How much power is enough?

[pbtjrlmrt]

Except for those who would trade in all the improvements of a Gen2 for the sound of the Gen 1 I'm curious how much is enough. How much HP/Torque is enough? I drank the kool-aide and upgraded my 2019 with a stage one kit including a 5star tune. Recently I removed the tune as the power/fuel mileage trade off wasn't worth it for DD. I'll use the tune for off road and sport mode is plenty for DD.




As the potential Gen 3 is contemplated and the TRX potential 700HP release gets nearer I find myself asking how much is enough. I've had mine to the dunes and in the mountains of Oregon and have never wanted for more power. Yes I'd like better sound but that's my inner 15 year old talking. The Gen 2 is so dialed in that it's hard to imagine more power/torque being useful. So how about you what is the right number? If it's more then why stop at 700...why not 1000 or 1500? At some point isn't it enough? For me I think the truck is perfect as is....keep in mind I'm only talking about HP and Torque numbers....Lots of case to be made for incremental suspension and interior updates but the question of HP/Torque seems to be a unicorn for people. Don't get me wrong...I sort of think there's no such thing as too much power but in reality there actually is...especially if you consider usable power and the fuel mileage tradeoff...I know we don't care a lot about fuel mileage but what about 5 MPG or 4 MPG or 6mpg ALL the time? is it worth it? What's your perfect realistic number for...MPG/HP/TQ?

 

[1BAD454SSv2]

You have enough power when you can spin the rear wheels from the exit of one corner to entrance of the next corner. Max horsepower means nothing in daily driver scenarios. Your horsepower is adjustable by how far you push the gas pedal. Engine management keeps everything pretty tame driving around town. If you drive like an ass with 450 hp then yes you will get in trouble with 700+ hp. Yes there is some MPG loss with turning a supercharger vs turbos. Most boosted engines have a tad lower compression ratio the a N/A engine so there is loss of MPG there too. Trade off is when you push the gas to floor and feel the Horsepower. If your the type of driver that never gets into boost and never over 75mph then 700+hp might not be for you. My ideal # would be 800 hp and 18 mpg .

 

[500mag]

450hp is enough for me, even with 37s, I'm never needing more.

 

[NE Raptor]

I have stage 1 cobb on my truck/93 tune - It woke the truck up a lot. I would be very happy if the truck came that way from the factory, it just feels so much more responsive.

Although if the dodge really comes out with 700hp then Ford will need something to compete with it. I think an all aluminum smaller displacement V8 twin turbo would be the ticket to these trucks.

 

[SilverBolt]

Keep the power the same and knock 1000 pounds off of the weight.

 

[Fender]

Reports say the trx will come with 570-580

 

[DreadPirateRaptor]

Keep the power the same and knock 1000 pounds off of the weight.

Spoken like a man that actually pushes a rig hard. Bravo.

 

[New Nick at JDM]

In my humble opinion, I tend to not want to do modifications past the point of diminishing horsepower per dollar.
If I had a Gen 2, I'd probably stop around something like our stage 1 kit and downpipes. The first about 70 horsepower to be made reliably with these trucks is honestly cheap in the aftermarket world, but after that point there is a diminishing return.

All in with us, you'd spend about 2K minus a downpipe for about a 30 dollar per horsepower gain.
That seems most efficient to me.

Aside from these Raptors, we do a lot of GT500 builds.
Over 675 at the tire without radials, the GT500's tend to nuke the rubber in all 6 gears pretty much instantly.
People drop 30+K on built motors and bigger superchargers just to smoke the tires faster.

For an 07-09 GT500 if you are smart you can spend about 4.5K on parts and pick up about 300 at the tire for about 15 dollars per horsepower.

The male ego though... says something like enough is never enough.

 

[xrocket21]

Never enough power! But I also agree with Nick, the cost per HP does come into play.

Any HP increase you eventually get used to and it doesnt feel fast anymore.

 

[Pacific Wheel]

2 questions.

1. There was a 2016 Raptor? Sarcasm
2. How did they increase the ground clearance using the same size tire? Did the GEN2 come with a different high clearance rear axle? Not sarcasm, just curious