It had already been noted that both properties are connected, but which has bearing on actual driving was the question at hand
Now you have said it. But might i add that horsepower ultimately determines how fast you can go.

Torque is what powers you out of corners. Brake horse power (Bhp) is what keeps you going on the straight once you've established momentum. Torque and power, in terms of measurements of an engine system's performance, are measuring completely different things.

Basically, if you want to outrun the Polis DiRaja Malaysia (PDRM) you really want a powerful engine + some nut driving skills, if you want to pull your friend out of a "longkang", then a high torque engine would be helpful.

Regards, Joey

This post has been edited by Joey Christensen: Dec 9 2009, 01:08 PM

[bleah, did not read the last few posts, ignore this

This post has been edited by kev da man: Dec 9 2009, 01:41 PM

Let's just say my work require me to be familiar with it. (Does that means I can publish book already? ) Motor has high starting torque, (because it has constant torque curve). While engine has zero starting torque. Which is why we have a motor starter for all engine. Starter motor provide the torque to initiate the rotation in engine, but if engage with gear, it can't maintain the engine rotation because of huge load. Joey mention about motor, hence I try to explain how it is different than engine.

I think it's hp that power a vehicle out of corner, and torque is what keeps us going on straight. Brake horsepower, is different that horsepower. Indeed, horsepower and torque is inter-related. By definition, horsepower is derived from torque. But with engine, the ability to manipulate its input (fuel, in this case), and the torque/power curve makes it unique and difficult to explain.

Lol. Until now still can't agree over Torque and Power?

In super layman terms, Torque is rotating force and power is how fast you take to do a certain amount of work.

A layman example would be, when you try and unscrew a bottle cap, torque is how much rotating force needed by your hands to unscrew it and power is just how fast you can unscrew it. (may not be 100% accurate but it gives a rough idea).

So for engines, Torque is the amount of rotating force the engine can provide to propel the car from standstill and Power is the how fast the engine can propel the car.

So higher Torque means the engine can propel the car to a given speed in a shorter time (Acceleration) and Power determines the maximum speed the car can achieve.

Power is derived from Torque.

The most super basic analogy i can think of is:

Power is how fast you can run.
Torque is how fast it takes you to get fast. (sorry might sound a lil cacat here haha but hope you get my drift).

Hope this helps.

This gives me the idea of being ignorant is good. For example: Takumi Fujiwara with his ignorance in how a car works.

Anyway, there are mathematical ways to explain, there the graphical way to explain it and last but not least, there are words to describe it too.

HP = Torque x RPM ÷ 5252 (If you realised when you are comparing a few charts, you'll notice that the two entities will be intersecting at 5252 RPM) It's a bit weird but it's all there is to it. Note that at 5252 RPM, torque and HP are equal.

Regards, Joey

p.s: From my rusty science knowledge understanding, torque is measured while power is calculated.

This post has been edited by Joey Christensen: Dec 10 2009, 10:12 AM

OK, let me try this on a more layman's term.

When a person lifts a dumbell with his hand, the maximum weight he can lift is the torque, while HP is calculated by (the weight of the dumbell multiply by the distance of the motion) and divided by seconds.

So guys, is that true?

yes.. that's true... very good explanation.. but errr... what happens if the guys carries the weight which is not maximum?

That means he hasn't reached his maximum torque.
That's why in performance statistic the attributes would be 'maximum torque'.

For city driving torque is more important.
btw Torque and Power is interrelated.

Power = torque X speed


It's like you can carry 4 buckets of water to your house but can only do it once a day OR you can carry 2 buckets of water to your house but you do it twice a day. High Torque low speed or low torque high speed but both produces the same amount of Horsepower.

well,i think after this discussion we did learned more about torque n horsepower for car engine.
Hope this lil knowledge will help us out in picking new car in the future

IMHO i prefer low RPM torque power more than High RPM torque power,
becoz usually i wont drag my engine more than 3500RPM,coz very noisy n drink more petrol.

N i oso noticed some ENGINE not really as power as they stated in the performance sheet.
For example their stated Peak torque is on 150NM@4500rpm(example)
while most of the time,their average torque r much lower than the PEAK TORQUE stated,becoz their torque curve fluctuated very much
So do research more on ur potential new car