[SlowMo]

Now, like Ive said before, Im a true newbie when it comes to cars so...


Ill ask the question Im sure a lot of people want to ask but are to afraid too..


What are the differences between torque and horsepower? How do they effect how much speed and power drives the car? Whats better to boost, torque or horsepower?

Can someone make this our simple newbie guide to torque and horsepower? I would really appreciate it.

 

[Forrest]

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/horsepower.htm

Horsepower is the rate at which torque is applied.
IE, torque is a measure of force and HP is a measure of work.
That page does a good job of explaining it.

 

[SlowMo]

Awesome, thanks!

 

[Fluidz]

look at it this way:

A car with a lot of HP and very little torque is like a skinny and a bit big FAST horse.

A car with a lot of Torque and little hp is like strong and a bit smaller QUICK horse.

A car with a lot of torque and a lot of hp is both a big and strong horse.

**The end result is you need both equally to be both quick and fast.**


That is why for the street ROOT type blowers and Twin Turbos are superior. Centrifical units lack in overall torque, unless of course you set them up with a staged nitrous system.