chrisc90 wrote: ↑18 Mar 2023, 16:05
Don't confuse peak bhp with the rest of the engine characteristics. Sometimes its best to sacrifice a bit of peak 'pub-talk' figures for a greater range of power over TV e whole rpm range.
I've seen a lot of road/track cars here in the UK where there has been 50-75bhp less and those cars are much faster than those with more power, due to a better overall 'average' power over the rpm range
This has always been the case.
Honda documented how shaving off 12hp off peak in 2006 for some mid range was faster around Monza, of all places.
We do all sorts of torque shaping work with our engines in real life. Making a big peak number is actually relative easy (on a naturally aspirated engine. Making a good peak but with more power in your entire operating range is hard).
BUT, you need to factor drag into your energy calculations. If you add up energy deployed, you need to subtract it from energy consumed for comparative purposes, and that doesn’t even factor in turning that power consumed into downforce / grip.
If you look at terminal speeds over the last 35 years, they’re relatively the same. The current cars just take all that extra power and convert it to downforce, and that’s ultimately why they’re faster.
