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| Jaguar F-Type R Coupe. Image courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover. |
Unless you are a big car enthusiast or an engineer, you
likely have no idea what the difference is between a vehicle’s horsepower and
torque ratings. Sure, you see them listed all the time with a car’s
specifications, and you know bigger numbers are better, but just what is the
difference between the two ratings?
A simple explanation is that horsepower measures the amount
of power produced by your engine, while torque measures the amount of twisting
force produced by the engine. Torque is the feeling of power when a car first
launches off the line, which is what most buyers think of when they wonder how
powerful a car is. In contrast, horsepower is the ability of the car to sustain
that initial surge of power. People think they are buying horsepower, when in
fact the torque is what they are feeling.
To be more precise, horsepower is a measurement of the
engine’s ability to move a certain amount of mass. Specifically, one unit of
horsepower represents the force needed to move 550 pounds a distance of one foot
in one second, or 33,000 pounds the same distance in a minute’s time.
Torque is produced by the engine, transferred to a fly wheel
which in turn transfers that twisting power to the transmission. The
transmission in turn transfers that power to the drive shaft and then the axle,
allowing the car’s wheels to turn.
When buying a vehicle to tow anything, whether it’s a boat
or another vehicle that is stuck in the snow, the important figure to pay
attention to is the engine’s peak torque output. A high torque output at a low RPM provides
plenty of pulling power when the vehicle first starts rolling forward.
In city driving, most people drive on torque since there is
a lot of stop-and-go traffic. On the highway horsepower becomes much more
important, since your car’s engine needs to ability to sustain the speed at
which you are traveling.
Horsepower Versus Torque: What’s the Difference?
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