accleration a function of TORQUE
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: long valley, NJ
Posts: 147
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My physics courses were not yesterday, I don't have all the formula's memorized but the basics of what I am telling you are true. Fact not opinion... please do some research before you try to tell me I am wrong again.
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I took physics a long time ago, but force=mass x accelleration (F=MA) still applies.
Or A= F/M. The greater the force, the greater the acceleration. In any gear, the force is maximized at the torque peak of the engine. If you shift up, the gearing multiplies the torque out of the trans, but the engine torque is lower, and the derived torque out of the transmission is less than the torque at the same output rpm (vehicle velocity). You can make it clear by thinking what happens to rear wheel torque when you shift to a lower gear-look at the torque curve and do the math: you're running a fixed ratio with a variable torque as you move along the torque curve, where will the torque at the wheels be max? At the engine torque peak. I know it's somewhat counter-intuitive, but it's the hard truth and simple physics. This does not mean we want to lug the engine, just that when you're at peak torque in any gear, the vehicle will have it's max accelleration at that velocity-if you're revving a gear past the point where the next gear would bring you to the torque peak, you're leaving accelleration on the table.
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phil hunt
Above from 2007
TomL Offline
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Decatur , GA, USA
Posts: 20
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Kirk, thank you for posting this question. I continue to be baffled by the importance a lot of people seem to give to the torque number. The rate of acceleration of a vehicle at any given speed is strictly a function of the available horsepower at that speed. So, in the absence of any other information, any choice other car other than number 3 (the 190 hp version) is going to lose.
Tom-its strictly a function of available (crankshaft) torque at that rpm. Period. However, horsepower is a better indicator of performance. This discussion is attempting to discern the possibility that looking at the shape of (area under the curve) the torque curve is germane to predicting the relative competetiveness of a given vehicle.