I think thats a pretty sweet car. I mean its deffinetely strange to hear that sound coming from an old muscle car but i think its sweet none the less!

 

American car enthusiasts must've hated him for doing that.

 

That is exactly what I was going to say. I would prefer it to be a nice American V8 like it should be, but it is a great swap and damn, that guy did a good job.

 

A little something to counter the tasteful 1st gen F-bod(notice I didn't knock it, it's a killer swap).
http://www.powerfulcars.net/video08-...bo-engine.html

And your somewhat wrong Bean as I assume your being sarcastic in your water wheel example due to it being non-applicable to an automotive matter; if so, then don't observe the following. Torque is the basis for rotational energy and applications. And I'm not going to hash out the gearing calculation charts to show how and why torque or horsepower each can be king depending on derived ratios and power bands. Don't use abstract examples. Water wheels? If you want torque and horsepower, go take a look at the turbines in the Hoover dam or any of the nuclear steam turbines that power submarines and carrriers. Those... redefine magnitudes of torque. From the pressure of the hydraulic head and flow rate twisting those heavy stators(?) (I'm not too familiar on the design of a generator at the moment) to the torque to rotate the props to push enough water to propel a ~100000 ton ship at 30 some odd knots. Beats a water wheel if ya ask me.

 

Um, I know what torque is, but judging by your statements, you don't understand the physics behind what accelerates a vehicle. Torque doesn't move anything, its just some value, it can be adjusted by gearing or increasing/decreasing the force applied to the gears. Power moves the water to propel that 100000 ton ship at 30 some odd knots. It beats the waterwheel because it turns a lot faster than the typical 30rpm that a waterwheel does and doesn't require near the amount of gear-advantage that a waterwheel requires to generate it. And yes I was being pretty silly about the waterwheel; but it was a challenge to your statement and to others that seem to like to say "horsepower sells cars but torque wins races" when the horsepower is what wins the races too.

Go ahead and hash out why torque or horsepower can be king all you want Acceleration of a vehicle is determined by the applied power over a certain time period. You can increase that power with more torque (via gearing or more force) or increase the rpm at which it is generated.

Yes, motors with peaky powerbands without the correct gearing will end up being SLOWER than motors with a more broad powerband; but if the gearing is matched up correctly (their average power is the same), then they will accelerate identically. Your point of "having enough torque to accelerate you down the 1/4 mile" makes no sense. Torque is not doing the acceleration; it is torque's application over time that does. Given the correct gearing a 1000whp 2jz motor is going to run down the 1/4 mile just as fast as a 1000whp BBC.

These arguments have been run by several ME professors for insurance; they are correct.

 

I'm now kind of confused at what exactly we are arguing about...

Acceleration of a car is determined by the amount of the rotational acceleration that can be applied to the tires without spinning. Want to feel fast? Have loads of torque below 5252 and build horsepower beyond that,aka torque@speed. Which is why I say a 1500ft.lb. BBC will do the job nicely. Seeing as it'll have ~ 600ft lbs @ 2500rpm to offset the massive inertia moments. There's a finite amount of energy expended to run down a certain distance in a certain amount of time no matter which way you cut it. That's my point.

you can determine a cars horsepower at every finite point by knowing the torque at every finite point and vice versa. I never was arguing torque vs. horsepower originally.

Torque is a very real value. This is a very fundamental concept they teach in ME, from the moments application of it, to the understanding of internal moment loading, to the dynamics of twisting (which stupid-high torque engines do right off the line @ hook)

torque = I * alpha
power (horsepower) is the torque x ang. speed. or I * alpha * omega


p.s. I live eat and breathe Mech Engr. And yes; if you have enough torque to get down a 1/4 mile or whatever, then you have req'd horspower.