Horsepower and Torque: A Practical

Explanation
This may be the most highly debated question in all automotive internet forums. It's not
that the definitions are in doubt. They're obviously objective. The controversy centers
around which is more important.

Force

Force is the pressure of one mass against another, and is one of the primary units in all of
physics. In the metric system, force is calculated in "Newtons". Gravity is an easy
example of a natural force and is written in the English system as "pounds". So we also
use pounds as the basic unit of force.

Work

Work is defined as force over distance and is calculated as Work= Force * Distance. In
other words, work is achieved when force causes an object to move. The force placed on
the object and the distance it moves are calculated as the work done.

Power

Power was originally defined by the engineer James Watt as the amount of work that can
be done in a certain amount of time. So its function is Power = Work / Time.

Torque

Torque is defined as the force at any one point on the edge of a circle in the exact
direction of the rotation multiplied by the radius (distance from the center). This comes
from the calculus/geometry concept of a "tangent", a line which touches exactly one point
of the edge of a circle.
In the metric system, force is calculated in newtons, and distance is in meters, so the
standard torque unit is Newton-Meters or N-M. In the Standard/English system, force is
calculated in pounds and distance in feet. So the torque unit is lb-ft, usually pronounced
as "Foot-pounds" and sometimes written as "ft/lb".

Horsepower

Horsepower is a unit of power. It can be defined in many ways. In its basic sense, it's
defined as work done in a straight line as described above under "Power". But when the
work is not done in a straight line, it must be defined in a different way: torque.

Torque X RPM
Horsepower =
5252

Now although horsepower in this instance is defined by rotational forces, it is no different

than straight-line horsepower. For instance, if you wrapped a rope around the circle and
allowed the torque to pull the rope, the force on the rope would now be exactly as defined
above.

Gearing and Towing

Now when it comes to just about any type of racing known to mankind, besides engine
output, gearing is the single most contributor to acceleration. It will make or break any
car and the right gear selection can and will mean the difference between winning and
losing a race.

How important is gearing? Gearing nearly makes torque obsolete. Yes, it's that
important. In a perfect environment with no limiting factors such as size and weight, the
actual peak torque output of an engine would be totally meaningless because of gearing.
How's that possible? It's simple. Gearing multiplies peak torque to the wheels to any
amount desired. Increasing the ratio increases torque.

The limiting factors are the biggest problem with this ideal setup. Torque is multiplied
through gear ratios, but the higher the gear ratio, the larger the gear and the more space it
takes up. Unfortunately, in the real world, there's only so much space for a gear to
occupy. It's this space limit that contributes to the "torque = towing capacity"
philosophy. If space were unlimited and we could make the ratios anything we wanted,
then towing capacity would be limitless since we could easily just utilize a higher ratio
gear.

But since the car world doesn't operate like that, there is generally a maximum amount of
torque that can be generated at the wheels. It's this maximum which defines the towing
capacity of the vehicle. If you start with an engine that already generates a great deal of
torque, then the towing capacity will be easier to manipulate to higher levels.

Horsepower and Torque "At the Wheels"

Now when we're talking about automobiles, the amount of horsepower or torque
generated at the flywheel is not very useful when determining acceleration. What is
useful, however, is horsepower and torque "at the wheels". The problem here is that
drivetrains cannot be perfectly efficient and pass 100% of the power of the engine
through its components to the wheels. Some of the power is lost for several reasons.
Generally 15-25% of engine power never makes it to the wheels. Different types of
drivetrains will have different levels of efficiency. Generally, drivetrains with more
weight and those with more components will be less efficient.

Let's use my own car for some sample calculations. In stock form, it has 165 hp @ 5600
RPM and 166 lb-ft @ 4000 RPM.

Dyno results have shown that the car has around 127 peak hp at the wheels. That's a
23.03% loss. Note that this is higher than most cars because of the heavy and
sophisticated all-wheel-drive system.

Here's a chart to show how the power and torque change before they reach the wheels.
Although, the efficiency loss is difference for each gear, we'll assume that 127 peak hp is
attainable in every gear. At 5600 RPM, the flywheel torque calculates as 154.7 lb-ft.
Calculating the same efficiency loss (23.03%) as horsepower, this would come out to
119.1 lb-ft.

Engine RPM = 5600

Wheel
Gear Axle Total Flywheel Wheel Flywheel
Gear Torque after
Ratio Ratio Ratio Horsepower Horsepower Torque
loss
1 3.545 4.11 14.57 165 127 154.7 1735
 2 2.110 4.11 8.67 165 127 154.7 1033
3 1.448 4.11 5.95 165 127 154.7 707
4 1.088 4.11 4.47 165 127 154.7 532
5 0.780 4.11 3.21 165 127 154.7 382

To prove the accuracy of the wheel torque numbers, let's look at the example of 1st gear.
Using the Speed/RPM Calculator, we can determine that the vehicle will be traveling at
approximately 27.5 mph in 1st gear at 5600 RPM. Using the Tire Size Calculator, we
can determine that the circumference of the tire is approximately 78.16 inches. Let's
calculate the RPM of the tire:

27.5 mph = 145,200 ft/hour

145,200 ft/hour = 1,742,400 in/hour
1,742,400 in/hour = 22,294 revs/hour
22,294 revs/hour = 372 RPM

Now we know that there is 127 hp generated at the wheels. If we use the horsepower
formula above:

127 HP = (Torque * 372 RPM) / 5252

667,004 = Torque * 372
Torque = 1793 lb-ft

Notice the difference between 1793 and 1735. This is caused by the reduction of the
tire's size when fitted onto the vehicle. To help explain this, please read "Why isn't it
perfectly accurate?"
Torque vs. Horsepower
If you've been around motorized vehicles for any length of time, you have probably been
exposed to the great torque vs. power debate at some point. If not, it goes like this:

"Torque is what makes a bike accelerate, not power."

"Wrong."

Torque and power are inescapably linked by the fact that horsepower equals torque (in ft-
pounds) times RPM divided by 5250, so people who talk as if they are independent are
full of it. If you have a given torque curve for an engine, you have the horsepower curve
also. Knowing how these two numbers work with each other lets you can poke through
some of the BS you might read.

First, as usual, a few definitions.

Torque is a twisting force applied to an object, like a wheel or a crankshaft. Note that
motion is not required for torque to exist! If you stand on a lug wrench that is on a frozen
lug bolt, you are applying a torque to that bolt even though there may be no movement.
For our purposes, we will consider that torque is measured in pounds-force feet (lbf-ft)
meaning the equivalent of a given force, in pounds, acting on the end of a lever of length
in feet. For example, standing with 180 pounds body weight on a lug wrench one foot
long yields 180 lbf-ft of torque. A child of 90 pounds standing on a two-foot lug wrench
applies the same torque.

Work is the application of force over a distance. Unfortunately, the units used are the
same (pounds times feet) but we write this as ft-lb just to distinguish it. The real
difference is that in this case, the "feet" part means feet of movement. If you push on a
car with 100 pounds of force and maintain that for 30 feet, you have done 3000 ft-lb of
work. An easier example is lifting a weight (in pounds) a given distance (in feet). If you
use some sort of mechanical advantage, like a winch, you will do the same amount of
work because by halving the effort required, you will have to double the distance through
which you apply the force to achive the same objective.

Power is the application of work within a finite time. 550 ft-lb of work in one second is
one horsepower.

So, let's first go through the numbers to get from torque to horsepower. Pushing with 87.5
pounds (force) on the end of our 1-foot lug wrench applies a torque of 87.5 lbf-ft. No
motion yet, so no work and no power. But now let's say the lug bolt loosens slightly and
starts to turn, but that same 87.5 pounds of force is needed to keep the wrench turning.
For every revolution of the wrench, you are applying 87.5 pounds of force over a distance
of (2 * pi * 1 foot) or 6.28 feet, the circumference of the circle that your hand is making,
for a total of 550 ft-lb of work. It's only when this system is actually moving that work is
being performed. From here, it's a quick step to say that if you work fast enough to turn
that wrench once per second, then you are doing 550 ft-lb of work per second, which
means you are applying one horsepower.

By the definitions we can see that HP is directly proportional to torque and RPM.
"Directly proportional" means there may be a multiplyer involved, so let's find it using
our example numbers, remembering that 1 revolution per second is 60 RPM:

torque * RPM * constant = hp

87.5 lbf-ft * 60 rev/min * X = 1 hp
X = 1 / (60 * 87.5) = 1/5250
torque * RPM * 1/5250 = hp
hp = (torque * RPM) / 5250

For internal combustion engines, torque is always given at a certain RPM because they
can't generate any torque when they aren't moving. Once they are running fast enough to
sustain their own operation, the force that they are exerting against a load can be
measured, and the speed at which they are turning can be measured, so the torque (and
therefore power) numbers become known.

So, if there is such a fixed relationship between torque and power, why do some people
say that a certain engine has lots of power, but no torque? Remember that the connection
between torque and power is rotational speed. A sportbike motor might generate 150hp at
14,000 RPM but the torque at that RPM is very small; about 53 ft-lbs. In comparison, a
large-displacement twin might peak at 100 hp at 7000 RPM. The torque applied at the
twin's 7000 rpm, 75 ft-lbs, is greater than the torque applied at the sport bike's 14,000
rpm but the sport bike makes up for it with a lot more engine speed and ends up with
more horsepower.

The street, though, complicates things because the sport bike will probably not be ridden
at 14,000 RPM. At 5000 RPM, the twin would likely have more power. This is an
artificial handicap; the sport bike wasn't meant to be ridden at that speed since it
generates its power by sending the RPM part of the equation sky-high. For street riding,
the twin is easier to ride, less prone to stalling as you pull away from a light, and you get
that satisfying "oomph" when you twist the throttle. But as the RPM increases, the twin
runs out of breath and the race bike, although the torque is low and probably getting
lower, continues to make more and more power until it hits its peak at 14000.

[Insert dyno charts for comparison showing less torque but more power for sportbikes at
high RPM]

Engines are designed for their intended use. Our twins are designed to yield fairly high
torque values at low RPM, because this makes them easy to ride in day-to-day life, and
Harley-Davidsons have their torque concentrated even lower in the RPM range than
BMWs do. Low-end torque is accomplished by several design traits, one being small
valves and intake tubes which create high air velocity into the cylinder for good fuel mix
at low speed.
Those effects tend to become a restriction at high RPM, which means that engines
intended for high RPM end up with larger valves, larger air intakes, smaller cylinders and
other things that let them continue to breathe when other engines start to gasp. Race bike
engines have fairly small displacement, which limits the torque that can be produced at
the crank. They apply that torque at much higher speeds to get high horsepower (and who
can argue that those bikes don't accelerate quickly?).

To a lesser extent, BMW varies these techniques for different bikes. The GS series has
narrower intake tubes to give a faster intake charge, giving better fuel/air mixing and
better torque at low RPM. Since this becomes a bottleneck at higher RPM, the "power"
engine in the RS and RT bikes have larger intake tubes. Swapping the GS tubes into an
RS or RT is a common retrofit, as it makes the bike torquier at low RPM where most of
us ride. Newer technology in cars, like variable valve timing and variable intake tract
length, can give motors the best of both worlds by increasing torque at higher RPM
without giving it up at low RPM. Incidentally, Honda has variable valve timing on a
motorcycle now.

But to get back to the main point, it is power that moves our bikes down the road. Yes,
torque provides the pushing force through the drivetrain, but it needs to happen at some
given speed, and those two factors define "power."

Why does torque drop after a certain RPM?

Torque starts to decrease because the engine cannot breathe as well. Due to the speed, the
cylinder does not fill with air as well. A designer can get around this problem with
"tuned intake" which sets up a resonance to pack the cylinder with air, but it only happens
at a certain RPM. The next evolution of design is to make a variable system which packs
the cylinders with air at all RPM; this is usually called "variable tuned intake runners" or
something like that and involves valves which open and close to create a different size for
the airbox and manifold.

Why does power continue to increase after torque decreases?

Remember that the power is essentially the product of the RPM and the torque. At first,
decrease in torque is small and is not enough to offset the increasing RPM, so the overall
product still increases. Eventually the decrease in torque becomes large enough that it
outweighs the increase in RPM and we see the power start to drop. Because of this, the
power peak will always be after the torque peak.

A few other well-writen articles illustrate these concepts, although many can be found by
entering "torque horsepower" into Google:

http://vettenet.org/torquehp.html

http://www.allpar.com/eek/hp-vs-torque.html