Strongtyer, remember that a dyno can only measure torque and they use that to figure HP from. As Bryce stated torque and HP will always be the same at 5252rpm. In most cases (excluding diesels for sure) the torque and HP curves will be somewhat similar. Since torque is a leverage factor you will find that many longer stroke motors will yield a great deal of torque than motors with shorter strokes. A shorter stroke motor (take a Banshee for instance) will make some good torque numbers, but usually at a very high RPM in relation to other motors.

A motor with a lot of torque will generally be fun and feel fast. Some people dont like the Banshee because of the lack of bottom end power. It's not that the motor doesnt make torque, it just does it higher up the RPM scale. Also generally speaking a big torque motor will have a lower top RPM than a smaller torque motor. 4-stroke motors have more torque than 2-strokes because they use a full 1 stroke for the power stroke. Most 2-strokes only use between about 26-36 degrees of crank duration for their powerstroke. That's a lot of difference between 180 and 36. I hope that didnt confuse anyone, it's too da@# hard to put this crap on paper sometimes. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

If a little martial-arts guy come running at you with a flying kick,thats HP,if the govener of Cali(Arnie S.)when he was younger puts you in a wrestling move and pops your limb out of socket,thats torque...who agrees?I just made it up [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

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Ok seriously,simply put for average guys like you and me...its the brute turning strenth your motor has.Torque will pull more weight,hp will push more speed. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

always? like in my diesel truck the redline doesnt go that high, but if it could would they be the same? is that principle?

 

I know that a standard diesel like that wont turn 5252 running on the road, but if you did a dyno and looked at the graph, the lines would intersect at 5252. The torque would rise greatly early while the hp rose a little bit, then the torque line would fall down at meet the other at that point.

 

wow so it always does. that's a really cool little thing to know.

 

Hello guys. Lets put some numbers to it. Suppose you have a diesel that puts out 400 foot pound at 1500 rpm. It then puts out:

400*1500/5252 = 114 hp

Now lets look at the diesel when it puts out 400 foot pounds at 3500 rpm

400*3500/5252 = 266 hp

Like Bubba297 says, this is how a dyno controller calculates horse power. It measures the speed, measures the torque and simply multiples the two values and divides by 5252.
BryceGTX

 

Some great answers !!!!!

To keep it simple I say that hp is impressive, but torque moves me.

 

SIMPLE

To keep is as simple to understand as possible, and this is an abstract but effective description

TORQUE is what gets you moving.

HP is what keeps you moving.

 

i agree

 

horse power may put holes in the ground but the torque got you in front