Torque or HP

Now before we start I know HP is a calculation from torque so lets not go there :p

I feel for fun a track a good wide spread of torque makes for much more fun than a narrow revvy peaky band right at the top, bike engined things being the obvious example.

So which would you rather have?

Torque - low down grunt in all gears all the way

HP - lots of revs and nice and peaky

Alex

It's a difficult one... i like a nice bit of both.

The 2.0 16v in mine is a really nice engine to track.. producing 160-170 bhp and around 145 lb/ft it's a nice compromise of both power and torque.

Id go for a motor good grunt in the mid range.

Definately torque....

Remember, most tracks have only one or two main straights to go really quick.

It depends on how many gears you have to play with (afterall gearing converts power to torque).

Its important to make sure that the engine stays between peak power and peak torque. When people refer to good mid-range, this is usually what they mean. If you work out the rpms drop between gears, then you know where you need your engine to produce its power and torque.

Hopefully your gearing gives you a range which your engine can work to (eg no point having a motorcycle power curve with a muscle car gear box).

I guess that's a long way of saying BOTH!

To (probably misquote) Carrol Shelby,

"Torque wins races, power wins sales"

Or some such...

Bit of a mis-guided quote though...

Having peak torque at 1500rpm with massive long gear ratios wouldn't be too good would it...

Anyone who builds race cars or engines wil tell you that the key to high performance is Torque + Gearing, because that combination takes the leverage from the crank and puts it where it matters the most...where the rubber meets the road...

And if your gearing is done correctly, you can actually have less torque than a competitor, but get the most out of the torque you do have and still be faster in competition....

That's Torque Multiplication....the true answer to high performance and speed....