Hello, I'm new, obviously. Just bought a new 2012 accord coupe yesterday and I'm very excited about it. I love driving it and its been a blast so far.

So being a nerd and a car guy, I start checking out things and I have to say I'm a bit dissapointed. Not in the car, but in the rest of the world...

My previous car was a scion xb which i liked to refer to as the xbox, and was a great car to drive. 158hp 2.4 i4 engine that was like a go cart on steroids. So, when i test drove the 190hp 2.4 i4 accord I could tell the biggest difference. It was great, plus shifting was smooth, very responsive even at 70 mph. It feels like his has more to give. I love it.

Ok so back to being a nerd car guy. I always want to know what my car will do, and who i can beat, even if its stock and there is some little punk 16 year old wanting to race me. I don't care, Its all in fun.

Now the 1/4 mile time on my scion ( that i got!) was 15.7 stock. well below the 16.5 advertised. Yes, this wasn't a fluke and I did it on several occations. Now even withouth my numbers, according to motortrend, comparing the scion Xbox to the 2011 Accord, the xbox is faster! You must be joking! has no one tested this?!
I will and cannot believe that a toaster, with 30+ less hp, and weighs more can outrun an Accord that is more areodynamic, and a more powerful engine.

I think the world is crazy, but mostly because I see people quoting Motortrend like its the bible, and they are using those numbers verbatim, not even testing this!

Any thoughts...does anyone have any real time stamps from a 8th gen accord that they can share?

 

No personal data, but here how engine specs can work...

190 hp is the power peak. During a 1/4 mile drag, the engine is working through a range of RPM, not right at the peak. So it's sorta like an average HP over the RPM range that it uses during the race. (Actually it's the integration of HP*d(rpm) over the range up & down as it shifts)

So an engine with a real sharp peak might have a higher peak, but the average is lower. Or a transmission with wider-spaced gears will force the engine to operate over a wider range of RPM (resulting in a lower average HP).

Not only that, but the manufacturer expects a certain variation from one engine to another. Even mass-produced engines can't be absolutely identical. So they write the spec sheet to cover the lowest expected HP so nobody gets an engine that's less power than the spec says. NOBODY complains to the DOT or CPSC when an engine has more power...

 

Thanks for the reply, but i still think you are just improving what i'm saying...even an engine averaging 190hp is going to outrun an engine averaging 158hp. I'm not complaining about the car. I can tell its tons faster and more responsive than my scion. I just wish I hadn't lost the Gtech in the car wreck so I could really tell with numbers. My problem is that the test that i'm seeing on motor trend or any other website that reviews these cars is showing them virtually equal, or even that the scion is somewhat faster, And then having people quote these numbers back...

I just wish i had some real numbers from actual people, and not from what grandma wrote when she tested the sadan in the magazine. Someone who actually knows how to drive a car and launch from the line.

 

Well were at least we Welcome You to the HAF..and that's the real thing.

Thank You for joining the forum..'s

 

But 190 & 158 are not average numbers. They are peak numbers. The specs never list the average HP over a range of RPM. That's one weakness of the "specs" for a car.