tq or hp

[boringkid]

What do you think is more important , torque or horsepower

[norcaldude18]

What do you think is more important , torque or horsepower

Depends on what it is that you're trying to accomplish...

[IAMWILL]

Yea I agree with above. If you're towing or hauling, torque is much more important. If you're just going after raw speed, horsepower is more important. I like to think of it as horsepower is how fast you can go, whereas torque is how hard you can accelerate there. Not really the most correct way to think about it, but makes sense to me. Torque is all about engine displacement. Higher displacement = more torque. Turbocharges also greatly increase torque, although output can be peaky. And diesel of course always has more torque than power.

[norcaldude18]

Yea I agree with above. If you're towing or hauling, torque is much more important. If you're just going after raw speed, horsepower is more important. I like to think of it as horsepower is how fast you can go, whereas torque is how hard you can accelerate there. Not really the most correct way to think about it, but makes sense to me. Torque is all about engine displacement. Higher displacement = more torque. Turbocharges also greatly increase torque, although output can be peaky. And diesel of course always has more torque than power.

I couldn't have said it better. Torque is what sends you back in your seat when you accelerate. But the ability to go fast is attributed to the hp of the car. If I were towing a heavy trailer, I would prefer a diesel truck. Lots of torque with low rpms. If I wanted to drive fast on the freeway, probably a car with more hp. For a car that's fun to drive and fast in any situation, get one that has high hp and torque.

[Haz222]

Overall I'd find horsepower useful in future cars, but torque would be a lot more useful in certain situations.

[boringkid]

What if you are racing? I know if I was racing I would prefer torque

[JackOfClubs]

Depends on the racing. There's no point in having a load of torque and no horsepower. Its probably best to have similar numbers for both.

[iOS6]

Torque. My audi doesn't have a lot of hp but it's torqy.