FocusCanada Forums

Just asking a question.
Unless your racing, which is a better thing to have horsepower or torque? and why?

torque....it is the only thing that puts you into the back of your car seat

Torque gets you going, HP keeps you going.

i guess if you are driving day to day on city streets, I would rather have more torque bc it gets me there faster. But if you were to drive on the highwals all the time its better to have HP. bc it keeps you going faster.

i think thats how it goes :)

oldeguy,Aug 1 2007, 09:32 AM Wrote:Just asking a question.
Unless your racing, which is a better thing to have horsepower or torque? and why?
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I've raced guys with more horsies than me (not much, ~20-30ish more) and I still win because they have no torque. I dont know the Math/science behind it, but I can tell that the 200+ torque I put down help me get 1-2 cars ahead right off the bat....after we get in the higher RPM's...were pretty much even but Im still ahead from the intital jump.

a freind of mine *says* he runs mid 13's with slicks in his EK civic, think its a b18 swap of some sort....he's putting out close to 220ish and I race him at 9psi...so Im putting down about 200-205whp, 220+torque at that level of boost. We go from a stop, I win everytime, we go from a roll, I win everytime, but not by much at all.

Another freind of mine has a 96 1.7 civic turbo...he also says he's running close to 220hp (doubt it) and from a dig, I put bus lenghts between us. :blink: :D

Forget how the saying goes...

"Horsepower sells cars, torque wins races"

I've have to agree with that statement.

I like that little quote myself...ill keep that one in mind

can somebody explain me then if my buddy's Type R hatch civic does 185whp and only 129TQ....and still doing 13's?

is that cuz of the weight of the car?

NikiterZTS,Aug 1 2007, 11:06 AM Wrote:can somebody explain me then if my buddy's Type R hatch civic does 185whp and only 129TQ....and still doing 13's?

is that cuz of the weight of the car?
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Could be his weight and a lot of things...

Is he running slicks?
Really good driver?
Condition of track?
Car is gutted?
etc...

I ran a 14.2 with 160whp, and 180-wtrq, and that was my my second time at the 1/4 mile track :blink: ...a s***ty track from what I heard.

Torque = acceleration
HP = top speed

And ideally you'd want to have bags of both ... but

IIRC it takes something like 30hp to keep a Focus moving at 100 kph ... and left unfettered a stock 130 hp Zetec will propel a Focus to 210 kph.

So the question is ... how much HP do you need for public roads?

For merging on highways, getting briskly away from a light, for highway passing, IMO it's all about torque.

oldeguy,Aug 1 2007, 09:32 AM Wrote:Just asking a question.
Unless your racing, which is a better thing to have horsepower or torque? and why?
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So Honda Civics are crap.

oldeguy,Aug 1 2007, 11:40 AM Wrote:So Honda Civics are crap.
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lol, no...there still one of the easiest cars to make fast for somewhat cheap.

Flofocus,Aug 1 2007, 10:30 AM Wrote:

NikiterZTS,Aug 1 2007, 11:06 AM Wrote:can somebody explain me then if my buddy's Type R hatch civic does 185whp and only 129TQ....and still doing 13's?

is that cuz of the weight of the car?
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Could be his weight and a lot of things...

Is he running slicks?
Really good driver?
Condition of track?
Car is gutted?
etc...

I ran a 14.2 with 160whp, and 180-wtrq, and that was my my second time at the 1/4 mile track :blink: ...a s***ty track from what I heard.
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ok
yes he runs slicks
average driver i guess
conditions are mostly good at St Thomas dragway
deleted rear seat ,spare and jack

ZTWsquared,Aug 1 2007, 11:33 AM Wrote:And ideally you'd want to have bags of both ... but

Agreed, I dont have my graph in front of me, but I'm still putting down something like 150ish trq at 5500rpm, then it starts to drop down, but the horsies goes up and up. :D

Quote:yes he runs slicks

slicks make a huge difference at the track when your trying to get traction on 4" on burnt rubber! ;) Type r + swap in lighter car + slicks = 13's ....easy.

I remember my Dad, who was a Truck Driver, telling me that an engine is no good if the torque isn't close to or more than the horsepower. I was reading an article this morning about the Civic Si with it's 197 Hp and 130 or something like that, of torque. If you guys remember, my sister-in-law bought one, which has now been written off in an accident, not her fault, and I went for a drive in it and just remember the buzzing of the hamsters.

lots of both? lol

ZED_not_zee,Aug 1 2007, 01:09 PM Wrote:lots of both?  lol
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Of course, but isn't it better to have 130 Hp and 130 Ft/lbs than 197 Hp and 130 Ft/lbs?

Based on everything I've seen, read and felt. For everyday use, TQ is your friend. If you want to track race the car, then HP becomes a much bigger factor.

Think of it this way. At Cayuga I beat a Honda Civic in an automatic Focus... Why? Because I had more torque than his motor and while his motor made lots of mechanical noise, motivation from it was noticeably absent :P

NefCanuck

oldeguy,Aug 1 2007, 01:39 PM Wrote:

ZED_not_zee,Aug 1 2007, 01:09 PM Wrote:lots of both?  lol
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Of course, but isn't it better to have 130 Hp and 130 Ft/lbs than 197 Hp and 130 Ft/lbs?
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In this case, the 197/130 combo would be my choice.

This is a bad comparision though....who would say no to an extra 67Hp? they both have 130ft/lb. ;)

Maybe the RSX S and Focus SVT would be better to compare. i think theyre close in #'s.

My dislike for Honda seems to be showing :unsure:

SVTs are only putting out 145 ft-lbs of torque, compare that to an RSX Type S that has 141 ft-lbs. Its where each of those cars make that peak torque that counts.

in my opinion it comes down to weight of the car and gearing of the transmission.