This is what 900 HP looks like

[BioSci]

My R-Spec is my slow car. Between the R-Spec and my other car, I have over 900 HP!

A couple of months ago I bought a brand-new 2014 R-Spec. I enjoy spirited driving, and I'm quite accustomed to the judicious exercise of lots of horsepower. You see, my other car is a 1992 Corvette, extensively modified for competitive drag racing. I had the Vette engine rebuilt as a 383 stroker, and I have an extensive set of other modifications which bring the engine HP close to 500. I measured the rear wheel HP as 400, It has a 3-speed automatic transmission with overdrive. At the track, it runs a quarter mile in the mid-11's and runs the 1/8 mile in 7.3 sec. The calculated 0-60 MPH time is in the low 3's.

That all being said, the R-Spec has adjusted well to its relegated position of being the slow car in the house! Here's the new family photos.

 

[DRS]

Corvette looks like a sleeper from this angle.. Bet you surprise some folks... Red interior too? More rare.. The first Gen Genny lines will never grow old... Almost timeless styling. Nice pair.

 

[Rawhide]

Yeah, a lot of horsepower that also happens to be great eye candy! Those are fantastic shots!

 

[BioSci]

Corvette looks like a sleeper from this angle.. Bet you surprise some folks... Red interior too? More rare.. The first Gen Genny lines will never grow old... Almost timeless styling. Nice pair.

Thanks. Yes, the Vette is red-on-red. Here's a photo of the interior. It has 177,000 miles on the odo, but I redid some of the interior as well - the seats and the carpeting. All the black is original: steering wheel leather, dashboard leather, console armrest. All the red leather on the doors is original as well.

 

[Buford T Justice]

Which one has the highest top speed?
Love the C4.

 

[BioSci]

Which one has the highest top speed?
Love the C4.

I'll never know. The Vette is still a 23-year old car, with mostly the original suspension. No way I'd risk my life to find out. Based on the engine build and measured RWHP, I'm guessing it tops out somewhere north of 175. One thing in favor of the C4 is its very low aerodynamic drag coefficient - reportedly just 0.34.

 

[DRS]

Nice and well kept up interior..

 

[brfatal]

Nice. Very well kept Corvette.

I've got within a few horsepower of 1,000 whp (~1,300 chp, not that that measure means anything) in my driveway, but that's between 3 cars. High(ish) power club unite!

 

[Sal Collaziano]

I used to own a C4 Corvette. Great cars. A little expensive to own, though. For me, anyway. That was a long time ago...

Great pictures, by the way!

 

[05king]

175 with a 3 speed auto? Seems like it would run out of gear. What rpm are you at in the quarter

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[DRS]

175 with a 3 speed auto? Seems like it would run out of gear. What rpm are you at in the quarter

4 speed auto. 4th being overdrive in that era of turbo hydromatics. Ligenfelter (sp?) early days up north used to get 200mph with his mods with a automatic. Heard rumors of real whacky speed combos they got with clients modified 85-86 Z51 4 speed factory rock crusher manuals and external overdrive unit. Not sure, but their top speed was in third on the 4 speed manual with the overdrive switch turned on.

 

[BioSci]

175 with a 3 speed auto? Seems like it would run out of gear. What rpm are you at in the quarter

It's a 3-speed with overdrive. I don't know the RPM at the quarter, as my eyes are outside the car at speeds over 100MPH!

 

[05king]

I was just curious. I have a 521 ci inch 604hp big block Ford with a 3 speed auto in a 70 Torino that runs mid 11's and it traps at about 5700RPM. It doesn't have much left. I would imagine I could get maybe 130 out of it. With Slicks the car would run low 11's

 

[BioSci]

Now I have some info that speaks to the question of top speed. Today I checked the RPM while driving on a superhighway. At a speed of 75MPH, the engine was turning 2400 RPM (with OD on). Extrapolating to 175MPH, the engine would be turning 5600 RPM. It doesn't hit peak HP until well over 6,000 RPM, so a top speed of 190 sounds achievable given the HP and gearing.

 

[DRS]

Now I have some info that speaks to the question of top speed. Today I checked the RPM while driving on a superhighway. At a speed of 75MPH, the engine was turning 2400 RPM (with OD on). Extrapolating to 175MPH, the engine would be turning 5600 RPM. It doesn't hit peak HP until well over 6,000 RPM, so a top speed of 190 sounds achievable given the HP and gearing.

Yea... The only potential issue is the huge drop between the 1:1 third gear and the huge overdrive in 4th. I forget the ratio in that year.. Could be .63 assuming your torque is strong and wide power and, it should get to what you are saying. Especially based on the HP you suggest.

I had a 85 Z51 (one of a string of C4s I owned), with the 4 speed manual and external switch activated overdrive. Acutely a very cool combo. Back then the TPI 350 pushed out about 255hp (that was whopping back then, remember other observers of this thread, Reagan had backed off the EPA crap and allowed them to use tech for better HP growth.. A few years before, the 350 was pushing 165 EPA choked HP. His roll back allowed electronics to be used to increase power). My observed top speed of 164mph (stock) was achieved in third gear with overdrive turned on.. To get there, went through first 4 gears (overdrive off), then I would shift to third turning overdrive on.. Let's just say, it did not pull like what we take for granted today in a stock Genesis.

So, I would expect your C4 to dog out when going to 4th overdrive.. But still climbing to close to what you suggest.. The C4 not only has low drag coefficient, but small frontal area (much smaller than today's model). It is light.. Back then Z rated Goodyear Gatorbacks were top tire. And some config of C4 would meet the "designed to exceed 155" tire rating speeds. No speed limiters. Until the 6 speed manual came out, the over drive added 4 speed manual was the combo to have. Auto would dog out so bad below power curve going to 4th (the overdrive gear for the auto) top speed was limited. Until power came up with a automatic LT1 (three speed and 4th overdrive), where the LT1 could power through the huge gearing change between 3-4th, the autos were a mess.. Plus my Z51, and other manuals with Z51 later (6 speeds), had real axle gearing of 3.73. Instead of the 3.23 or as low as 3.08 (I think).

Why does this have anything to do with a Genesis? History and awareness of how things work is important for Genny owners.. Plus, we can get an idea of how far we have come.. And the 8 speed combo, with 5.0 torque of at least 300lbs at 1500 RPM (and growing as revs increase) give us The amazing smooth and continual "push in the seat" acceleration way past 150 mph. We have come so far.. And IF we get a POTUS who does what Reagan did (turning back the whacko birds 2018-2025 dictates some), auto progress will continue to move forward into amazing speeds, capability and safety...

I just got inside and drove around the dealer campus the BMW "i3" yesterday (while visiting as they are aclient of mine)... The "sale price" was $47k. Real Street range: under 100 miles. Looks like a snail, and is as fast as one. The "range extender" model added almost $10k to the package over the "sale" of $47k. Oh, the added wood trim looks nice. . A motorcycle like motor that charges the batteries... So the snail adds some more slime to the mix. THIS is what we have to look forward to by 2021-25, as a "performance" car for the "upper middle class masses". If one understands, should make your blood boil. Oh, and it looked like inside and out like the "Johnny cab" from the original Total Recall Movie.

 

[geops]

The only electric that I would consider is the top-of-the-line Tesla Model S. That one has quite a bit of torque and 300+ miles on a charge. I still wouldn't take it cross-country. The rest of the electric vehicles available are a joke.

 

[DRS]

The only electric that I would consider is the top-of-the-line Tesla Model S. That one has quite a bit of torque and 300+ miles on a charge. I still wouldn't take it cross-country. The rest of the electric vehicles available are a joke.

Agree with that.. The i3 has a look of the "Johnny cab", inside and out, from the original Total Recall Movie.. Horrid.

 

[kn5owa]

The only electric that I would consider is the top-of-the-line Tesla Model S. That one has quite a bit of torque and 300+ miles on a charge. I still wouldn't take it cross-country. The rest of the electric vehicles available are a joke.

The Tesla S was one of my leading alternate choices when I was new car shopping - dismissed it for the same reason - and kept hearing about misc. problems.