Horsepower and Torque: What’s the Connection?

Because both horsepower and torque influence a car’s overall speed, it’s easy to confuse the two. Their variations, together with the vehicle’s design, have a considerable impact in the real world of driving and hauling.

For example, the more horsepower an engine produces, the more torque it can produce. The vehicle’s axel differentials and transmission are how this “potential” torque is translated into real-world uses. This explains why a race vehicle with the same horsepower as a tractor may have such a wide range of performance. The tractor translates the horsepower into pushing and dragging incredibly big weights, whereas the race car uses all of the torque for speed through gearing.

Twisting the cover off a new pickle jar is another way to understand horsepower vs. torque. Whether or not the cap comes off, you are applying torque when you use all of your strength to open the jar. Horsepower, on the other hand, is only possible when there is movement. So you’ll need torque to loosen the lid first, and then you’ll need horsepower to spin the cover off swiftly with your hand.

A 1970s aero feature is making a comeback! (in a way)

F1’s Motorsports team started work on the 2022 car in 2017, and it quickly became clear that the primary modification needed to enable tighter racing would be a greater emphasis on ground effect to generate downforce.

Ground effect became popular in Formula One in the late 1970s, when cars were constructed to resemble upside-down aeroplane wings, causing massive levels of downforce as they were driven down the track.

Detailed Planning

A lot of information from the preliminary design will be available at the start of this stage. This data should be compared to the design objectives. The following are some examples of data from the preliminary design:

• Body form from preliminary CFD models and wind tunnel testing; • Overall dimensions, component locations, and packaging; • Power curve from engine manufacturer; • Tyre data from supplier;
• Adjustment ranges for weight distribution and CG position.

Individual parts will begin to be designed at this time. The component design should initially include a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). Several failure modes for a part (or system) are provided in this analysis, and the design team should arbitrate values to quantify the likelihood of a certain failure mode occurring, the likelihood of detection, and the severity of that specific failure mode (failure consequences). These three factors will be reflected in a score that indicates how important a specific failure mode is, allowing the design team to focus their efforts where they are most needed.

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