Horsepower vs torque

[customstang]

Just wondering if anybody knows which is more important

What would be a bigger improvement from 300hp/300tq?

500hp/300tq or 300hp/500tq?

[dannyb785]

If you had 500hp/300tq you would have a very high top speed but might not launch as if you had 300hp/500tq. That much tq would give you a massive jump off the line(with grip, of course) and you'd still go fast but my guess would be the 500/300 car would win in a quarter mile.

tq launches, hp pulls....thats a [very] simple way to think of it.

another way to think is.."tq gets you there, hp keeps you there"

think about cement trucks and the like, their engiens have TONS of tq, but they have to shift at like 3k max bc after that, they have so little hp that they wouldnt accelerate.

f1 cars have huge hp, and extremely little tq. They can fly like a rocket, but could barely tow anything.

[01GTBlown]

I'm not an expert, but i would say 500hp/300tq would be much better!

[jeredan2003]

Turbo Diesel trucks make around 500pounds of torque and maybe 350hp. Watch out for the modded ones though......:wallbash:

[dannyb785]

well the reason the huge gas/cement trucks have such little hp is bc their max tq is so low in the rpms. By calculating hp/tq, if for example, they had a max tq of 1000lb-ft@ 2000 rpms(which I have not a clue if its higher or lower) , their hp would be 380, which for a vehicle that weights tons and tons and tons, 380 hp can barely scoot it.

[customstang]

That's why I'm wondering...

my dad's F-350 diesel may only have 400ish hp and weigh 2x as much as my car, but the 750ish tq gives it real get-up-and-go power.

And diesel engines dont shift at 3k rpms because they have no power, it's because they aren't built for high rpm's. Our tractors run about 2200rpms with the throttle 100%, but my dad's diesel truck runs up somewhere around 4,000 and still pulls strong. It's all about the way the engine is built.

[MachGT]

they are related to eachother, horsepower just tells you where you are making the torque in the rpm range..

remember this equation:

torque x rpm = power


People get so worked up over peak numbers but it is the area under the curve that tells the whole story.

My car makes 384 hp @ 6000 rpms and 361 ft lbs @ 5000 rpms, but the torque curve is a nice smooth curve and stays over 300 ft lbs the entire time over 3300 rpms. It feels a bit weak to me till it gets to 3500 rpm and then it just takes off like a bat out of hell.

Keep in mind that those numbers are on a mustang dyno, so they are lower then the standard dynojet numbers that most people will show.

[dannyb785]

Originally Posted by customstang

That's why I'm wondering...

my dad's F-350 diesel may only have 400ish hp and weigh 2x as much as my car, but the 750ish tq gives it real get-up-and-go power.

And diesel engines dont shift at 3k rpms because they have no power, it's because they aren't built for high rpm's. Our tractors run about 2200rpms with the throttle 100%, but my dad's diesel truck runs up somewhere around 4,000 and still pulls strong. It's all about the way the engine is built.

I never said it was for diesel engines. I used cement/gas trucks as an example, and I dunno what kinda engines they are. All I know is there is tons of tq and very little hp.

[matrixpuba]

i would rather have more tq. than hp. only because i like how it feels lol

[stevemainian]

Please read young grasshoppers:

http://www.vettenet.org/torquehp.html

[MattJ]

Horsepower sells cars
Torque wins races

[dfroster]

Horsepower is the ability to DO work, torque is How fast that work gets done. This is the scientific def of both. What do they mean in the real world? Everyone will say, as you can see, something dif. The best has already been stated...And I quote:torque will get you there, hp will keep you there.

[stevemainian]

There really is no easy way to explain it.