Torque or Horsepower?

[Derek@MoorePerformance]

Ok guys,

So, this is been on on going debate between a friend and I. I understand that he's all American muscle but, he is arguing that horsepower numbers is what makes the build. I argued this stating that if he had 750whp but only made 350wtq that it would lose to cars less powerful overall simply because they could get off the line faster and stronger.

I understand that both are equal in their own ways but, this is more of an opinionated post. I want to see what is more important to everyone here? Horsepower or Torque?

Personally in my opinion, I prefer a car that has more torque than horsepower simply because it hits its peak horsepower quicker and stronger. But, the same situation goes that a car with a lot of horsepower could easily come back in a race if the difference is enough over a long enough time.

Let me know what you guys think. So, lets propose a hypothetical situation.. You have a red pill and a blue pill. Red gives you +50 hp, blue +50 torque. Which would you prefer to have more?

Feel free to justify but, please guys no intense disputes. Lets keep it clean.

 

[doublespaces]

Are we constrained to drag racing or roll racing as well? Torque matters, the area under the curve, etc etc. This all just depends on many factors, particularly which platform etc.

 

[Derek@MoorePerformance]

Basically to less complicate things, I am asking would you rather have a high horsepower and less torque or vice versa. Idk, maybe I'm weird xD

 

[Aaron]

Ohhh ohhh ohhh it's like e90post!

 

[Derek@MoorePerformance]

Ohhh ohhh ohhh it's like e90post!

Hello, Could you elaborate on that?

 

[Jsherry20]

More horsepower and less torque seems to work wonders on the Honda platform lol. They can easily achieve 10s for some reason it seems

 

[Danksies]

More horsepower and less torque seems to work wonders on the Honda platform lol. They can easily achieve 10s for some reason it seems

Weight. Don't need all that torque if you weigh like 1,500 lbs.

Simple answer: There is no one over the other. Complicated answer: It all depends on the circumstances.

 

[Derek@MoorePerformance]

Weight. Don't need all that torque if you weigh like 1,500 lbs.

Simple answer: There is no one over the other. Complicated answer: It all depends on the circumstances.

For your personal car. Would you take an additional 50hp over 50tq?

 

[Aaron]

Fvck I'd take 50tq, at 7,000rpm.

Will this thread die already? Or can mods move it to e90post where it belongs?

 

[Manic Mechanic]

I'll take 50 HP at 5,252 RPM's thanks. That would be most effective.

Vernon

 

[Derek@MoorePerformance]

Fvck I'd take 50tq, at 7,000rpm.

Will this thread die already? Or can mods move it to e90post where it belongs?

The point of this post is just to get a general consensus about wether their preference is oriented in one direction or another for their car. It's not to be pointless and have no reason but, more or less to gauge the community feedback to see what the majority rules as preference. At the end of the day.. both describe power but, in different ways. This isn't in the tuning section or even the N54 section..

Regarding posts claiming it should be on one forum or another in itself is pointless considering we are all on these forums for information, opinions, and builds.

Now, let's keep the thread on topic and disregard any conceptions of what belongs where.

 

[Danksies]

For your personal car. Would you take an additional 50hp over 50tq?

Hmmm considering I'm basically stock I'd take the torque. Personally 50hp or 50 more nM wouldn't really matter for my car, but 50 more nM would be more fun imo

 

[Manic Mechanic]

The problem with this question is that unless you specify where in the engines rpm you get the choice it's impossible to say which one is more advantageous. In a typical piston driven crankshaft internal combustion engine Torque is the twisting force you can actually measure. Horse Power is the measurement of this torque (twisting force) but then cross-referenced to the speed of said twisting power shaft at which the measurement of torque was obtained, this is useful to determine how fast the torque can be applied or how much work you can get done in a specific period of time from said twisting force. The mathematical formula to rate HP is, Torque x RPM / 5252 = HP. Due to the constant of the 5252 divisor in the equation, torque and HP curves always equal out numerically at 5,252 RPM. That's a fact. At any RPM rate below 5252 each ft/lb of torque is less than each one Horse Power, the further down towards zero you measure the torque the less HP each ft/lb generates. (50 lbs/ft x 1000 RPM / 5252 = 9.52 HP. So heck at 1000 RPM I'll take 50 more HP thank you very much as that would also mean 262.6 lb/ft of torque was there to make that 50 HP. But if your up in the high end of a engine (or motor) capable of shaft speeds in excess of 5252 RPM then give me the 50 lbs/ft any day. Because after that mathematical constant divisor each ft/lb of torque equals more than 1 HP. So if you said, "At 7,000 would you want 50 more ft/lbs of torque or 50 more HP?" I would take the 50 ft/lbs. Because at 7,000 RPM crankshaft speed it's 50 lbs/ft x 7,000 / 5252 = 66.6 HP. There as any 50 HP at 7,000 is less than 50 ft/lbs of torque.

But If the engine's power band is properly matched with chassis gearing for optimum acceleration of it's total weight, and keeping in mind that rotating weight is more significant than static weight when accelerating it. As the more often you have to rotate a weight in a measured distance the more important rotating weight becomes, such as flywheel weight vs. tire weight. But back to the race, assuming each chassis has sufficient traction for the applied HP produced at rest, then between two equal chassis's the chassis with the highest horsepower will always be faster, width of power band is only important once gearing cannot be further optimized for the engines actual power band vs. weight accelerated. Weight accelerated is work done, which is rated in time needed to do by Horse Power. Torque is just a measurement of twisting force, not rate of acceleration. But you can't have one without the other and where it is measured in RPM of twisting shaft is just as important as exactly how much twist. Gearing keeps the engine where the most HP is produced or you're slower. If you can't gear it any different design the engine to make power in the band where it will be used to accelerate with what gearing it has.

The two measurements don't compete, one measures capability to do work and the other is it's ability to do how much work over a fixed period of time. James Watt's standard good horse on a treadmill basically.

Understand?

Vernon

 

[Manic Mechanic]

Also a BMW motorbike, a S1000RR produces only 77.4 ft/lbs. of torque at 13,500 RPM, this equates to 199 HP. The further above the 5252 the more power torque makes.

Vernon

 

[Twisted Tuning]

This question can be open ended, mainly due to the fact of the Torque/HP relationship. Also, making the decision on which one you want would also depend on what you're using the particular car or truck for. The type of engine, the weight of the vehicle. All these things are important to know when it comes to making the car perform.

For instance, if i were building a highway bruiser....HP up top is where im going to want my power. Hill climb i'll take torque in the midrange. Road course, more torque in the midrange unless the track has a long straight or multiple. Then i would need to shift to a balance of torque and hp increases depending on where i think i would need to have them.

Its all a balance. Torque is technically most important as that generally dictates horsepower. Horsepower is a function of torque.

 

[Carl Balzer]

Basically to less complicate things, I am asking would you rather have a high horsepower and less torque or vice versa. Idk, maybe I'm weird xD

Same

 

[Derek@MoorePerformance]

This question can be open ended, mainly due to the fact of the Torque/HP relationship. Also, making the decision on which one you want would also depend on what you're using the particular car or truck for. The type of engine, the weight of the vehicle. All these things are important to know when it comes to making the car perform.

For instance, if i were building a highway bruiser....HP up top is where im going to want my power. Hill climb i'll take torque in the midrange. Road course, more torque in the midrange unless the track has a long straight or multiple. Then i would need to shift to a balance of torque and hp increases depending on where i think i would need to have them.

Its all a balance. Torque is technically most important as that generally dictates horsepower. Horsepower is a function of torque.

Thank you, that's what I was wanting people to distinguish when they are choosing an answer for the question. Most people in the platform do end up racing at events wether track or strip so, there lies the heart of the question while doing so, for optimal times which would you prefer.

 

[Rayjay19]

Can you walk the walk or are you just torque?!

 

[Chris@VargasTurboTech]

I'll take an extra 50 wtq at 7k rpm.

 

[Derek@MoorePerformance]

I'll take an extra 50 wtq at 7k rpm.

Says the guy making 900wtq+