Learn: Torque and Power
When talking about the torque of a car, it is the force which is related with the engine of the car. The engine applies a certain force on the shaft and also on the transmission. This is called as torque in simple words. When we multiply torque with the rotational speed, we’ll be getting what is called as power. You would have already come across the word horsepower, hp. It is nothing but 550 foot pounds of torque per second.
Well, your car and your friends car may sometimes be producing the same power. But the torque of the two cars may not be same. Do you know why? The reason is simple. It all depends on two factors and they are :- the distance moved, and the number of pounds moved. For the same reason, if we move 550 pounds 1 feet, and if we move 1 pound 550 foot, we would be getting the same horsepower which would be equal to exactly one horsepower. So, this is the reason why two cars with different torque produce same power.
Another reason for the above fact is that, the high torque engine would be would be rotating at a much slower rate than the low torque engine. So, both of the cars, even they are with different torques, they would be producing same power.
So, if you ask me, which is more important – torque or horsepower? I would say that torque is more important and we should be having good knowledge about what it does and how it helps the driver at various situations.
