HP & Torque what does it mean?

[PilotHawK]

I found a decently written article discussing HP and torque.
hp vs torque

[K-fab]

Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you.

[Odyknuck]

Torque gets you moving (power to weight ratio) and Horsepower keeps you moving.

[jumpin jellybean]

Originally Posted by K-fab

Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you.

never thought about it that way nice article find thanks for the info now where is a wall have to go test out horsepower and torque

[plkracer]

HP is a value that defines work. More hp means that it can do more work. It is directly related to watts. About 750 watts is 1 hp. Torque is a force measured usually 1 foot out from the source. Torque X RPM Divided by 5252 is HP. Theoretically, a higher HP engien can produce more torque than one with a higher torque value if it is geared down, and not counting the loss.

On another note, we don't run these street bikes engines at an idle of 7-8000 rpm therefore they seem to lack torque, since low rpm for them is about 1/5 of their rated ability. It is the same way with a v8. Not much power is amde at 1000 rpm.

[masterfabr]

Originally Posted by plkracer

HP is a value that defines work. More hp means that it can do more work. It is directly related to watts. About 750 watts is 1 hp. Torque is a force measured usually 1 foot out from the source. Torque X RPM Divided by 5252 is HP. Theoretically, a higher HP engien can produce more torque than one with a higher torque value if it is geared down, and not counting the loss.

On another note, we don't run these street bikes engines at an idle of 7-8000 rpm therefore they seem to lack torque, since low rpm for them is about 1/5 of their rated ability. It is the same way with a v8. Not much power is amde at 1000 rpm.

Precisely. I'll add that an engine with a nice broad,flat torque curve will outperform over a larger rpm range an engine that has a peaky torque curve. Think 4 stroke vs 2 stroke.

[plkracer]

That is definitely true. If you could have more gears, and be able to shift them in an infinitely small amount of time, they would probably be equal, but this is unrealistic.

[masterfabr]

Originally Posted by plkracer

That is definitely true. If you could have more gears, and be able to shift them in an infinitely small amount of time, they would probably be equal, but this is unrealistic.

Not to mention impossible.

[trojan]

Physically, horsepower does not exist - it's actually an index [a single number calculated from an array of quantities]. Torque is the physical property, "which is multiplied by the engine RPM and a scaling constant to give horsepower".

[jumpin jellybean]

was it torque that tore off his shoe or the sheer horsepower to run on water that tore it off and apparantly you will need torque to get the lid off
personally I love torquey engines