| :You would also then find that if you had the same car which produced more horsepower through the range of RPM it was running within, independent of torque, it would get there faster and with a higher MPH. :I agree with you totally and trying to show that if all things are equal, higher horsepower over the range of RPM used will be faster. I really don't think we can ignore gearing (or redline), in modeling this unless the two hypothetical cars have the wheels connected directly 1:1 to the motor. Assuming gearing stays the same... Torque and HP are, by definition, *not* independant. If the hypothetical car is putting out more HP @ a given RPM, its putting out more torque. (Alterntively, it could be putting out the same torque but spinning faster, in which case we're back to gearing advantage.) You can either pull harder (more torque) or pull longer (balance & blueprint that VG within a fraction of a gram so that you can finish the 1/4 in third, yes I know this is not likely) Pulling "longer" again takes us back to the idea of gearing. Of course, since we're turbocharged, we have to worry about not having lag off the line, and then if were able to spin our motors fast enough, we're pushing the turbos off of the efficiency map at high rpm. If traction is perfect and we can launch with boost in the torque curve, you will always be better off making torque at higher RPM. Here's another way to think about it. Thrust. Pound-seconds would be the equivalent of HP if our cars were rocket powered. (yes, I know HP ft-lbs over distance/time, but thrust has no twisting component. You can pretend the rocket motor is attached at one end of a foot long rotor connected the rear wheels -- 1:1 to remove the gearing argument) Maximize lb-seconds over the time period the car is doing the 1/4 mile and you have a winner. (Yes, the initial extreme case presents a problem, but its mostly academic)
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00:44:21 01/20/04
