362 hp vs. 320 hp

[docj]

Originally Posted by NC25T

Since the 80’s I was into turbo Saab’s, back when turbo 4 cylinder engines were rare. Car only developed 165 HP but over 200 ft on of tq allowing the cars to accelerate quicker then cars developing significantly more HP.

One of my all-time favorite cars was my 1990 Saab 900 turbo convertible in red, of course!

[Mr Taxpayer]

We have the V10 320 gas 6 speed trans. 36' coach 22,000 lbs with Tod. 320 does a decent job in the mountains but higher HP is always nice. You'll find the layout is more important than the HP

[trispeed]

HP and Torque is really easy to understand. It is all about how much power is made at low rpm. If you are making most of your HP at 2000 rpm, it feels 'torquey', because there is more hp at low rpm, so it's not at all about torque vs hp; it's ALL about how much horsepower at low rpm;it gives you that satisfying 'push' at low speeds.To sum up, it actually IS all about HP, just where in the rev range does it occur, cheers!

[docj]

Originally Posted by trispeed

HP and Torque is really easy to understand. It is all about how much power is made at low rpm. If you are making most of your HP at 2000 rpm, it feels 'torquey', because there is more hp at low rpm, so it's not at all about torque vs hp; it's ALL about how much horsepower at low rpm;it gives you that satisfying 'push' at low speeds.To sum up, it actually IS all about HP, just where in the rev range does it occur, cheers!

Let me try to explain it a bit differently. Torque is the rotational analog of force. So an engine with more torque can exert more "force" with respect to accelerating from a stop or when you need to try to increase speed on a long uphill grade.

Torque is what gets you "off the line" quickly, horsepower determines what your maximum speed is going up a hill. So an engine, such as my C12 with 1550 ft-lbs of torque accelerates more like a car than a motorhome. But with "only" 425 HP it can't go up a hill as fast as it would if it had 500 HP.

But do remember that horsepower comparisons make more sense if you consider them on a "horsepower per pound" basis. A 500 HP vehicle would have ~18% more HP than mine, but if it weighs more than 18% more than my 34,500 lbs it would actually have a lower HP per pound rating.

[wolfe10]

The other critical issue when comparing HP is AT WHAT RPM.


Earlier V10's reached their rated HP as screaming RPM. An RPM few would be comfortable with.



So, may be more reasonable to ask what is HP at a sustainable RPM? Suspect the answer would be pretty close.