I dont know if this has been discussed here already, if it has sorry for the repost. I saw that the new z comes with 300hp but the torque was reduced i believe to 260. What would be the difference? Is the new one going to accelerate faster?

What about in general Hp vs. Torque ( not torque in extreme, because it would realy be like truck power) what is the real difference.

For example what would be better 300 hp 300 torque
400 hp 220 torque
or any other combinations


Any input is appreciated.

 

nico, don't forget torque multiplication -- e.g., higher gear ratios can make car pull faster even if it scores lower on torque, because dyno torque is corrected for overall drivetrain ratios.

So, M3 is heavier and has less torque on paper. But, it has higher redline and higher gear ratio, so it pulls better.

Honda S2000, same deal -- low torque on paper, but high redline and gear ratios make it pull better than you'd think by looking at dyno.

Rule of thumb for me:
* high HP / low or medium torque means high gear ratios and/or higher revving engine and indicates you gotta drive closer to redline to get good performance (example: S2K or Acura NSX)
* high torque / low or medium HP means lower gear ratios and/or lower redline and indicates you'll get good pull through the gear and won't need to rev high, but likewise, you won't get much more up top (example: Mustang GT or Grand Prix GTP)

There are exceptions, of course , like some exotic cars, which provide both good torque as well as high top end (usually, though, this is because they got sooo much power it no longer matters how much you rev).

Z is towards the middle, slightly on the HP side. I tend to prefer more torque on the car, it seems. Am not much for high-revving engines...probably cause I'm lazy .

 

Good input thanks for the info.

 

In the words of Caroll Shelby, "Horsepower sells cars, Torque wins races"....

 

Good answer bascelik. I always sort of understood the notion between the two but your answer really spells it out clearly.

 

Ya welcome .

 

then a Z 2004 would have better acceleration than the 2005? Whta would be the difference in all sences.

 

Horspower its a function of torque and rpm. So if two engines had same torque curve but one of them would spin faster it would have more horsepower.

As far as which would be faster 2004 or a 2005 my guess would be if they have the same gearing a 2004 would be a bit faster but the difference wouldn't really be something u could feel.

 

Technically,

Power = Torque * Angular Velocity

If you know the "HP" curve of an engine (HP vs rpm) you can calculate the "Torque" curve, and vice-versa.

Basically, power is work done per unit time, so speed is involved. Horsepower is speed-related. One horsepower is 550 ft-lb/sec. The "metric" (SI) unit of power is the watt. One kW is 0.746 horsepower.

My VW TDI diesel has 90 Hp, but 158 ft-lb of torque (at 1900 rpm!). The saying that I've heard is "people buy horsepower, but they drive torque."

At one extreme we have diesels, at the other we have the peaky 50cc two-stroke GP racebikes of the 60s, with a high and narrow powerband.

I tend to think a good street engine has fairly equal horsepower and torque.

 

Good discussion Dr. Greg. Our car has a great combination.

 

A common misconception is, that torque and horsepower are opposites. This is false. Torque and RPM are opposites. Horsepower is the computation of the two.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question381.htm

 

good website thanks...