Jvette73

Anyone ever pondered the average cost? HP per dollar. Or dollars per HP. I know, I got too much time on my hands. Not really though. it was just a thought.

MotorHead

Kinda hard to put a price on it as the price goes up as the horsepower goes up. For example it is relatively cheap to get the first couple of hundred hundred out of L48 but after that it starts costing a few wallys.

Vetterodder

I think that for most people that are looking for more power, cost (bang per buck) is a consideration. Exceptions would be pro racers that need every possible hp regardless of cost, guys with huge bank accounts, and those that value ease and convenience above results. Whenever I read about a $1,000+ C5 exhaust system that gives an 8hp increase I can't help but feel how lucky we are with our "old technology". In most cases, our cars can make way larger power gains for way less money and with fewer problems with regulators.

IMO, a lot of guys looking for more power shoot themselves in the foot by looking to the most convenient way and being too eager to believe an advertiser's claim. They gladly pay $50 for an air cleaner that boosts power by a few hp, if any, but wouldn't consider a $200 cam swap that would give 10 -20 times the power increase. That mentality results in $100 per hp gains while missing out on the $5 per hp options. It also results in getting your butt kicked by some fart piped ricemobile :). Using a wrench isn't rocket science and if you can turn turn one bolt, you can turn a thousand bolts.

Metal Wulf

the engine swap i plan on doing will equate to $9.10 per hp :D :thumbs:

PRNDL

What amazes me is the high cost of horsepower from the factory. Look how much you have to pay for some of these cars - seems much cheaper to buy used and modify or engine swap. MJ

Russ Bellinis

On the street torque is more important than hp, but I think a lot of guys read the magazine articals. I like the magazine articals for ideas, but I look for the type of test where they post hp and torque from say 2500rpm to 6000rpm. That sort of information can give you an idea of the practicality of a combination. All too often the magazine builds an engine with a big cam, monster ports in the heads, and capped off with monmster carburetor. Then they strap it to an engine dyno and go for max horsepower to publish in the magazine. I have an 85 IROC I'm building, I was at a friends shop last Monday, and he showed me an engine that a customer had had built. It has a set of AFR 195 full race heads on a 350 with tbi. The heads have been built with titanium valve spring seats. My friend said the heads alone are $2000.00 as built. The problem is that the valves are so big that he will loose most of his low end torque, then to make matters worse by the time the rpm get up to where those heads will work, the tbi system is choking it off. The result is that this guy has built a high $$ engine that will make less power and torque than stock. My friend is trying to persuade the guy to sell the heads. Right now they have not been used. He's loose a few hundred $ on the price he paid for them, but once he starts the engine, the value of those heads drops tremendously. Right now he could sell those 195's for enough to get a nice set of Trick Flow 23* heads, and build a nice engine. He could probably get a set of 190's that would make a lot of power in usable rpm ranges. Unfortunately, as of last Monday the guy told my friend to make his heads work.

69stingray

I bet a big block crate engine would be better HP/$ then a small block. Time to do some research.

bence13_33

I believe the going rate for horsepower is approximately $10 per horsepower. So for the most part you might as well plan on spending $10 per horsepower...except in the case of nitrous which is the biggest bang for buck horsepower wise.