The last time auto makers commonly underrated actual horsepower levels was back in the muscle car days in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. Initially everyone wanted more power than the other, but after a few years, all that meant was your cars were hit with larger insurance costs and the consumer notion that it would be considerably worse on fuel.
Chrysler Corp was the poster boy for it as most of their engines were all well known to be underrated (especially the 426 hemi) but Don Yenko Chevrolet dropped Corvette LT1 350’s into mundane Chevy Nova’s in 1970 so buyers could pay the standard insurance rate that you would be charged for a normal 350 powered Nova. Except the Yenko Nova’s had 360 horsepower and could destroy most of their big block powered brethren.
Today it seems quite rampant all over again, but the reasons why are different.
The late model BMW 335i coupe with its twin turbo 3.0L inline 6 cylinder is rated at 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque, yet the car runs 0-60 times in 4.8 seconds and the 1/4 mile in 13.3 seconds. Its “big brother” M3 with a 414 horsepower V8 runs 0-60 in 4.2 seconds and the 1/4 in 12.7 seconds…hmmm. Sounds like the 335i has closer to 360 HP, but it’s rated lower so it doesn’t interfere with M3 sales.
Chrysler is still at it too, this time with the new variable cam timing 5.7L hemi. The engine is rated at 390 horsepower when it is put in the Dodge Ram, yet only rated at 372 hp when put in the Challenger R/T. Independent tests have resulted in the engines producing 400 horsepower at the flywheel, so why pay extra for a Challenger SRT 8 that only has 25 more ? Unlike the BMW’s where the M3 has still held an advantage over the 335i, in the Mopar camp its not common for Challenger R/T’s to run quicker acceleration times than the SRT 8 model. However, next year the SRT will make you forget with its much more powerful 6.4L hemi.
And now the newest player, Audi with their new 333 horsepower, 325 lb-ft of torque supercharged S4.
VW / Audi tuner APR just strapped one onto their all wheel drive dyno and pulled 331 horsepower and 336 lb-ft of torque at the wheels. Drivetrain losses amount a lot more through all wheel drive than front or rear drive, to the tune of about 20%, making the new S4 a true 400 horsepower German super sedan. Just don’t tell the guy that paid thousands more for an RS4 with 20 additional ponies.
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You are completely wrong about the 1960s engines. Today’s engines are rated at NET horsepower, 1970 and earlier american engines were rated at GROSS horsepower, a meaningless OVERRATED number. The old 426 hemi from the 1960s actually had about 350 to 370 horsepower, less than today’s smaller hemi. A corvette LT1 engine from 1970 actually had about 275 net horsepower. The 360 was that overrated gross figure, means nothing, since european cars of the day were rated DIN, about the same as net horsepower. Look at the 1971 ratings, the only year they published both gross and net. The 1970 net would be slightly higher than 1971, about 15 to 20 HP more, because 1971 compression ratios were much lower. There were no small block engines from the 1960s that had 300 NET horsepower, and only a few big blocks had 300 or more. The average big block V8 engine of the 1960s had about the same power as an average V6 has today, and the average small block like an average 4 cylinder today. So the old american engines were never underrated. But that does happen today, as you pointed out. It also happened with the late 1990s Z28, rated at 325 hp, when it was making 300 to the wheels, which means the actual was about 375. No 1960s engine made more than that stock.
As tested.
Put a 426 hemi, 340 or 350 LT1 on an engine dyno with no accessories and a performance tune and see what they lay down.
Correct a 426 Hemi will make 350-370…to the wheels.
nice blog