is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
#1
07-22-2006, 04:01 PM
is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
or is it better to have both of them about the same?
im wondering this cause the civic SI has 197 hp but the torque is at 139
the S2000 is like that too
so is this a good thing or bad?
im wondering this cause the civic SI has 197 hp but the torque is at 139
the S2000 is like that too
so is this a good thing or bad?
#2
07-22-2006, 05:13 PM
RE: is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
its better to have both, but theres a reason why theres the option of stroking the engine. There isnt always the option of having high torque though.
#3
07-22-2006, 05:45 PM
RE: is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
hondas... high HP **POOPY** torque... cept mine its sexy 
160/161 i think its actualy the only honda engine to have more torque than HP anyway.. hondas suck at making torque cuz of there size and because of Vtech... they are almost pure economy untill u hit that Vtech then the power comes... and if u have ever read a dyno chart all the torque comes WAY before vtech hits so bam no torque... and torque in a drag is sooo much more important then HP Torque is the ability to obtain speed... HP is the ability to sustain speed... basicly what that equates to is that torque put u back in ur seat and HP makes ur seat go 200 MpH
160/161 i think its actualy the only honda engine to have more torque than HP anyway.. hondas suck at making torque cuz of there size and because of Vtech... they are almost pure economy untill u hit that Vtech then the power comes... and if u have ever read a dyno chart all the torque comes WAY before vtech hits so bam no torque... and torque in a drag is sooo much more important then HP Torque is the ability to obtain speed... HP is the ability to sustain speed... basicly what that equates to is that torque put u back in ur seat and HP makes ur seat go 200 MpH
#4
07-22-2006, 07:29 PM
RE: is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
torque is very important. legionofone explained it quite nicely.
The reason honda motors can get away without loads of torque (including the swift S2000) is because of their weight. But obviously, more toque will make for a quicker car. When considering toque, one must also note where the torque is made in the power band as well. An engine that makes more torque sooner will of course accelerate quicker.
The reason honda motors can get away without loads of torque (including the swift S2000) is because of their weight. But obviously, more toque will make for a quicker car. When considering toque, one must also note where the torque is made in the power band as well. An engine that makes more torque sooner will of course accelerate quicker.
#5
07-22-2006, 11:10 PM
RE: is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
without torque you won't get anywhere that's obvious. legionofone i got 150 hp and 152 lbs of torque, so there's another engine with more torque than horsepower. now if you want lots of torque as well as horsepower buy a jeep grand cherokee with a v8. the guys in this forum can soup up their 4 bangers pretty well from what i have read.
thunder x i would suggest if you have a 4 banger, and you want to soup it up, these guys can help you out a lot! a turbo might not be a bad idea, but i just like something that lasts a long time.
i am sure honda will develop some engines in the near future with more torque, but there are so many aftermarket people that know how to really make them fly that i think honda doesn't want to develop an engine that can fly! anyways, i know this is long and boring. but, good luck!
thunder x i would suggest if you have a 4 banger, and you want to soup it up, these guys can help you out a lot! a turbo might not be a bad idea, but i just like something that lasts a long time.
i am sure honda will develop some engines in the near future with more torque, but there are so many aftermarket people that know how to really make them fly that i think honda doesn't want to develop an engine that can fly! anyways, i know this is long and boring. but, good luck!
#6
07-22-2006, 11:23 PM
RE: is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
HORSEPOWER!!
But you can't have one without the other.
Horsepower is simply torque x RPM. (With appropriate conversion factors.)
Anyone who thinks engineers are dumb geeks can stop reading right now.
If you say torque is the only thing that's important, I say BS. I can make 1200 lbf*ft of torque with my bare hands. All I need is a really long handle on a wrench.
But that can't move the car very well. That's because I can't make that torque at anything more than maybe 1 rpm. So what you really need is the ability to make that torque at SOME REASONABLE RPM. So that's what horsepower is all about. I should say that's what POWER is all about, whether it's HP or KW or ergs per second or whatever...
Torque without RPM is like that simple jr.high science homework question about how much work you do if you push with all your strength against the wall of a building. The answer... NONE! Because the building doesn't move (at least not enough to matter).
People talk about the difference between torque & power. But what they REALLY talk about is whether the engine makes good power at low RPM or at high RPM. A big ole V-8 makes it's power at low RPM, so when you do the math & plot torque & power, the peak torque has a larger number than the peak power. A Honda makes its power at high RPM, so the peak power is a larger number.
I don't want to pick a fight with legionofone, because he's got some good points. But if he would put those statements into proper engineering context, he's saying about the same thing. I'll have to put some thoughts together & write something up.
But you can't have one without the other.
Horsepower is simply torque x RPM. (With appropriate conversion factors.)
Anyone who thinks engineers are dumb geeks can stop reading right now.
If you say torque is the only thing that's important, I say BS. I can make 1200 lbf*ft of torque with my bare hands. All I need is a really long handle on a wrench.
But that can't move the car very well. That's because I can't make that torque at anything more than maybe 1 rpm. So what you really need is the ability to make that torque at SOME REASONABLE RPM. So that's what horsepower is all about. I should say that's what POWER is all about, whether it's HP or KW or ergs per second or whatever...
Torque without RPM is like that simple jr.high science homework question about how much work you do if you push with all your strength against the wall of a building. The answer... NONE! Because the building doesn't move (at least not enough to matter).
People talk about the difference between torque & power. But what they REALLY talk about is whether the engine makes good power at low RPM or at high RPM. A big ole V-8 makes it's power at low RPM, so when you do the math & plot torque & power, the peak torque has a larger number than the peak power. A Honda makes its power at high RPM, so the peak power is a larger number.
I don't want to pick a fight with legionofone, because he's got some good points. But if he would put those statements into proper engineering context, he's saying about the same thing. I'll have to put some thoughts together & write something up.
#7
07-23-2006, 01:07 AM
RE: is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
exactly. If the motor makes more torque down low, then acceleration off the line will be improved. It is important to look at where the torque is actually being made than just the number.
Honda does make some motors that fly, they just keep them in F1 cars. But their motors have plenty of over design to make some big numbers in the right hands.
Honda does make some motors that fly, they just keep them in F1 cars. But their motors have plenty of over design to make some big numbers in the right hands.
#8
07-23-2006, 03:41 AM
RE: is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
ORIGINAL: JimBlake
HORSEPOWER!!
But you can't have one without the other.
Horsepower is simply torque x RPM. (With appropriate conversion factors.)
Anyone who thinks engineers are dumb geeks can stop reading right now.
If you say torque is the only thing that's important, I say BS. I can make 1200 lbf*ft of torque with my bare hands. All I need is a really long handle on a wrench.
But that can't move the car very well. That's because I can't make that torque at anything more than maybe 1 rpm. So what you really need is the ability to make that torque at SOME REASONABLE RPM. So that's what horsepower is all about. I should say that's what POWER is all about, whether it's HP or KW or ergs per second or whatever...
Torque without RPM is like that simple jr.high science homework question about how much work you do if you push with all your strength against the wall of a building. The answer... NONE! Because the building doesn't move (at least not enough to matter).
People talk about the difference between torque & power. But what they REALLY talk about is whether the engine makes good power at low RPM or at high RPM. A big ole V-8 makes it's power at low RPM, so when you do the math & plot torque & power, the peak torque has a larger number than the peak power. A Honda makes its power at high RPM, so the peak power is a larger number.
I don't want to pick a fight with legionofone, because he's got some good points. But if he would put those statements into proper engineering context, he's saying about the same thing. I'll have to put some thoughts together & write something up.
HORSEPOWER!!
But you can't have one without the other.
Horsepower is simply torque x RPM. (With appropriate conversion factors.)
Anyone who thinks engineers are dumb geeks can stop reading right now.
If you say torque is the only thing that's important, I say BS. I can make 1200 lbf*ft of torque with my bare hands. All I need is a really long handle on a wrench.
But that can't move the car very well. That's because I can't make that torque at anything more than maybe 1 rpm. So what you really need is the ability to make that torque at SOME REASONABLE RPM. So that's what horsepower is all about. I should say that's what POWER is all about, whether it's HP or KW or ergs per second or whatever...
Torque without RPM is like that simple jr.high science homework question about how much work you do if you push with all your strength against the wall of a building. The answer... NONE! Because the building doesn't move (at least not enough to matter).
People talk about the difference between torque & power. But what they REALLY talk about is whether the engine makes good power at low RPM or at high RPM. A big ole V-8 makes it's power at low RPM, so when you do the math & plot torque & power, the peak torque has a larger number than the peak power. A Honda makes its power at high RPM, so the peak power is a larger number.
I don't want to pick a fight with legionofone, because he's got some good points. But if he would put those statements into proper engineering context, he's saying about the same thing. I'll have to put some thoughts together & write something up.
co sign
#9
07-23-2006, 11:13 AM
RE: is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
Torques more important!!! Without torque you cant figure out how much horsepower you have.
#10
07-23-2006, 11:50 AM
RE: is it better to have more torque or more horsepower?
I think it would depend on the application. For instance, if you are rock crawling a jeep- torque is more important. In a high RPM engine like the S2000- horsepower is more important.