First of all, from a driver's perspective, torque, to use the vernacular, RULES :-). Any given car, in any given gear, will accelerate at a rate that *exactly* matches its torque curve (allowing for increased air and rolling resistance as speeds climb). Another way of saying this is that a car will accelerate hardest at its torque peak in any given gear, and will not accelerate as hard below that peak, or above it. Torque is the only thing that a driver feels, and horsepower is just sort of an esoteric measurement in that context. 300 foot pounds of torque will accelerate you just as hard at 2000 rpm as it would if you were making that torque at 4000 rpm in the same gear, yet, per the formula, the horsepower would be *double* at 4000 rpm. Therefore, horsepower isn't particularly meaningful from a driver's perspective, and the two numbers only get friendly at 5252 rpm, where horsepower and torque always come out the same

remember this number 5252...^^^^ stock 302 are good to lets say 5600-5800.and the computer will shut off fuel at 6250.fact..i dont see the justification in hp for 1000 rpm....from 0rpm- 5252rpm torque rules, from5253 to 6250 hp rules i dont shift my car at 6k its not making power, i shift at 5500 when the tq falls off, so the next gear will be in the peak torque, not peak hp