Alright. Ever see those people who are nothing but makeing as much power as there humanly can? Alright im one of them, but I was thinking honestly due to being purely bored, its obvious 4 cylinders werent makeing enough power, so people came out with the I6 and V6, then came along a V8 because of the V6 not makeing enough power or because they were used in smaller cars and trucks. Why not take the some concepts from the V8 and apply them to a V10, or a V12 and make even more power from doing a cam, heads, tune, programmer, headers/exhaust, intake, turbo, supercharger, nitrous, intercoolers etc. In my opinion you dont need a V8 to make power, as I said in another thread ive seen a Subaru STI I4 making over 600hp and a Cobalt SS making 500, now see the V8 bias wont say why not put in a V6 or something...Sorry if its just a rant. But its also a question I was wondering

 

Well, they have been doing those type things with V8's for quite some time in race cars. You don't see them on the street much because (believe it or not) there is sometimes such a thing as too much power. After a certain point driveability becomes an issue. Some of the foreign and American 'supercars' deliver their power at the high end of the power band for top end speed rather than tremendous torque for low end punch. Remember that when you take a little engine and wring the heck out of it to get power, you are shortening the life span. I would rather have a big engine loafing along than a cracker box screaming its little heart out.

 

do you realize the amount of money you have to put into a 4 banger to get that power? You still aren't going to get the torque either.

 

I do understand that but like all the ways people have dont to get as much power out of 4,6, and 8 cylinders you have Ford with a V10, a Viper V10 motor along with the SRT10 makeing more power along that lines. Why not take a V10 and do the same rridle im stealing your way of thinking why not use a moderate V10 or V12 instead of useing a boosted out of its mind V6 or V8 running higher compression and worked, Its just something ive always been wondering, like obviously a V8s making more than a 4 or 6 why not do the same with a 10 or 12 and make the power possibilites endless?

 

If you're talking about a car manufacturer doing it, they look at how much of a market there is for it, how much they would have to charge for it, what they have available that it would fit into, and finally how much government interference (believe me, it exists) would they run into.

 

WoW, Thats crazy I just never understood the whole obsession everyone has with V8's that all

 

first off v10's and v12 aren't usually the best thing, Its such a stupid thing to have a car/truck with over 600hp because its probably not going to be able to keep it on the ground. Look at all the super cars in europe 700 HP is to much compared to most of them.

It all comes down to gearing and suspension if you want a fast car. Its not all about having 2312312412513hp.

 

It was once described very well in a car magazine: "Horespower is what you read about, and torque is what you feel." In a street vehicle at some point you have to ask yourself, 'How much torque do I need to accomplish the task at hand?' After that point, you're just blowing money out the tailpipe.

 

you dont need that much money.. get on old civic for 1k and do a k series swap for a few grand (that alone is pretty quick) then if you wanna go all out you can spend another 3k for cams intake header and all that good stuff. so for under 10k you have a 10 sec car(if you spend it the right way)

i've seen a 95 hatch k swap beat a dodge viper.
and a different one running 8s in the quarter.

its not all about horse power, its about HP to weight ratio. a gutted hatch weighs 2500lbs with the right stuff that ***** will fly.

im not really a honda fan but i am a fan of that 1 in a 100 honda thats done right

 

It's pretty simple to me. Bottom line, there really is no "best" engine, just as there is no "best vehicle". What works well in one application would be a complete disaster in another.

This is an broad example, but... a blown, injected aluminum Top Fuel Hemi is widely acknowledged to be the most powerful piston-powered racing engine ever screwed together... but you wouldn't want to put one in an Indy car, would you? No, you wouldn't, because that engine's design has been evolved and adapted over time to fit a very narrow, very specific application.

Same with any other type of engine. Most engines do fairly well in a range of applications, but they'll never be as good as an engine designed with a specific vehicle in mind to perform a specific task, whether it be to pull a load, go fast, be low-maintenance for along time, or get the most distance out of gallon of fuel.

Historically, a well designed V8 has been able to perform more of those things better than other types of engines. The Chevy 350 is an good example. It just works. That's why it's been around in one form or another for over 50 years.