Quote:
Originally Posted by MadisonMPG
Isn't HP the calculation? Torque is the measurement that is actually measured.
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horse power by definition is 550 ft lb / sec witch translates into 550 lbs moved (vertically) 1 ft in 1 sec. this is a steady pace for 1 horse so at full gallop a horse produces well more than 1 HP.
Torque from your engie is translated to the wheels concerned with dirveing wich produces a force (lb) so the torque is what drives your car and at top speed your force (torque over a distance is a force) on the ground from your tires is in equlibrium with air and every other form of friction holding you back
Now this is where HP comes in imagine a small fan with foam fins there moveing faster then your wheels right(angular speed... rpm)? well if you touch the blades it stops right? cause theres no torque (also no mass moment of inertia but thats another story) behind it. horse power allows you to put torque behind something spinning fast because HP is a measurment of a force over a distance in a given amount of time. and something spinning fast covers alot of distance in a short amount of time so you need alot of horsepower to produce alot of force
torque = HP/rpm so the same HP rating can produce high torque at low rpms (why lower gears ar "peppy") or high speed at low rpm (why it takes your car so long to reach 100mph) thats why high HP cars can put more torque (force) at the same speed F=ma and accelerate faster
sorry its a bit winded but im an engineer i live and breath this stuff
