Understanding torque

[controller]

Horsepower calculation when torque and RPM are known is as follows:

HP = (rpm x torque) / 5252

The 5252 explains the cross. Torque is the force applied to twist. Most race engines provide high horsepower numbers because they have really high RPM redlines. However, it's torque that gets you off the line, and out of a turn.

 

[Nick S]

Torque gets you EVERYWHERE, horsepower is just a comparative calculation to relate work to other measures of work.

Horsepower (hp or HP or Hp) is the name of several non-SI units of power. It was originally defined to allow the output of steam engines to be measured and compared with the power output of draft horses. The horsepower was widely adopted to measure the output of piston engines, turbines, electric motors and other machinery. Different regions adopted different definitions of the unit. Most countries now use the SI unit watt for measurement of power.
The definition of a horsepower unit is different in different applications; application outside of the context of a particular definition will be inaccurate.
One mechanical horsepower of 550 foot-pounds per second is equivalent to 745.7 watts
A metric horsepower of 75 kgf-m per second is equivalent to 735.499 watts
A boiler horsepower is used for rating steam boilers and is equivalent to 34.5 pounds of water evaporated per hour at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, or 9809.5 watts
One horsepower for rating electric motors is equal to 746 watts
A Pferdestärke is a name for a group of similar power measurements used in Germany around the end of the 19th century, all of about one metric horsepower in size. [1] [2]
A RAC horsepower or British tax horsepower is an estimate based on several engine dimensions
Where units of horsepower are used for marketing consumer products, often measurement methods are designed by advertisers to maximize the size of the number produced for any product, even if this may not reflect realistic capacity of the product to do work when used in normal conditions.

And I read this and thought it was funny:

Horsepower from a horse
R. D. Stevenson and R. J. Wassersug published an article in Nature 364, 195-195 (15 July 1993) calculating the upper limit to an animal's power output. The peak power over a few seconds has been measured to be as high as 14.9 hp. However, for longer periods, an average horse produces less than one horsepower.

 

[StuLax18]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't horsepower a made up force based off of torque?

 

[BxPhillip]

Guys, lately i've been doing alot of reading turbo/sc's etc etc.. And since I'm looking into getting e46M3 soon, I've been on their site.. And I've been looking at their sc/turbo output numbers... And one thing I seem to noticed was that, one a few stats I read the cars are being outfitted with tons of Horsepower, but a lack of torque... I mean I saw one dyno chart that said 4--hp and 275lb of torque.. Our FX has 270lb's of torque if I remember correctly.. So I'm wondering how this can be?
And also when exactly does torque come into play in a flat drag race?

Sorry if this is confusing, but hope someone can chime in..

Good luck on your search for the m3. I'm actually selling mine this week. Amazing car, amazing value, just try your best to find one under warranty and remember; the less electronics the better!

I'll definitely buy another within a year or two, but it definitely won't be my daily driver.
Best of luck

And the m3forum.net is definitely your best resource.

 

[controller]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't horsepower a made up force based off of torque?

The other variable in the HP equation is RPM, so as RPM's go up, so does horsepower, if torque remains the same.

 

[StuLax18]

The other variable in the HP equation is RPM, so as RPM's go up, so does horsepower, if torque remains the same.

Yes, the 5252.

 

[solekeeper]

Good luck on your search for the m3. I'm actually selling mine this week. Amazing car, amazing value, just try your best to find one under warranty and remember; the less electronics the better!

I'll definitely buy another within a year or two, but it definitely won't be my daily driver.
Best of luck

And the m3forum.net is definitely your best resource.

Thanks man!
Whats your color combo?

 

[jumbosrule]

So when somebody installs a mod on their car that "loses torque" but "picks up horsepower" what has really happened is that the torque band has shifted to a higher RPM and the increase in horsepower (again, a calculation from torque) reflects this.

Trying to illustrate further - think of a ten speed bicycle. The smallest gears (high torque) are easy to push. Larger gears (low torque) are for cruising speeds because it's too hard to make them accelerate quickly. Once you are moving, it takes virtually no torque to keep big gears going. This is why you might have to downshift a bike when going up a steep hill - the weight of the bike wants to roll downhill, requiring more torque from your legs (the engine) to fight gravity.

The engine is doing the same thing - pushing through the first gears will be easier for some cars. The FX balances a lot of things in the engine and drive-train to yield a final torque number. You can influence these things with different mods - such as a the final drive gear in the rear diff, transmission gearing, or increasing engine output (horsepower). The FX has a couple things to overcome - weight, for one. The very same VQ engine that pushes around the 350Z is also trying to push around our FX. It might be possible to set up the FX to beat the 350 off the line, but then the largest gears would be so small that top speed would barely reach speed limit levels. The trick is to get the best of both worlds so that you have both low end torque and a decent top speed. It's a compromise.

It's a compromise that the Nissan engineers figured out and balanced for the general public, which is generally not good enough for people like us. All you really need to decide is what your goals are - street performance, drag, road courses - and then choose your mods accordingly. We can't stray too far from the original design windows or other things will start to break - unless we dump serious money into bigger and better upgrades, of course...

 

[BxPhillip]

Thanks man!
Whats your color combo?

Silver-grey with imola red interior:.smile: I loved the imola red interior. Some advice; If you need a navigation for the sake of having a navigation, skip the bmw's navigation, it's not worth it; the interface is horrible. However, having the navigation screen really makes the interior stand out, so for astetics alone it may be worth it. The SMG transmission never gave me anytrouble, but I've learned from other forum members and from experience with the nav (had 2 replaced under warranty) the less electronics on a bmw the better. Make sure you do a pre-purchase inspection, make sure a mechanic checks the rear subframe mounts (although there is a pending lawsuit and it looks like bmw will cover this AS LONG AS YOU KEEP YOUR STOCK SUSPENSION).

 

[solekeeper]

I was just about to ask about if you had SMG.
That is the tranny I want, it's good to know you had no problems.
Thanks man!
And I'm looking for an AW/on red