compare: GSX vs. Turbo LS1
Just to refresh your memory, the situation was a 3000lb car making an average of 400ft-lbs of torque as it goes down the track. You can ignore traction, wind resistance, etc. - just give me a best case time. You claimed it was easy, so I hope you can find a moment to help me out - it would be much appreciated!
I have to go with you that your case can not be done w/o rpm scale. I still am trying to determine if the "org. 2 car" scenario is possible as well but my brain is hurting
The ONLY force that exists in the equation is torque, and the rate (angular velocity) at which the engine runs determines the imaginary number (horsepower).
. HP is a measure of work, that is not imaginary it is standard of measure. Just like ft/lbs is a standard of measure for torque. Both are real and both can be calculated or derived. But saying one is imaginary is not right because it is a given that a motor will do a certain amount of work over a given time thus we can derive its HP.horse·pow·er ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hôrspour)
n. pl. horse·power
Abbr. hp A unit of power in the U.S. Customary System, equal to 745.7 watts or 33,000 foot-pounds per minute.
The power exerted by a horse in pulling.
Informal. Effective strength: political horsepower; computer horsepower.
Example:
My height 6' 2" or 74"
OR
(6*12")+2"=74"
OR
(12+12+12+12+12+12+2)"=74"
The latter 2 are imaginary becuase they were calculated
the only advantage i can see to having the high revving 4cyl is
1) it is probably somewhat lighter
2) you can run each gear to a higher mph - or - make up the tq difference with steeper gears and even then you may not regain all of the tq lost by having the smaller displacement.
as for the "calculating hp with torque and not rpm". i too do not think it is possible and though i could be wrong, i would be very surprised if if am.
I have to go with you that your case can not be done w/o rpm scale. I still am trying to determine if the "org. 2 car" scenario is possible as well but my brain is hurting
There were 2 different challenges (which still come down to the same problem, you need rpm, and thus horsepower). The challenge I reiterated was the one that he claimed was "simple physics", so I was just hoping he could prove his claims.
Re: the 2 cars situation - I could stipulate 2 cars, one with an average flywheel torque of 400ft-lbs, the other of 800ft-lbs.
There is no way to see with will win without knowing the rpm (and stipulating an average torque output is the same as giving a curve, just easier. Just imagine a flat line).
If the 800ft-lbs was at an rpm that allowed an average of 2:1 gearing, then we would have 1600ft-lbs delievered. If the 400ft-lbs was at an average rpm that allowed 10:1 gearing we would have 40,000ft-lbs. On the other hand if the 400ft-lbs were at a 1:1 gearing we would only have 400ft-lbs, etc.
So as you can see average torque by itself will not tell you anything. If you look at it from this perspective you need to know rpm, to determine gear multiplication. And when you combine torque and rpm, you have a horsepower analogue.
Chris
The reason why 4cyl enthusiasts tend not to look at torque figures, is one: They don't weigh as much. And two, torque is not a factor 80% of the time your flying down the quarter mile.
Let me ask you a question. If to opposing cars are doing a 40 punch, what would be the deciding factor? Torque or Horsepower!
That is BS - it doesn't matter where the horsepower is at - you simply select the approriate gearing to take advantage of the power.
Let me ask you a question. If to opposing cars are doing a 40 punch, what would be the deciding factor? Torque or Horsepower!
Horsepower delivered - but if both make the same horsepower what difference does it make if you make it at 3000rpm or 6000rpm? If the area under the curve is the same for both than it is irrelevant. If one has a better area under the curve than that one will be faster.
That said, I would rather drive the car that made the power lower - since I don't spend most of the time driving at 6000rpm, but rather at 2000rpm, the car that makes more power there would be more fun to drive....
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I mean we could pull out "Joe blow's 9 second Caravan" and other bullshit like that but that's pretty much meaningless.
Obviously peaking at higher RPM is good (for a race application) and better than peakin at ******* 5000.
BUT it is better to have 300hp from 3000rpm to 6000rpm
than
to have 250hp at 6000rpm AND 350hp from 7000rpm to 8000rpm.
And as long as we pull hot rod Articles..how about the Hemi powered DOOR SLAMMER Corvette that broke the 5 second mark in AUS?
that thing barely got to 7k rpm if i remember, it had a Roots i believe. so that's obviously instant power.
Of course if u have FWD low end is not as usable. haveing low end grunt doesn't have to compromise top end performance..
the LS1 is the perfect engine to show case that.
Yes, I can. Chris, if you don't have formulas, does that mean you can't derive this? All you're saying is that formulas are not available to you to calculate this from TQ. Since ChrisB doesn't understand physics, does that mean there IS NO WAY to calculate the outcome? It's pretty simple physics, but are you not aware of this?
Hey SS00Blue, it has been a few days now, still haven't heard back from you on this, it would be really great if you could demonstrate these "simple physics" for me? (i.e. 3000lb car making an average of 400ft-lbs of torque, estimated 1/4 mile time).
Or is it possible you were just full of crap? hmmmm....
Sir,
I have a family and a factory to which I must attend, though the recent worldly holiday has put others to rest in their homes. Believe it or not, my world is much larger than educating you.
The fact is that it should be painfully clear to you now (especially in light of the recent issue of HR- pg 42, second column, 3rd paragraph, 1st sentence; see also pg 44, upper and lower, right-hand pictures and text), I am correct on one point of our discussion. That is on my assertion that dynos do, in fact, measure torque, and using rpm data sampled, calculate horsepower. Horsepower is NOT directly observed.
On the latter issue, where I claim that I can create a formula that can approximate 1/4 mile runs, I still assert that I can provide a formula that is at least as accurate as the approximation given by the current hp-et formulas.
If one looks at the hp or tq curve, mass and gear changes alone, the formula for ET from either HP or TQ would be, at best, a complicated integral approximating average curve and their and plugging it into F=ma for acceleration, then solving for time. Remember, you assert that it cannot be done. I am saying that it is certainly doable, though it is not popular to guestimate et with peak tq, and frankly, I have neither the time, nor inclination to educate you (much less re-educate myself) on dynamics.
What I am trying to say, is that an approximate formula is out there, I am sure, but my time is limited, and so is my memory on the dynamics I took 17 years, ago.
So, Chris, I concede, therefore, that there is no possible way that an ET can be approximated by using a TQ curve. I can however tell much more about the performance of an engine from the tq curve.
Happy?
I hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I.SC-
Hey 25Psi, do you have any original thoughts about the formulas or example posted or are you going to keep coping and pasting from the internet?
Hmmm, according to you it was "Simple Physics" - now you concede it is impossible? So I was correct in the assertion that you were "full of it", at least with respect to that issue?
Again, just go to a dynojet, dyno your car without the rpm lead, and see what happens.
But what difference does it make if power is a "calculated value"? We are taking about which number is representative of the performance potential for a vehicle.
You have already conceded that you can not take a torque and weight value and determine the potential performance. On the other hand, you *can* take horsepower and weight, and from that determine a performance potential.
So doesn't it follow that power, is infact the best metric for determining a vehicles potential to accelerate, not torque (infact, the torque is irrelevant - it could be 100ft-lbs at 6000 rpm or 600ft-lbs at 1000rpm - either way the potential to accelerate is the same.
Which would be the argument.
Okay, tell me about the "performance" of these two engines - torque curves are below. RPM and HP are as of yet undefined, since you claim to be able to do it with torque only.

the bottom one is a poweradder so it is harder to tell.
i think he may be saying if he sees the torque curve he can approximate the rpm and calculate with that. thats what i did anyway. but i still think if you say a car makes xxx torque (avg or peak) ET cannot be determined because you have NO rpm data at all and the thing could rev to 5,000 or 50,000 for all we know
I agree 100%, and as you noted without an RPM value you can't determine anything. You can't really even estimate RPM as I haven't put any values on there - the scaling could be logarithmic on the second one, so it actually has a "broader" torque curve, etc.
Whatever conclusions are drawn, the rpm values can be set to invalidate that conclusion - which just goes to further illustrate that power is the best metric for performance.
I was looking at a few for an all around, fun, winter car.
I have a few friends in the NABR board- one has a 91 GSX, with a Green, front mount, and a nicely built 9:1 motor. Its fast. Sure it doesnt spool till 4k, but that doesnt matter when redline is 8500!
The other has an FP 3052, and a few other odds n ends, fast is an understatement.
They are unique cars, to each their own.
one last thing: was i close with my guesstimation?

