HP Rating NOT Really Overrated As Some Think
 

Just for the heck of it I decided to run some 370Z 1/4-mile track numbers I found on the Internet to see what the HP numbers calculate to using a HP calculator. Here is what I started with:

Best 1/4-mile time I found:

13.1 @ 108.9 MPH

370Z spec:

Bone stock
MT-6
Spec weight
car is 3278 lbs empty
car is 3285 lbs assuming 1 gallon of fuel.

Best 1/4 mile time found: 13.1 seconds

Assuming driver #1 weighs 180 pounds (the weight of an average man) the total weight at race time is: 3465 lbs

Assuming driver #2 weighs 200 pounds (an above average weight) the total weight at race time is: 3485 lbs

Calculation results:

HP with driver #1: 326.94 HP at the flywheel

HP with driver #2: 328.83 HP at the flywheel

So my conclusion is that given the stated Nissan spec rating of 332 BHP the 1/4-mile track numbers tend to support such an OEM rating by +/- 4 HP.

There were people who thought the HP was overrated?

Yeah, really.

You'd think the multitudes of similar dyno graphs would have proven that, and trap speeds in the 1/4th...

Still good info nonetheless.

I've carefully studied the supplied data and have come to one conclusion. I'm fat. :(

Rofl

Here's a link to a few on-line calculators....

Acceleration Calculators

ssoooo the fatter you are the more HP your car will have :eek: at my weight a 370z would have 5000000hp :roflpuke2:........but on a serious note what is with the extra weight and the extra 2hp?

if you make the car heavier and change only the weight while all other stats remain the same, the car has more hp. because it's moving more weight in the same amount of time as the lighter car.

it means the extra weight would need 2 more hp to go that fast in the 1/4 mile

HP is actually a function of weight. I know its confusing but think about it this way. The heavier the total load that is moving the greater HP is required to move the load in that given time over that given distance. It isn't that the engine is manufacturing more HP....its that the calculation formula figures the vehicle's HP to be "x" given the stated weight, time, speed and distance traveled. That is why the 1/4 mile is the truest indicator of what a car's HP is on any given run.

Here's a great (funny) article on the whole concept of weight Vs. speed....

SCC Technical Assistance Program

Yes...actually the Camaro boards are of that opinion (of course). They all think their crap doesn't stink. I saw a new Camaro parked at Summit Racing in Tallmadge, Ohio yesterday. To be honest the car looked like a POS. It was yellow which didn't help..but it looks really cheap...and it looks like an absolute bloated BOAT in its profile...the tires look like mega-balloons. I walked away with the impression that this was the typical "GM doesn't know how to design any car except a Vette" look.


And believe it or not there are some Z folks (mostly 350Z folks) that think the 370Z HP is overrated. And there are a few car-magazines that I have seen it mentioned that whomever was doing the review felt that the 370Z may be overrated in HP.

Needless to say what I showed in my example using actual trap data and the most conservative of assumptions the OEM specified HP for the 370Z has to be very accurate.

Given the dyno #s we've seen so far and the trap speeds that have been published it appears the 370Z is underrated more then over rated...though to be honest I think its rated exactly right.