Guess who joined the 2L club? [TQ vs HP]

[jason at scirocco.org (Jason)]

At 01:35 AM 10/15/2003, T. Reed wrote:
> > Remember that the 2.0 makes more torque off idle than the 1.8 does at its
> > peak.  There is a huge difference in drivability... the 2L is just a much
>
>Eh-whaaa?? Are you sure about this? Last time I checked the 2l torque peak
>was ~132hp at ~4000 rpm while the 1.8l torque peak was ~123hp at ~4250
>rpm. Yes, the powerband of the 2l is much broader but I can't see it
>making 123hp at idle!! That would kick ass, though!


Heya Toby,
         Yep, I'm sure about it.  Remember, horsepower and torque are two 
very different things.  Horsepower is basically torque multiplied by rpm 
(and adjusted by a constant).  Thus, the more torque you have at any given 
RPM, the more horsepower you make.  But at the same time, a lot of torque 
at low revs calculates to a lot less horsepower than a lot of torque at 
high revs.

         Once you know a torque curve, you can calculate the HP curve very 
easily using the following formula:

         HP = (TQ * RPM) / 5252
         [TQ here is in ft-lb, HP in SAE]


Here's a great primer on HP and Torque, and their relationship to 
gearing:   http://vettenet.org/torquehp.html

Jason