Horsepower or torque?
#42
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Originally Posted by soundengineer
torque does it all.....
without torque...your engine doesnt turn over.....resulting in you pushing the car past the finishline with 3 of your buddies, and a little sweat.....
the more torque you have the more horsepower you have at a given rpm...
simple math
Horsepower = Torque x RPM / 5252
(which is why all dyno graphs cross at 5252)![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
without torque...your engine doesnt turn over.....resulting in you pushing the car past the finishline with 3 of your buddies, and a little sweat.....
the more torque you have the more horsepower you have at a given rpm...
simple math
Horsepower = Torque x RPM / 5252
(which is why all dyno graphs cross at 5252)
![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
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#43
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heres my .02....horsepower is bullshit...its all about torque...i've had so many teachers and techs tell me this...horsepower is jus a theory someone made up...they basicly use a horse...
It doesn't matter what number you give to horsepower (like the metric equivalent) they still describe the same thing. You could make it 5,000 ft/lbs per min and call it man power. It would STILL BE THE SAME THING. Meansuring WORK.
not describing what kind of horse...and a pully...nobody knows what size pully...and boom they came up with horsepower #....
so its not really acurate...but torq is a measurement of power...not some bullshit theory...yeah horsepower is a set of #'s...and it could help for rice rockets cuz they believe in stupid **** like that and think they could get a 4 banger faster then a 8...
No 4 cyclinders can be faster than 8 cyclinders?
![EEK !!](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_eek2.gif)
STRONGLY disagree.
Let's pretend for a minute that our engines could rev to 9,000 RPMs without the torque curve diving off too much. If you were driving a 6-speed f-body with a 3.73 rear, that would allow you to pull 1st gear up to 68 mph, 2nd gear up to 101 mph, 3rd gear up to 139 mph, and 4th gear up to 181 mph. Your ability to remain in the lower gears (due to the high rev range) allows you to take advantage of the TORQUE that is available in those gears, while other f-bodies are shifting out of 1st at 45, out of 2nd at 70, and so on...
Let's pretend for a minute that our engines could rev to 9,000 RPMs without the torque curve diving off too much. If you were driving a 6-speed f-body with a 3.73 rear, that would allow you to pull 1st gear up to 68 mph, 2nd gear up to 101 mph, 3rd gear up to 139 mph, and 4th gear up to 181 mph. Your ability to remain in the lower gears (due to the high rev range) allows you to take advantage of the TORQUE that is available in those gears, while other f-bodies are shifting out of 1st at 45, out of 2nd at 70, and so on...
That's how horsepower works, it is a measurement of actual work being done.
And you'd be almost exactly as fast as the cars making 600 HP @ 6000 RPM, even though they have to shift earlier. Horsepower is WORK, it doesn't matter how or where you make it after you get out of first gear. Of course, there are extreme examples, but IN REAL LIFE, it doesn't matter.
As a test, go get a mid 80's camaro making 300 ft/lbs and 200 hp. I'll get a honda S2000 engine making 150 ft/lbs and 240 hp and stick it in an identical camaro. Then we'll race.
With proper tires, you'll murder me on the launch. But when you shift to second, I'll be still pulling strong (well strong is relative at 150 ft/lbs) in first gear. When you're going to 3rd I'll just be shifting to second with my high redline.
Now look at what's actually happening here:
You have your 300 ft/lbs but you can't rev enough to use it as effectively as me. You'll be shifting to a higher gear and lose your torque advantage because you won't be multiplying it as high as me.
Read the essay posted, it's got really good stuff to help with this.
Hosepower doesn't care what your torque is after you get out of first gear.
Your car accelerates exactly the way your torque curve is shaped, but most people don't race near their torque peak (especially with our cars) because you go faster when you are near your horsepower peak because all that torque multiplied by your gearing is what makes you go faster.
You don't race on the low end.
/ramble