Just a rant

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Rodzilla

Rodzilla

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".....is overkill for the street in my opinion"
I see this comment over and over and it annoys the hell out of me! Hardly a soul on here builds their car for daily driving, so how is too much of a good thing overkill? If buddy wants to squeeze out every drop of hp he can for his $$$$, why is there always someone chiming in about overkill? Just because you'd rather be driving miss daisy then making Ford and Chevy boys cry doesn't mean lots of power is overkill for the next guy. The ONLY time it's overkill in my opinion is when your cooling system can't keep up, or you're not bright enough to upgrade the rest of the drivetrain to handle the power :p
The factory sells an under rated 707HP blown Gen3 Hemi, is that "overkill for the street"? I dare say, if anyone on here was handed the keys not a single person would refuse and say "Are you crazy? No thank you! That's overkill for the street!" Lol
 
Isn't your reaction just a little overkill? LOL :)
Agreed, it's like saying having too much fun is a bad thing!
 
When most people say "overkill", what they mean is that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

  • Too much hp, not enough tire.
  • Too much hp, not enough brakes.
  • Those wheels look sh1t, spend some money there and go without the extra 25hp....
 
I totally agree with what you're saying. There are some things that while I'd never criticize someone for doing them, I would possibly think "overkill for the street" to myself-
-an extreme cam that really impacts drivability
-slicks
-wheelie bar/parachute
-wearing a helmet
-open headers
-a car that's tuned for race fuel-only
 
I say overkill in cost of a part when a similar one can do the same job for the intended purpose and even more so when the words "Daily Driver" come into play.

Also overkill gets used when your building something and the combo is just plain ol'wacked out. Example;

I'm building a daily driver that may see the strip sometime before I die (I'm only 21 by the way)
Is 13-1 OK for 87 (I'm a broke collage student by the way and work at McDonalds part time.)
I'm looking at a stock 340 cam for drive abilty issues and mileage concerns.
Maybe the Comp XE268?!?!?!?!?!

I have full manual reverse pattern 727 and a 276 gear rear that I out 32x15's on the back for that cool *** stink bug look.

OH! Can I make my A/C work? I wanna look cool and actually be cool while running 11's. I'm gonna load it up with a 300 hit of NO2 like street outlaws do!

Is this overkill?
 
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Mr Gorsky said:
When most people say "overkill", what they mean is that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

  • Too much hp, not enough tire.
  • Too much hp, not enough brakes.
  • Those wheels look sh1t, spend some money there and go without the extra 25hp....
Click to expand...

I get those comments, they make sense, safety and all. It's the ones that a specifically saying to much power on the street is overkill, just a blanket statement really.
 
Rodzilla said:
I get those comments, they make sense, safety and all. It's the ones that a specifically saying to much power on the street is overkill, just a blanket statement really.
Click to expand...
Tell them a-holes that the power is controlled by your right foot, the same that can kick them in the same place at your discretion.......
 
Agreed!!!!!!

It's amazing isn't it.

Ooooooo it has 500hp, that's to much!
As if it was 500hp at idle or some crazy thing!
 
I always thought that "too much for the street" or "overkill for the street" actually meant "I'm too scared to go faster on the street."
 
I have to admit that the 'overkill' comment some make irks me too. The way I see it, there are a lot of different ways someone can build a car.

Some want tame daily drivers.
Some want economy.
Some want street/strip cars.
Some want to go totally ape-**** wild.

It'd be a really boring hobby if everyone built clones of each other's cars.

The comment is usually made to criticize the high horsepower builds that some don't consider practical. Are those builds practical? HELL NO!! - But I'd rather have the option to jump into a ground pounding make you pee your pants hotrod than be herded into a vanilla cookie cutter vehicle along with the rest of society if that's the way of the world.

They want practical? Why aren't they driving a brand X econobox made overseas?

My fondest memories (with cars) are all the misadventures and mistakes I've made. - My eyes burning from unspent gas coming from the exhaust at stop lights, the struggles to maintain a proper tune, the experimentation, and the road trips where you had to make rest stops because there was no way you could fall asleep in the ride you were in.

I do understand comments about the lack of practicality and I agree that some builds are impractical as hell but sometimes that's the coolest part of them.
 
I think the phrase is like pants. Each person has a size and it's what's comfortable to them
 
I drive a 420HP/470ft-lb 408 duster daily
(I'm actually going to take it to my evening classes in a few hours, which is a 70 mile round trip...during which I will burn about 7 gallons of fuel)

it only becomes overkill when it starts to rain ;)



gdrill said:
Agreed, it's like saying having too much fun is a bad thing!
Click to expand...


 
Too much HP is overkill for the street? I agree that overused catch phrase kind of irks me a little bit. I say build whatever you want, and if more is better for you - go for it. Driving a high HP car on the street is all in the driver and how he controls his right foot. My car runs pretty well and I drive easy most of the time. But it is awesome dropping the hammer every now and just because you can.... LoL....
 
Rodzilla said:
".....is overkill for the street in my opinion"
I see this comment over and over and it annoys the hell out of me! Hardly a soul on here builds their car for daily driving, so how is too much of a good thing overkill? If buddy wants to squeeze out every drop of hp he can for his $$$$, why is there always someone chiming in about overkill? Just because you'd rather be driving miss daisy then making Ford and Chevy boys cry doesn't mean lots of power is overkill for the next guy. The ONLY time it's overkill in my opinion is when your cooling system can't keep up, or you're not bright enough to upgrade the rest of the drivetrain to handle the power :p
The factory sells an under rated 707HP blown Gen3 Hemi, is that "overkill for the street"? I dare say, if anyone on here was handed the keys not a single person would refuse and say "Are you crazy? No thank you! That's overkill for the street!" Lol
Click to expand...


Your absolutely right no such thins as "overkill" just like there's no such thing as too fast IF you know how to handle it..most that say overkill are farting around on the street with 13-15 second granny cars..
 
Rodzilla said:
".....is overkill for the street in my opinion"
I see this comment over and over and it annoys the hell out of me! Hardly a soul on here builds their car for daily driving, so how is too much of a good thing overkill? If buddy wants to squeeze out every drop of hp he can for his $$$$, why is there always someone chiming in about overkill? Just because you'd rather be driving miss daisy then making Ford and Chevy boys cry doesn't mean lots of power is overkill for the next guy. The ONLY time it's overkill in my opinion is when your cooling system can't keep up, or you're not bright enough to upgrade the rest of the drivetrain to handle the power :p
The factory sells an under rated 707HP blown Gen3 Hemi, is that "overkill for the street"? I dare say, if anyone on here was handed the keys not a single person would refuse and say "Are you crazy? No thank you! That's overkill for the street!" Lol
Click to expand...
It's been my experience on this board that most, not all, folks starts out with underkill. Which, over time, money, and lots of learning the hard way, ends up being just right. There is no such thing as overkill. I would have no problem driving a stroked 416 71 Demon that runs 10 seconds to Shecky's steak shack and ordering a 48 oz steak knowing that I just drove there getting 8-10 miles a gallon and knowing that I was never going to eat that whole steak. Of course I would have to have a stroked 416 71 Demon that runs 10 seconds and have a Shecky's steak shack nearby. But that's neither here nor there. And there's nothing wrong standing next to and looking down the exhaust of a Top Fuel dragster while they are breaking in the newly rebuilt engine after just one run. And if anyone here actually understood what I just said then you are a candidate for 'just right'.
 
How about underkill?
Some people would argue that underkill would be a stock slant 6 1/2 ton pickup unladen that can't make it up a fairly small hill at more than 40 mph is underkill.
I had one of those, a real turd to drive.......but got great gas mileage.
A lot of people drive vehicles like this and love 'em, and on the flat and around town they're awesome, try to pass at highway speeds or go up a hill, they suck.
 
Kinda like Aunt Sandy in her Volt, complaining about how you are affecting the environment, with little or no knowledge of how harmful to the environment the process is just to make the battery for her little "green" car!!
 
cosgig said:
Kinda like Aunt Sandy in her Volt, complaining about how you are affecting the environment, with little or no knowledge of how harmful to the environment the process is just to make the battery for her little "green" car!!
Click to expand...
Whenever I see someone like that giving me the stink eye at a red light I let her idle at 170p rpm and then hide the intersection in tire smoke...something I couldn't do unless my car was over...just right
 
Mr Gorsky said:
When most people say "overkill", what they mean is that the money could be better spent elsewhere.

  • Too much hp, not enough tire.
  • Too much hp, not enough brakes.
  • Those wheels look sh1t, spend some money there and go without the extra 25hp....
Click to expand...
Too much HP, not enough brains!!!
 
There has only ever been one car I thought might be overkill on the street, and that was a friends built and blown 500 cube El camino.
The thing would lite those big ol 16 inch slicks at even a hint of gas pedal.
WAY too much power for an El Camino body but it sure was fun. :D

In the rain a VW could kick his ***.
 
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