Ill say it like i always have 400, 500, or even 600 whp makes no difference when you cant get traction, at that point its just saying how much money you have. Ive personally seen a 230whp civic run the same time as a 600 whp civic in the 1/8 mile. Not to mention that much power is useless for autocross or playing on backroads or any speed under 60-100.
^^Agree totally,... I had a Tracker that was completely gutless (84 horse at the crank maybe 20 at the wheels) and it was pretty damn gay ass (I saw a toy version of my "truck" at Wal-Mart with Barbie driving it) but that thing kicked ass in the dirt. Like he said it's all about traction. If you've got enough hp to spin the wheels then that's all the useable hp you need.
Guys would come out to the muck with their $50,000, 5,000 pound, 500 hp off roaders and laugh at me until I was doing circles around them and fitting between trees that they couldn't. (It fit nicely down snowmobile and community trails too but don't tell anyone.) And then something on their truck would break. (snapped axles, blown diffs. universals, driveshafts)
Mudders have the added benefit of using newton's first law,... If you can pick up mud and spit it out behind you, it propels you forward. I would put it in 4-low wind that girl up to redline dump the clutch and spray s*** everywhere. They said I buzzed around like a hummingbird (which wasn't a compliment but it worked for me).
So much for the secret to off-roading,... "slow, slow, slow". I proved it wrong.
I remember going through mush at 1/2 mile and hour in 5th gear 4-low at red-line shooting 50 foot rooster's from all 4 wheels (well two actually, I didn't have locking diffs.) What a freakin scream and a half.
The rules of the road don't apply in the dirt either, and neither does your insurance, so you can drive like a complete ass. You're only confined by the laws of gravity, but I think newton might have been wrong about all that.
It was completely stock except for slightly oversize wheels to get into a "truck" strength tire.
It's all about traction and driving ability (not that I didn't get stuck (over a hundred times but a come along tied to a tree was all I needed) or tip it over (just pushed it back onto it's wheels and kept going)).
I'm starting to miss her now and all the fun we had together. She wasn't pretty but she loved to scream and get really dirty.
P.S. I suppose if you could pick up and spit out some of the roadway on a street vehicle you could accelerate harder,... maybe cleats or something,... hmmm.
