why is it that with a 4.0L V6 ford can only manage a measley 210hp? honda's with 2.0L are making that much. A 3.7L 370z makes 30 more horses than our 4.6L. I think in about a year I'm gonna be moving away from the mustang. Most likely gonna buy a used M3. I know the long awaited 5.0 might come out in 2011 but, it's too late for me. I love my car, but when I think of how crappy the Liter to HP ratio is, it bums me out. i even have an s197, new edges have it even worse......

 

you are comparing apples to oranges


the Honda/Toyota 2.0 liter motors are 4 cylinder blocks that can rev 8,000-9,000 rpm. they utilize 4 valve technology and dual cams.


yeah, they might make equivalent, or higher HP...but it comes at the cost of high high revs.


vs. the 4.0 v-6 which makes it's peak power at 4,500 (ish) rpm...wieghs more, has fewer valves, and a "V" shaped motor.



it's all about how the motor is run. American motors are lower revving with more displacement. Euro/Imports are tiny on the cubes, but rev like hell.



pick your poison. Your Z car might have 330 HP, but it's all in what I call the "un-useable" area. We drive 90% of the time in crowed conditions and don't have alot of territory to really open up the motor.

That Z car never really gets to open up, and get to those crazy *** rpms. Different story in an American motor. They often rule in the low end.




btw, Torque wins races. HP is nice, but TQ is where it's at. Swapping to imports will see the loss of TQ to gain those HP...again, resulting in higher RPM's

 

The only efficiency ratio I care about is $/hp.

Oh and the rumble of a v8 > all.

 

ill take the sound of my 4.0L to a 2.0L honda. Kthanx

 

If Ford puts the EcoBoost in the 2011 V6, you will have more hp than the current model. From what I understand it will gain 100+ hp.
They are already putting the Ecoboost in the Fusion Sport and the Tauras SHO should be a knockout compared to the other world sedans.

I wouldn't give up on American cars just yet!

 

Me too and especially now that I have duals!

 

For the love of God.

How fast is that Z vs. the mustang? It's not much faster. And how much does it cost?
Are Hondas cheap cars? I don't think so.

Efficiency is nice to have and all but it really doesn't mean squat IMO. There is way more to a car than that.

 

Got torque?

 

exactly

HP is for bragging rights, TQ is for winning races

 

Ford engineering may or may not suck, but the reason why the v6 has only 210 hp is because it is not the performance model. Most imports have a v6 as the performance model and no v8, and generally the imports do not respond as well to mods. For example, do intake and tune to a s197 and you could pick up as much as 25whp. You won't see that from an intake and tune on a 350Z or M3.