FAST and FURIOUS!
Horsepower and Torque Explained You really should buckle up for this one. The “king of the hatch” is back for a seventh generation showing and with it immense power, as if it needed to prove to the world once again why it rules. The ‘standard’ new Volkswagen Golf GTI produces 220bhp and 266lb foot of torque, which is sufficient to propel it from 0-62mph in 6.3 seconds (a tenth quicker than before) and on to a top speed of 153mph. It will arrive in Jamaica for the first time in April 2014. While pretty much everyone should understand the speed element of a car, the talk of horse power and torque might fly over some heads. However, horse power and torque are two very important considerations when buying a car. So DRIVE did some research and found the difference between horse power and torque in simple terms. Cars with high torque are powerful and strong; cars with high horsepower are fast, but ultimately it all depends on gearing. Torque Car Throttle explains that where horsepower determines how fast a vehicle can travel, torque at the wheels determines how quickly that speed can be reached. The greater the torque figure, the faster the acceleration. The easiest way to visualise torque is by loosening a wheel nut. Try to loosen the nut by pulling on the spanner at the same end as the nut (very little torque) and you’ll struggle to loosen it. Pull on the spanner at the end of its shaft (maximum torque) and you’ll loosen it quickly. As car scribe Ralph Hosier explains: if you weighed 180lbs and the spanner was a foot long and you had all your weight bearing down on the end of the spanner, then the torque at the bolt is 180lb/ft. Horsepower (hp) Bhp (Brake horsepower) is torque (the twisting force) multiplied by speed; how fast it’s spinning. Bhp is a measure of the actual horsepower the car has at the rear of its wheels while HP is the amount of horsepower that exists in the engine. Mathematically, 1 HP is the equivalent of 33,000 ft/lbs per minute. This is because three things need to be taken into account: 1) the amount of weight involved; 2) the distance the object is being moved; and 3) how long this takes.
Which is better: Horsepower or Torque? The answer to this question is dependent on your driving style. If you’re running a torquey, but thirsty V6 engine, you’ll find that you don’t need to down-shift quite so often when accelerating from lower speeds – this is because more torque gives you more available access to power at lower revs. This makes driving (generally) more relaxed. If your engine has little torque, you’ll have to down-shift a gear more often to explore the rev range to unleash the engine’s power. Gears are multipliers of torque. Cars with lower torque figures are generally cheaper to run, but the engines have to be worked harder to get up to speed. Let’s take these two cars as an example: Car A Engine size 2.0-litre Max power 150 bhp at 6000 rpm Max torque 140 lbft at 3500 rpm
Car B 1.6-litre 160 bhp at 8000 rpm 113 lbft at 6000 rpm
Imagine a drag race with the cars above. Having more torque, Car A will put down more power at the low RPMs (Revolutions per Minute) and will initially pull away from Car B. But because the Car B’s little 1.6 engine has more power than Car A, once it hits 8000rpm, Car B will catch Car A given a long enough runway. Torque is what gets you to the speed you want to get to quickly; horsepower is what keeps you there. So what’s more important to you: the thrill of getting up to speed, or the strength to stay there? Bottom line, you want to have both, which is why car enthusiasts will love the new Volkswagen Golf GTI even more.
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With great power, comes responsibility Hotter, faster and more powerful with plenty of horsepower and torque. It’s what makes the GTI, the GTI. The new look Volkswagen Golf GTI is set to arrive in Jamaica in April. Book your test drive today and remember to buckle up.
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