Lexus: Horsepower vs. Torque
Makes no sense to me, especially the part about the ship engine having very little torque. Really? That's *all* they have, massive amounts of torque. Actually, cruise ships aren't even driven off of the engines, they're driven off of huge electric motors. The engines simply drive generators that power the entire ship, including its drive mechanism. Giant electric motors are nothing but pure torque. Torque is what moves weight. Torque is what pins you in the seat. Torque is way more fun!
The writer just doesn't have any clue about HP and TQ, how they work, and what are the differences between the two. Sounds like it was written by a 16 year old ricer high school drop out.
Pole Position
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,465
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From: Illinois
Makes no sense to me, especially the part about the ship engine having very little torque. Really? That's *all* they have, massive amounts of torque. Actually, cruise ships aren't even driven off of the engines, they're driven off of huge electric motors. The engines simply drive generators that power the entire ship, including its drive mechanism. Giant electric motors are nothing but pure torque. Torque is what moves weight. Torque is what pins you in the seat. Torque is way more fun!
This never made sense to me. It seems silly to value torque over power. You can make up for a lack of torque with appropriate gearing (and engineers usually do just that in performance cars). You cannot make up for a lack of power. Not without adding more power.
Now the torque curve... That is pretty meaningful.
Now the torque curve... That is pretty meaningful.
Anyways, this article is terrible. Ship engines don't have torque? Whatever editor approved this needs to be sent to physics 101.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...in-brazil.html
Pole Position
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,602
Likes: 89
From: Singapore
I'm predicting the top-of-the-line mainstream IS (read : non-ISF) will get Lexus' new V6 which will then migrate to the entry level GS the following year.
Then the new LS/re-facelifted LS will debut with an entry level V8 that will then make its way into the GS line as a V8-based hybrid ( in the new GS-F) as opposed to the current V6-based hybrid in the GS450h. This new V8 will be tweaked to also function as a stand-alone petrol engine in the new IS-F.
Then the new LS/re-facelifted LS will debut with an entry level V8 that will then make its way into the GS line as a V8-based hybrid ( in the new GS-F) as opposed to the current V6-based hybrid in the GS450h. This new V8 will be tweaked to also function as a stand-alone petrol engine in the new IS-F.
Lead Lap
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 717
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From: CA
I can. The rear tail lights are very sharp. They flow extremely well with the rest of the rear. Looking at the rear from dead on, the tail lights are reminiscent of the 4GS, but much thinner. They have the new "LED tube look" that the GS and ES have. Between them the chrome bar connects the two, but at each side of the bar that touches the tails, the chrome shoots down wards at outward 45 degree angles that look like daggers (trapezoid). The rear deck is prominent and reminds me of a Wald or M3 spoiler. On the lower part of the bumper, the reflectors are still part of the design but also carry a sharper theme to them. The diffusor area is grey/blacked out and the dual exhaust looks to be in a wider position. Overall looking dead on at the rear you can see its stanced nicely with a wide track for a small RWD sports sedan. Coming around to the side, this is where the tails differentiate themselves from anything we've seen. They swoop downward at a sharp 45 degree angle to a dagger point roughly 6-8 inches before touching the rear fender. Meanwhile on the opposite side the side sills elegantly sweep upward at a 45 degree angle as if they were linked. It looks great IMHO. Hope this helps
thanks for the post, this is great stuff.
exactly...
he mentions high end torque, well, high end torque equals horsepower...
the two are directly related - it is simply a mathematical equation to go from one to the other...
if a car/truck has more torque than horsepower, that simply means it has power down low, if it has more horsepower than torque, that means its powerband is higher up in the RPM range... if a motor will spin to it, every engine has exactly identical horsepower and torque at 5252 rpm...
there is a great saying that i've always found to be relatively accurate, that is that torque pulls trailers and horsepower wins races... in reality, torque will win a race too, just need a completely different gear set to turn it into power to the ground...
and the ship engines not having torque? lets look at the comparatively small boat engine I used to work on... made 435 hp, turbo V8 diesel... it also made 1000 lb ft of torque... big ship engines spin 600-900 rpm and make a million lb ft of torque...
he mentions high end torque, well, high end torque equals horsepower...
the two are directly related - it is simply a mathematical equation to go from one to the other...
if a car/truck has more torque than horsepower, that simply means it has power down low, if it has more horsepower than torque, that means its powerband is higher up in the RPM range... if a motor will spin to it, every engine has exactly identical horsepower and torque at 5252 rpm...
there is a great saying that i've always found to be relatively accurate, that is that torque pulls trailers and horsepower wins races... in reality, torque will win a race too, just need a completely different gear set to turn it into power to the ground...
and the ship engines not having torque? lets look at the comparatively small boat engine I used to work on... made 435 hp, turbo V8 diesel... it also made 1000 lb ft of torque... big ship engines spin 600-900 rpm and make a million lb ft of torque...
Racer
Joined: Jan 2007
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From: CA
If you think this Lexus ad is dumb you should check out their other ad where they "claim" to use oragami folders to build leather seats....exclusively for the exciting ES 350. Now that one will make you LOL.
Technically speaking, yes, you can have a high-powered engine that doesn't have much peak torque if it revs high enough, but that's not really a problem as far as performance goes. Just put in some shorter gears, and you now have all the torque you need at the wheels. And in fact, this type of engine may well have some advantages in that it's probably smaller and lighter. That's part of why super-high-revving engines with high HP-to-displacement ratios and low torque are used in F1 cars.
Last edited by RocketGuy3; Sep 19, 2012 at 01:50 PM.
Pole Position
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,465
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From: Illinois
This does nothing to disprove what I said.
Technically speaking, yes, you can have a high-powered engine that doesn't have much peak torque if it revs high enough, but that's not really a problem as far as performance goes. Just put in some shorter gears, and you now have all the torque you need at the wheels. And in fact, this type of engine may well have some advantages in that it's probably smaller and lighter. That's part of why super-high-revving engines with high HP-to-displacement ratios and low torque are used in F1 cars.
Technically speaking, yes, you can have a high-powered engine that doesn't have much peak torque if it revs high enough, but that's not really a problem as far as performance goes. Just put in some shorter gears, and you now have all the torque you need at the wheels. And in fact, this type of engine may well have some advantages in that it's probably smaller and lighter. That's part of why super-high-revving engines with high HP-to-displacement ratios and low torque are used in F1 cars.
The bigger and heavier a thing you have to move the more you value TQ. That's one of the reasons why container ships don't have super high revving engines with complex gearboxes. You start reaching technical limits on piston speeds and the number of G's the pistons have to endure when reversing stroke, etc... and that's in normal cars never mind larger things.