AnnDee4444
Well-Known Member
- Thread starter
- #31
I've had this thought floating around my head for a while now, and figured this might be a good spot to post it. I'm certain someone will tell me I'm stupid, but here it goes anyway. Most (car) people know that horsepower can be defined by the following formula: (torque*RPM)/5252. What I realized was that the '/5252' portion of the formula is just there to convert actual units of measurements (ft-lb*RPMs) to an estimated number of average horses. In my opinion the '/5252' is an archaic conversion that is no longer needed, other than to get numbers on the graph to be in the same general scale. The 'torque*RPM' is the important part of the equation (a.k.a. Work or Power).
With this in mind, 2 'P' (that's horsepower without the horse) could be obtained by either 1 lb-ft of torque & 2 RPM, or 2 lb-ft of torque & 1 RPM. Gearing could make those exactly identical speed and torque (ignoring gearing losses).
Torque and RPM alone are not what counts, it is the combination of the two (as long as the gearing can compensate). Obviously there are other factors that come into play in the real world, such as not wanting to operating at max RPM or excessive gearing, etc.
With this in mind, 2 'P' (that's horsepower without the horse) could be obtained by either 1 lb-ft of torque & 2 RPM, or 2 lb-ft of torque & 1 RPM. Gearing could make those exactly identical speed and torque (ignoring gearing losses).
Torque and RPM alone are not what counts, it is the combination of the two (as long as the gearing can compensate). Obviously there are other factors that come into play in the real world, such as not wanting to operating at max RPM or excessive gearing, etc.
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