What is the difference between Horse Power & Torque ?
Torque and horsepower are measures of engine performance and they are relatively simple, yet are often badly misunderstood by the public.
Horsepower is a unit of measurement for power while torque is turning force,
which for automotive applications is most often measured in either foot-pounds
(ft-lbf) or Newton-meters (N-m). The concept of horsepower is used to
measure power while on the other hand torque is the twisting, rotational force
generated by an engine. It's quite possible for an engine to have
large horsepower but low torque. For example engine of a ship is so powerful
that it can move thousands of tons of steel but it takes a long time for a ship
to gain some speed. This applies that ship's engine has little torque.
On a side note Enzo Ferrari was once quoted as saying "Horsepower sells cars,
torque wins races".
Torque and horsepower are measures of engine performance and they are relatively simple, yet are often badly misunderstood by the public.
Horsepower is a unit of measurement for power while torque is turning force,
which for automotive applications is most often measured in either foot-pounds
(ft-lbf) or Newton-meters (N-m). The concept of horsepower is used to
measure power while on the other hand torque is the twisting, rotational force
generated by an engine. It's quite possible for an engine to have
large horsepower but low torque. For example engine of a ship is so powerful
that it can move thousands of tons of steel but it takes a long time for a ship
to gain some speed. This applies that ship's engine has little torque.
On a side note Enzo Ferrari was once quoted as saying "Horsepower sells cars,
torque wins races".
