So I was driving over the Appalachians this past weekend, and I noticed that I was passing all of these big strong pickup trucks and SUVs without breaking a sweat on the uphill sections. It makes sense that I’m not pulling as much dead weight as an empty truck bed, but it got me thinking about how powerful my car actually is in real-world terms.
So I’ve pieced this much together. It’s a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am with a 3.1L V6 engine “that produces 155 hp”. It’s got automatic transmission, but also has a tachometer. I’m unsure of an average weight for a 4D sedan, so I’m hoping someone here has a rough estimate on that, and assume that me and my luggage are about 200 pounds (pretty accurate). I’m also unsure what “produces 155 hp” actually means. The plain reading is a power output (energy production per unit time), but is that a peak? an average? under standard conditions?
Okay, so what sort of power am I actually dealing with in real-world terms? I know from this weekend’s observations I can maintain 80mph up a 5% grade with the tach sitting at about 3000rpm. I assume this is in top gear, but of course I could be wrong. What else can it do?