What exactly is the torque of a car?Old drivers tell you that more horsepower is not always better

Mondo Cars Updated on 2024-01-19

For those who know cars, the word "torque" is not unfamiliar. Before buying a car, you must first understand the engine parameters. For novice friends, most of them just look at the appearance, configuration, reputation, fuel consumption, etc., as for the engine parameters and so on, it doesn't matter, let's take a look at the most important parameter of the engine, torque. What is it?

Torque means more power and less power, which is related to how fast or slow the car accelerates. Although this understanding is not accurate, it is enough for car novices, at least not wrong. Imagine your car isn't powered by an engine. If you sit in it and use the pedals, how can you make the car accelerate faster?Kick hard!

The maximum torque you can push is the maximum torque of the engine. Horsepower or power determines how fast a car can travel. As you know, when you pedal a car, the start is the most strenuous and once you reach speed, it becomes less strenuous . But when the speed reaches a certain point, it can't be any faster. This is the maximum power you can output.

The more horsepower, the faster the top speed of the car will theoretically. How is torque generatedThe torque of our car engine is generated by the explosive force generated by the engine cylinder to drive the cylinder to do work. When moving downward, a force is generated, and the resulting force is applied to the crankshaft through the connecting rod, which drives the crankshaft to rotate. , which forms torque, also known as engine torque (engine torque).

However, it is important to note that the direct factor in the acceleration of the vehicle is not determined by the engine torque, which also needs to be amplified by the drivetrain. Multiply the engine torque by the gear ratio (transmission ratio, final gear ratio) to get the on-wheel torque that really determines the acceleration performance.

Wheel torque: The torque output by the engine is transmitted to the wheels through a drivetrain such as a gearbox. This torque is not equal to the engine torque, as the torque is amplified as it passes through the drivetrain. When the transmission system such as the gearbox is the same (for example, the gearbox has the same speed ratio, gear position, etc.), the greater the engine output torque, the greater the torque on the wheels.

The maximum torque of the engine is related to the design of the engine's air intake, fuel supply and ignition systems. At a certain speed, maximum torque can be achieved when the performance of these systems is optimally matched. In addition, it is also related to the power, torque and speed of the engine. The specific relationship is: power = k torque speed, where k is the conversion factor.

When choosing an engine, you should also weigh how to use it wisely and not waste existing features. For example, air conditioning in Beijing needs to be turned on in both winter and summer. When choosing engine power, it must be considered that it cannot be too small;If you just get off work on the city loop, then there is no need to choose a high-horsepower engine. When choosing an engine, try to be economical and reasonable.

The tires are the only place where the entire vehicle comes into contact with the road surface. Only when the wheel or tire gets a torque, and then divides this torque by the rolling radius of the wheel, we can get the force acting on the road surface of the wheel tire, and this force is the force that drives the car.

The essence of this conclusion is that acceleration depends on the "torque on the wheels", not on the output torque of the engine. Secondly, the engine is the heart, and it is the source of power output. It then needs to be transferred to the tires, which can only be achieved through a series of transmission system components such as the gearbox and the final gear set. This process is known in the professional field as deceleration and acceleration.

All in all, that's the importance of high torque. Although the maximum horsepower of this machine looks good, it's actually a mess in the normal rev range. And under the premise that the speed requirement is the same, the higher the torque, the lower the required cruising speed, because the "torque speed" can calculate the horsepower. If a single output has a lot of power, there is no need for multiple outputs to serve the same purpose.

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