TeriAnn,
You touched on the real problem, and Dan M. actually gave the answer pretty
well,
IMHO. The problem lies not just in the weight of the car, but also in the new
engine's ability to get the car to higher speeds faster than the old one.
Therefore, you will be able to reach higher speeds in shorter straights than you
would have using a lower output power plant. All that excess speed has to be
absorbed before the next turn, because your new car isn't going to be able to
handle the turns any better than it did before you transplanted the high HP gear
(unless, of course, you reconfigured the suspension at the same time or the car
wasn't able to push its suspension limits, before).
Besides, my motto has always been that stopping is a whole lot more important
than getting going (in most cases). That applies to flying in airplanes, too --
it's not the flying that bothers me, it's the crashing part!
TeriAnn Wakeman wrote:
> I have NEVER understood why people think you need better brakes if you
> add more HP. If you are going 50 MPH in a car that has 75 HP, doesn't it
> take about the same amount of space & time to stop as the same car going
> 50 MPH with a 300 HP engine???
...
> Still wondering how how fast you can reach speed X, affects how quickly
> you can go from X to zero.
>
--
Schuyler E. Grace
schuyler@bellsouth.net
schuyler.grace@atl.frb.org
http://members.tripod.com/~schuyler/
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