HP vs. TORQUE?

There's a big debate about power vs. torque. For trucks it seems people tend to prefer greater torque, mostly for towing, hauling, off road, etc. Yet the Ford trucks' torqueish engines (stock), namely the 300, 351M, 400... tend to be the ones that give poorer mileage and not-so-great performance. I've heard a million times; it depends on what you need the truck to do; well in my case it's a 2WD street, daily use truck for mostly city driving. Owning the I-6, despite its reputation, it has been a gas guzzling slug. So what to do, an engine swap seems too complicated, but then modifying the engine would cost just as much... what a predicament...[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_topicsucks.gif[/img]

As I understand it all power is measured in terms of "Torque" .... HP is a calculation based on the Torque number.

Once you have a grip on that ... it becomes a matter of determining where in the RPM range you want your "peak" power to present it's self.

And of course ... the capabilities of the motor you have in hand.
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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: monstermach on 7/16/04 6:22am ]</font>

If your looking for gas mileage youve got about the best your going to get....I promise you all those v8's will drink more gas (even the 302 and the I-6 is stronger)....The last I-6 I had was in a 94 4wd yeap it would pull the world around if it needed to but did love gas....I wish I knew the year you have I might could give a lil more help.

You could gear it down, may not hurt your gas mileage and if its always around town stop go traffic might help it.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: BRONC69 on 7/16/04 2:44pm ]</font>

Mine is a 1992 stock I-6 300, Carter 1bbl carb (latin american version) 4x2 stock as well, C-6 tranny (3.08 gears), 29-inch tires. I've heard the 300 engine can be built to be faster and more powerful yet I've heard some people who have swapped to the 351W V-8 and have actually gotten better mileage and way better performance. Some are of the opinion that I should keep the I-6 for they claim is the best truck engine ever made...[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

Allow me to set the HP vs TORQUE debate to a rest! Horse power is this and only this: hp= torque * rpm / 5252. Torque is twisting force measured in lbs ft. Torque is what moves your car down the strip and the better the torque curve is the quicker it will be. HP is typically a good way of knowing the approximate potential of an engine and that is why we use it so much. Keep in mind how important the torque curve is cause if you build a 400hp 306ci and a 400hp 357ci all things being equal the 357 is going to be quicker in a drag car because of the extra torque down low to get the car outa the hole.
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horsepower is how fast you hit the wall ,torque is how hard you hit the wall

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On 2004-11-06 23:52, elsanyo wrote:
horsepower is how fast you hit the wall ,torque is how hard you hit the wall
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Well said my boy, well said!!![img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_tup.gif[/img][img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_tup.gif[/img]
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