No, you don’t get it. You do not have any experience with old fashioned V8 motors, apparently.
SUBSTANTIAL improvements
You cannot substantially improve a modern car by taking off the mufflers. In fact, in many cases you will hurt performance.
The old cars were tuned for low end torque and had seriously undersized peripheral components...ie intake, exhaust, brakes and tires.
Using old factory stock performance numbers from old cars with those pathetic old tires is nonsense.
Actually, I do have experience with them. You evidently don’t have much experience with modern cars, though.
But all you have to do is go look at an old copy of Hot Rod, which showcased typical and wild builds of the day and you can look at the quarter mile times. Which were still not all that great.
Cars today still have undersized intakes, exhaust paths, brakes and tires. Better than they used to be, but quite often they’re still undersized. No, taking off the mufflers often doesn’t help - because the actual restrictions are elsewhere. Putting an X-pipe, dual 3” and freeflow cats on a Mustang GT still helps today. Big brake packages are still quite popular. Cold Air Intakes and larger intakes are still de rigeur.
A ‘wild’ build back then would put out maybe 7-800 on a dyno. A ‘wild’ build today can put out upwards of *1500* with no more effort than you would have given to that ‘wild’ build back in the Stoned Age.
Want proof? How about a 1508 horsepower Toyota Supra? That’s not a typo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRY6MwxepIs
Or a 1500hp+ Corvette that actually does do 231mph?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jZ-Ep_er728