Forums Forums Enthusiast Forums A - Z Autowirral whats all this brake horse power mean guys?

hi there,

Help me out!!i know this may sound a bit dippy, but whats all this brake horse power stuff about? i know it means speed, and how fast ur motor can exellerate, whats mine gonna b, on a 316.i se bmw ??
dippy (monicax)

BMW 316i se

0-60 in 10.0 sec
1/4 mile in 17.3 sec

un modified is 129bhp

hope this helps

if any one else has other figures please put em in

hiya

same me blathering on, heres a link i dug out to explain what horsepower is


http://auto.howstuffworks.com/horsepower.htm

as for my cars hp figures i got

Vauxhall Nova 1600

800KG
125bhp
0-60 - 7.5-8sec
1/4 mile - 15.5ish Seconds

Pug 106 Diesel

58bhp (wooo!!!)
0-60 - Pass a sundial
1/4 mile - 20+secs


<img border="0" alt="[does this help]" title="" src="graemlins/cwemotions041.gif" />

Phil

peugeot 106

1100cc 60bhp

0-60 slower than ya gran
top speed 102 (peugeot figures). 98(my figures)

Pug 206 GTI 180

2000cc 207bho

0-60 - 6.2

Top Speed 150ish

My AX was 60BHP but was quicker up to 60 than a 1.2 16valve corsa.

Power to weight ratio and gears etc play a big part

130 brake in a 316!!! not bad at all!!! basically means how much power the engine produces!!! sum cars will have more bhp than others but wont be as fast because as ax said power to weight!!! <img border="0" alt="[does this help]" title="" src="graemlins/cwemotions041.gif" />

yeah i have had many arguments about power to weight ratios... this is where my cinq gets its speed from..

about 220-230bhp in my rover=
0-60=6
top speed 155-160bhp

its torque that measures acceleration!

Thanks Guys, Now i am in the know, i feel so clever now!!! Like i keep saying, my car does shift but the draw back is, its an auto so i shud imagine that if it was a manual then the brake horse power wud be more??

itd still be the same, youd just have more control over the gear change. Does your gearbox has a sports mode on it? My mum's old Beemer did, it just meant the engine revved a bit more before the gear changed. Another thing was the "kick down" button she had under the accelerator pedal. As soon as you touch that, you cant half feel it pull away, but you need to have the pedal flat on the floor.

Also gear ratios have a big part to play in acceleration too

The driver has a big part to play

Had something to do with the amount of horses it took to pull a rock in a certain time in the old days, that's where it came from.

It's also worth getting your car onto a rolling road and get the power output checked, you'd be surprised at how the bhp can fluctuate on both sides.

reply to lazy ben,

hi there, yes its an 316.i se. it has a sports mode it does go faster but it drinks the juice like a fish, it does make it sound a bit meatier, and the old tail pipe just highlights the noise as u can imaginex it took me a while to get used to driving it coz the three cars ive had b4 have been manual, the kick down is pure fast but like you said, the pedal is at the metal on the kick downx its better on a build up jaunt gets faster as the car goes, 120'mph is my new record!