

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 52.71 mpg (US)

Even Fancier Metro - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage top spec
90 day: 70.75 mpg (US)

Appliance car - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 60.16 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4,058
Thanked 6,957 Times in 3,602 Posts
Answer depends on weight & aerodynamics! (And to a certain extent the environment you drive in.)

The previous generation Smart Fortwo CDI (Canadian / Euro market) has 40 horsepower - and a worse (from the conventional perspective) power to weight ratio than a Geo Metro 3 cylinder car. I'd drive one!

Somewhat related thread:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...good-5285.html

-
__________________
Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
Mitsu mods: 70 MPG in my ecomodded, dirt cheap, 3-cylinder Mirage.
Ecodriving test: Manual vs. automatic transmission MPG showdown



EcoModder
has launched a forum for the efficient new Mitsubishi Mirage
www.MetroMPG.com - fuel efficiency info for Geo Metro owners
www.ForkenSwift.com - electric car conversion on a beer budget
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-2009, 05:23 AM   #8 (permalink)
Master of 140 hamsters
 
superchow's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Lacey, WA
Posts: 183

Hamster - '07 Honda Civic EX
90 day: 29.41 mpg (US)

Whooshy Wagon - '04 Volvo V40
90 day: 23.33 mpg (US)

Minotaur - '09 Ford Taurus X SEL
90 day: 19.05 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1
Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts
Thanks for the feedback. So I am not alone - power compensates for lack of skill/inattention. Heh, makes me want to make a bumper sticker that goes something like this:

"Hybrids - Helping to get good mileage despite their drivers." Present company not included of course...

The world would be a much different place if power was inversely proportional to vehicle weight. Maybe then manufacturers would be more likely to build lightweight cars and trucks.

... but I digress.
__________________
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-22-2009, 07:53 AM   #9 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: UK
Posts: 659

Chug - '96 Volkswagon Polo CL
TEAM VW AUDI Group
90 day: 49.42 mpg (US)

L'Autre - '03 Renault Megane Sport Tourer Expression
Diesel
90 day: 45.02 mpg (US)
Thanks: 20
Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts
My polo has a stonking 60hp, and it can out-gun 2 litre+ cars off the lights and due to the gearing @70 you massage the gas it will pick up effortlessly and shoot round passin 80+ quicker than most of the bigger cars I've driven in the states (v6 malibu/fusion/trailblazer/cobalt etc). alot of people mention power/weight ratio but personally for useability I prefer to look at torque/weight as a measur and maybe take a sneak at the gear spacing stats too!
__________________
-----------------------------------------
good things come to those who wait, sh*t turns up pretty much instantly






twitter.com/bertchalmers
  Reply With Quote
Old 08-23-2009, 10:50 AM   #10 (permalink)
Master of 140 hamsters
 
superchow's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Lacey, WA
Posts: 183

Hamster - '07 Honda Civic EX
90 day: 29.41 mpg (US)

Whooshy Wagon - '04 Volvo V40
90 day: 23.33 mpg (US)

Minotaur - '09 Ford Taurus X SEL
90 day: 19.05 mpg (US)
Thanks: 1
Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by robchalmers View Post
My polo has a stonking 60hp, and it can out-gun 2 litre+ cars off the lights and due to the gearing @70 you massage the gas it will pick up effortlessly and shoot round passin 80+ quicker than most of the bigger cars I've driven in the states (v6 malibu/fusion/trailblazer/cobalt etc). alot of people mention power/weight ratio but personally for useability I prefer to look at torque/weight as a measur and maybe take a sneak at the gear spacing stats too!
I agree with the "diesel power". My parents still drive their 93 Passat TDI with 90 hp and it always is eager to pull. A torque/weight comparison would be interesting. Especially when looking from a performance and fuel economy point of view. TDI - FTW!

__________________
  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How much HP @ highway speed kane66 General Efficiency Discussion 7 02-03-2017 04:53 AM
Skilled driving & power drifting with 1 hp botsapper The Lounge 0 06-18-2009 04:10 PM
Got a 10 hp diesel engine, what now? Vwbeamer Off-Topic Tech 11 04-22-2009 04:44 AM
Me and curvy plastic shovel vs 8.5 HP Ariens Who Saving@Home 4 03-26-2008 09:09 AM
Graph: MPG vs. HP over time in the US passenger fleet MetroMPG General Efficiency Discussion 16 03-05-2008 01:13 PM



Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com