Difference Between Horsepower and Torque

What's the Difference Between Horsepower and Torque? The two are very much two sides of the same coin as one goes with the other—torque being the force and horsepower being the rate at which that force is done. The difference is torque is doing the work, while horsepower is how fast that work is being done.

1. What is better to have torque or horsepower?
2. How is horsepower different from torque?
3. What makes a car faster torque or horsepower?
4. Can you have torque without horsepower?
5. Why does torque drop at high rpm?
6. Why do lower gears have more torque?
7. Why diesel engines have more torque?
8. What is a good amount of torque in a car?
9. Does torque matter in a race?

What is better to have torque or horsepower?

Torque, simply, is the ability of a vehicle to perform work — specifically, the twisting force applied by the crankshaft. Horsepower is how rapidly the vehicle can perform that work. ... Because there is generally a limit on how fast you can spin an engine, having higher torque allows for greater horsepower at lower rpms.

How is horsepower different from torque?

Mathematically, horsepower equals torque multiplied by rpm. H = T x rpm/5252, where H is horsepower, T is pound-feet, rpm is how fast the engine is spinning, and 5252 is a constant that makes the units jibe. So, to make more power an engine needs to generate more torque, operate at higher rpm, or both.

What makes a car faster torque or horsepower?

Torque multiplied by rpm returns horsepower. Basically, the faster the crankshaft spins with the same amount of force, the more power an engine will make. A car with more hp than torque will always be quicker since this gives a car acceleration and speed.

Can you have torque without horsepower?

Remember, you cannot have horsepower without torque, but you can have torque without horsepower!" It's called a dump truck. Competition Cams Inc.

Why does torque drop at high rpm?

At high RPM, torque drops off primarily from intake and exhaust flow restriction. Volumetric Efficiency declines because the engine can't breathe any faster. Mechanical efficiency also declines at higher RPM, due to increased frictional resistance.

Why do lower gears have more torque?

You apply full throttle in a low gear, allowing the engine to operate at some "preferred" RPM. ... Within the capability limits of the engine, shifting into a lower gear allows the engine to turn faster, allowing it to produce more power which the transmission converts into greater output torque for a given wheel speed.

Why diesel engines have more torque?

The higher turbo boost pressure, high compression ratio, and greater heat content of the fuel all add to the generation of cylinder pressure that is substantially higher than in gasoline engines too, but it is this continued injection of fuel that really makes the big torque numbers for diesels.

What is a good amount of torque in a car?

Engines in mainstream cars and trucks typically generate 100 to 400 lb. -ft of torque. That torque is created by the pistons within an engine as they reciprocate up and down on the engine's crankshaft, causing it to rotate (or twist), continuously.

Does torque matter in a race?

Racing RPMs

Running at lower RPMs equates to higher torque and thus lower horsepower, while making higher RPM power outputs less torque and higher top horsepower. In a straight line race, higher RPMs take precedence.