What engine spec do you use to determine an engine's output?

[1badPT]

Horsepower or Torque?

[EK 2.0]

D. I would feel that they go hand in hand man...


Like PB and J, can't have one without the other...

[nismodrifter]

TORQUE!!!!!!!

[HTN SWCHS]

I voted torque but I think it's both. Torque is what gets you going, it is the low end power but horse power is the high end power.

[sputnik]

being a TDI fan... TORQUE! (makes for fun city driving).

[RX7_FC3S]

Well, they go hand in hand. But torque at higher rpms can affect hp numbers hugely

Torque output is directly related to combustion pressure, which is itself directly related to heat. If you want more power without making more heat-generated torque, make that torque at higher engine speed.

HP = (Torque x RPM) devided by 5252

For example 250 lb-ft of torque at 6400 rpm yeilds 305 hp. But the same 250 lb-ft at 7500 rpm results in nearly 360 hp.

Hope that clears it up a little

[GTS Jeff]

do a search!!

[infamous]

to quote what i've seen on beyond before,

hp sells cars, torque wins races!

[Loose]

this topic always brings out the worst in people

[Ferio_vti]

Originally posted by infamous
to quote what i've seen on beyond before,

hp sells cars, torque wins races!

Or:
HP sells cars, torque gets you tickets.

[QuasarCav]

Torque, because without it there is not HP.

[rage2]

Peak HP or Peak TQ are useless numbers. Huge peak TQ is misleading if it dies off at 3000rpm (TDI's). Huge peak HP is misleading if it doesn't come on until 8500rpm (S2000's).

It's all about a wide torque band over a large rpm range... that's what wins races.

[africano]

torque and hp is related.

Power (hp) = Torque (ft-lb) * RPM / 5252

that explains it.

[T5_X]

I like to look at an entire plot of torque and HP over the whole rev range.

[hyperwhite]

powerband. you need torque and hp to work hand in hand.

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by rage2
Peak HP or Peak TQ are useless numbers. Huge peak TQ is misleading if it dies off at 3000rpm (TDI's). Huge peak HP is misleading if it doesn't come on until 8500rpm (S2000's).

Agreed. When looking at someone's dyno chart it's more important to look at the area under the curve than it is the peak number. There's more than a couple cars here in town that come to mind when I think of huge peak hp that only lasts for 500rpm.

[A2VR6]

Im a torque fan to tell you the truth, I like the "kick in the pants" factor when you leave a stoplight.

[THREE40SEVEN]

Originally posted by infamous
to quote what i've seen on beyond before,

hp sells cars, torque wins races!

The quote is wrong.

So lets set up a race between my car and a diesel truck to prove the point. I'll allow up to twice the torque to make it fair.

[crazydriver]

Yup torque and hp goes hand in hand.. its really hard to say which you would use, it also depends on the peak value, powerband and etc...

i guess my answer to your poll is both... u can't really prove anything using one and not the other..