How can 2017 ford focus 2.3L I4 Turbo have 350 HP and my 70's Vette only have 170HP? Are there diffe

PJHAWK

How can 2017 ford focus 2.3L I4 Turbo have 350 HP and my 70's Vette only have 170HP? Are there different ways of expressing HP? Is it net vs gross? At the Brake or at the crank, dyno? I am baffled. Thanks.

PJHAWK

I AM ADDRESSING THIS TO S.A.E. ENGINEERS OR RACING TECHS OR HOME CAR BUILDERS.

kyfdx

What year is your Vette? '74 or '75? Horsepower has been rated the same way, since the 1972 models.

Auto makers were struggling to meet new emissions control mandates, and all cars had very low horsepower, at that time. I had a '77 Mustang with a 302 V-8 with 135 HP!

Computer controlled fuel systems, fuel injection + turbo-charging make a big difference. Your car is 40 years old.

Mr_Shiftright

Well you've just learned that there IS a substitute for cubic inches after all---and it's called modern turbocharging.

With a low inertia twin scroll turbocharger, precise computer-controlled direct injection, twin independent variable camshaft timing, heavy duty cooling system, and specially tuned exhaust, the Focus RS is just light years ahead of a 70s Vette in technology.

Of course, peak HP will occur in a different rev range between the two cars. The Focus has to be "cammed-up". If you drove it like you drove a 70s Corvette, with lower revs and short shifting, you'd never feel the full HP potential.

Think of it this way---the Focus is 40 years newer than the 76 Corvette, and a '76 Corvette is 40 years newer than a 1936 Chevrolet.

thecardoc3

Then to top it off the Focus probably gets close to three times the mileage, and releases one/100th the pollution levels of the old Vette. (When you are driving it reasonably)