Someone please help me understand something. When people start bragging about how fast their car is, Why do people make such a big fuss about their engines Horsepower when its the actual torque is what gives it its true strength / power?
Whenit comes to actual performance, thats what really matters right...Torque? Please explain.

Anyone :confused:

Horespower is a ratio of torque and RPM. In very basic terms torque is what gets the car moving but as torque falls off HP picks up and gives the car it's top speed.

From basic physics torque is rotational work. Work is a force acting over a distance. In other words, the car moving from point A to point B requires some force to make it happen. That force multiplied by the distance moved is the work done. Now, the rate at which the car goes from A to B is power (horsepower or Watts). The same amount of work is done from going from A to B no matter what. How fast that happens is a measure of power. If the car inches along, the power requirement is low. The faster the car goes from A to B the more power required.

Thanks guys (Sorry for seeming like a dumba$$) redface.gif