Wow!!! Can't we ever go a couple of days with out the same question being asked? Maybe if we made sticky a good thread that discussed this question (that everyone ask over and over) we might help stop the monotony???? Probably not.

 

these threads come up all the time

even if you try to be as objective as possible, people will still say it's just an opinion cause everyone has their own perspectives.

it's a never ending debate

I totally agree though about answering:
how much do you want to spend

how will you be using the car - and be honest if it's 99% street use. Is it road course, autox, drag racing, street, or a combination?

what are your ultimate end goals - and be honest, 550whp is more than anyone really needs on a street car be feel pretty fast

the other thing is a lot of times as you increase hp on a street car, you gradually start decreasing handling ability because in truth, a 550whp car would really be needing to run some sorta race tire to maintain traction - be it slicks or drag radials or whatever. If you're not comfortable or not able to run those tires on the street, it'll hurt your handling because it'll be harder to control the throttle.


be weary of people who say hp means nothing and torque is everything or visa versa - they're both important. Torque is how much thrust/force the car can do at any given moment - that you can feel, hp is how efficient the engine can use the torque at a given rpm. They're both important.