User:IJB TA

Horsepower and torque in automotive applications

• Audi R8 5.2
  • 525 hp @ 8,000 rpm
  • 391 lb-ft @ 6,500

• Corvette Z06
  • 505 hp @ 6,300 rpm
  • 470 lb-ft @ 4,800 rpm

Flywheel torque chart.

If both engines are geared so that each will produce maximum power at the same wheel rpm, the vehicle with greater power output will have greater wheel torque than the less powerful vehicle at all speeds and in all gears. Why? Because power determines wheel torque!

Update: This is oversimplified, an engine with more power wont always make more power over its entire RPM range than an engine with less power, but it's often true that it will... or at least it was when I originally made this page. Recently, it seems that manufacturers have taken to filling out the low rpm range of an engine with more power, instead of focusing on peak power, but this is a fairly recent phenomena.

Wheel torque chart.

• Audi R8 5.2
  • 3745 pounds
  • 0-60: 3.3
  • 0-100: 7.6
  • 1/4 mile: 11.5 @ 123.1

• Corvette Z06
  • 3190 pounds
  • 0-60: 3.4
  • 0-100: 8.0
  • 1/4 mile: 11.7 @ 123.7

Update 2: Yes, the Audi is quicker because it has an automated manual, but the Corvette has a significantly better power to weight ratio, and what I was trying to show here is that average power output is really what matters. With a manual, the R8 is only a tenth of a second slower than the Corvette, which is remarkable, given the superior power to weight ratio of the Corvette. Really, that stands as proof of the superior performance of the R8 engine, due to its higher average power output.