WHATS MORE IMPORTANT??
Depends on what you want. Are you going for flat out speed or getting up to speed as fast as possible? Flat out: BHP. Acceleration: torque.
i say torque... thats that awesome feeling when you slam the gas and you butt gets shoved into the seat. and horsepower is actually calculated from torque, so in all reality, horsepower is an arbitrary measuring system. and how often are you gonna top out your car? just cause it can goo 200+ mph doesnt mean its fast. i say torque.
I think they are both equally important in a car. The trick is to build the engine with a nice balance of both and the curve at which your engine experiences them. Torque is more important in a truck if it used for towing
If your question is "what is more important maximum HP or a broad torque curve?" the answer is a broad useful torque curve in almost every situation. If your car has a license plate, the answer is torque. Except for oval track cars that stay in top gear above 7000rpm constanly, a very high (typically narrow RPM range) peak HP figure just doesn't benefit performance.
FYI: HP is a function of torque and engine speed. You increase the torque you increase the HP... So... What's more important the chicken or the egg?
http://apps.facebook.com/cgchallenge/autoclub/viewTopic.action?autoClub=2027&discussion=ds466053&view=CLUB&pid=recentPersonActivity&from=recentActivityProfilePage There we go.
in my case, i say torque...i have a 5-speed AT and it has shorter shifts compared to manual ones...it means that each shift to a higher gear keeps the powerband at a high level...even if i had more than 200bhp, that wont do me good coz i'll just go and overshoot my power (over-rev) and the car wont go as fast...this setting would compliment me on technical tracks rather than racing on the straight line, coz my front engine-front wheel drive and suspension setting does best on it too... but if you go for the longer powerband gains, id say a higher horsepower would be terrific coz it'll tkae longer shifts to gain power and keep you in a low-to-high powerband in a much longer time, therefore gaining more speed...engines with larger intakes, larger pistons and a car with more stable shock settings are great with high bhp, those are the ones that run on straight lines... so what are you going for anyway? quicker acceleration time or the slower but more power gain?
higher torque on a truck? i disagree with michael...actually, having higher torque on a truck when pulling something will just be a waste of fuel and the tires will slip easily...thats why you need more hp...slower power gain and it'll be lesser effort when pulling or carrying large objects...
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