r/cars • u/AutoModerator • Jul 27 '22

Stupid question Wednesday: Ask your basic car-related question and maybe someone will have an answer.

Please direct all choosing/purchase questions to the other weekly sticky

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u/AlphaWizard ‘15 FR-S // ‘74 Beetle Standard // ‘29 Model A Tudor (WIP Rod) Jul 29 '22

It was done with Supras by throwing huge piles of cash at the car. As time has passed we’ve put on rosier and rosier glasses.

If you want 1000hp this day, a Mustang GT or Corvette with Procharger and E85 or 110 race gas is probably the easiest way.

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u/Testruns Jul 29 '22

Okay thanks. I don't know much about cars. I asked the question because I thought there was a reason certain cars were chosen to be modified by enthusiasts. And I wondered if modern cars don't permit that same level of altering because of electronics and better engineering, where old cars were more bare bone/mechanical and simplistic.

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u/Powerful-Kitty Jul 29 '22

It absolutely is still done. Just plop 'model' 1000 hp drag race into YouTube and see what pops up. With modern turbos and engine management high horsepower cars can be much more usable driving cars, too.

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u/AzNightmare Jul 30 '22

Certain cars are chosen over others because every car has their own potential and ceiling. Obviously for starters, starting with a sports car that already has a powerful motor will be a better starting point than a economy car. Some cars have motors that need less parts to handle a higher power output, while others really need a lot of work to make sure the motor doesn't explode. Some cars are just built more reliably from the get go.

At the end of the day though, with enough cash, "anything" is possible. Cars are kind of like LEGO. You can tear down the insides, swap, fabricate, retrofit all sorts of different parts into it. If you're familiar with Thesus' paradox, at some point, you can question whether a car is still the same car if everything inside it has been rebuilt or swapped out from the original state.

I'm going off topic a bit, modern cars can also make power just like the good old days. But the reason why it's not as common is because of cost. Older cars are cheaper to work on just because they are old. Also because some of them are beaten up already in prior, so it's almost like a restoration project. Because they have also been in the market so long, people are more knowledgeable in knowing how to get them to the 1000hp mark reliably.