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noob question power and torque
Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 4:33 pm
by lawrencetlc
hi everyone..
i know this is a noob question but can someone explain what's power and what's torque in a simple way?
I have done some research and is it that higher power = higher top speed and higer torque = faster acceleration??
why is that so?? like physics since young but still cant figure their relationship other than knowing theoretically that they'll be the same at 5250rpm??
hmmm, all seem funny figures to me...

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 5:33 pm
by Rocco
I heard it said once that "horse power is how fast u will go and torque is how fast u will get there"
Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 6:13 pm
by Hobbsie
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 7:24 pm
by bigpitty1
I don't know how to explain power but torque is what make sink into the seat when you put your foot down.
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 8:43 pm
by khunjeng
bigpitty1 wrote:I don't know how to explain power but torque is what make sink into the seat when you put your foot down.
Power is a measure of the amount of energy your engine can output for a given input while torque is a measure of how this energy applied as a force and used to spin the wheels....
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 9:16 pm
by lawrencetlc
so does it mean when the torque is higher, the car in the same weight will go faster no matter what the power is??
Re: noob question power and torque
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 9:18 pm
by Raven
lawrencetlc wrote:why is that so?? like physics since young but still cant figure their relationship other than knowing theoretically that they'll be the same at 5250rpm??
not sure where you got 5250 from but for mivec FTO when the RPM = 7200 i think, the torque (put in seat factor) becomes less then the power output (cogs in engine making everything go), then you basicly lose the torque and its generally time to change gears, although mivecs can push as far as 8500rpm you be getting more push from next gear at lower RPM.
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 9:20 pm
by lawrencetlc
i didnt say that mivec can produce highest torque or power in 5250.. but i know that there's a relationship between torque and power when the RPM is 5250... that's their relationship... i know about it from
www.howstuffworks.com
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 9:27 pm
by sublime19
well as far as i see it (without going too deep into it) torque is the amount of force pushing u, for example the fto, it wont boost right from the start, only once it hits abt 4000ish revs and the v6 kicks in u'll feel the torque, cos u can feel when the car's speed "lifts" and just boosts, that's the force that's getting u going.. and that's pretty much torque. i dunno if what i wrote is confusing but thats the easiest way i can explain it.
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 10:28 pm
by lawrencetlc
khunjeng wrote:bigpitty1 wrote:I don't know how to explain power but torque is what make sink into the seat when you put your foot down.
Power is a measure of the amount of energy your engine can output for a given input while torque is a measure of how this energy applied as a force and used to spin the wheels....
yup guys, i understand now.. i think kj explained the best...
Thanks mate!
Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:01 pm
by khunjeng
lawrencetlc wrote:khunjeng wrote:bigpitty1 wrote:I don't know how to explain power but torque is what make sink into the seat when you put your foot down.
Power is a measure of the amount of energy your engine can output for a given input while torque is a measure of how this energy applied as a force and used to spin the wheels....
yup guys, i understand now.. i think kj explained the best...
Thanks mate!
hehe what do I win?
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 9:50 pm
by Nacho
Weird question.......
How is the power measured? Is it measured by how much force is applied to the pistons during the four strokes? Because once you measure it at the crank then you would be measure torque......how fast it rotates with respect to time. I'm not including pi in this case though coz I don't care what the radius of the crank is.
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:01 pm
by Bennoz
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:20 pm
by khunjeng
I'm not going to read the link and see if I get it right in one line...
Both power and toqure are essentially the same quantities. With a newton metre, the force and the distance arm are normal to each other (right angles) while in the joule (power = joules per second), force and distance are co-linear - i.e. in same direction.
So they are directly related..henece you can work backwards from a torque figure to determine power.
And essentially u are right but your not measuing speed, your measuring the force required to produce that speed...in both cases.
ok read Bens link...yep thats the sh*t...Thats the formula I missed, the work formula and it makes everything come together. I was stuck in F=ma...forgot that and after allI'm an elec eng. so why they fuk to I care

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 10:24 pm
by Bennoz
Im an ex mech eng. Its taken me years to drink that stuff outta my head lol.
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:12 pm
by jonowong

ben has cast lvl 5 confusion attack
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:14 pm
by Bennoz
jonowong wrote:
ben has cast lvl 5 confusion attack
You drunk too?
Phew, its not just me.
Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:21 pm
by Nacho