Engine ratings

[xtrailman]

What percentage of people who post on this site, actually know the true rating in BHP of thier cars?

I've lost count of the number that post BHP instead of HP.

Perhaps they just don't know?

In which case the manufacturers have suceeded.

Pretty much like £2.99, rather than £3?

 

[mcghee]

i presume by "hp" you mean instantaneous horsepower?

not to be confused with brake mean effective pressure.

;-)

 

[SteveW77]

Why would the average forum member be in the least bit interested, as long as it tows their caravan.

Steve W

 

[xtrailman]

Good point. So why bother posting the rating?

If it is of no interest?

 

[mcghee]

i dont suppose it really matters too much as long as were all comparing figures to the same standard.

i was told many years ago when i started building my own engines for racing: you can massage the figures how ever you like. the engine will only ever make what it makes.

 

[g_374369443]

I am left a little confused,by the original post.

First it says."actually know the true rating in BHP"

Then it says "number that post BHP, instead of horsepower"!

Not sure what the message is supposed to be, but BHP is what is used these days,and not horsepower,although the modern european term of measurement is KW, and 100 KW is equal to 136 bhp...

 

[Robert_374373903]

Wel to me they are differant as chalk and cheese, you can get ten 2.0 cars and they could be anything from 140 to 180 + bhp, so for me its what mine has ie 140 bhp 1976 cc.

 

[xtrailman]

g

Often a post will say " my 130BHP blabla"

When i know they are quoting the HP or PS rating.

The car is actually 128BHP.

Hope i have now made myself understood?

 

[joeby]

and PS is German for Pferde Starke = Horse power

 

[g_374369443]

g

Often a post will say " my 130BHP blabla"

When i know they are quoting the HP or PS rating.

The car is actually 128BHP.

Hope i have now made myself understood?

I see now what you are getting at.

 

[xtrailman]

All the confusion would be sorted if we used the KW ratings.

Nissan and Audi give engine ratings in HP and KW.

 

[GeorgeB]

As far as towing is concerned BHP is just a pie in the sky figure, what you really need/want is the torque figure & how early in the rev range is maximumun torque developed1

bhp is the sprinting ability of the engine.

Torque is its pulling power or grunt! which is far more important to anyone towing!!!!!

 

[Lutz]

Horsepower is basically torque x engine speed so what you're short on torque you can, in some instances, make up for in revs. It just means that if your car doesn't have the 'grunt', you make up by letting the engine rev. I used to tow a 1300kg caravan with a 1.8 Vectra. Uphill it needed second gear to keep with the traffic. The engine screamed away just short of the red line, but it never complained. Not that this was an ideal combination, but I just want to say that it can be done.

 

[xtrailman]

Yes George, i feel the same way.

But you do need BHP for acceleration.

Whatcar has a bad habit of reviewing new cars in brief, by only giving the BHP rating, and neglecting to give any torque figures.

And torque is the reason why we buy a diesel to tow.

 

[g_374369443]

As far as towing is concerned BHP is just a pie in the sky figure, what you really need/want is the torque figure & how early in the rev range is maximumun torque developed1

bhp is the sprinting ability of the engine.

Torque is its pulling power or grunt! which is far more important to anyone towing!!!!!

If this is going to be specific, then BHP is actually work rate and not sprinting ability.

All Manufacturers give KW ratings anyway, but the brit mags only print BHP because that's what the punters understand!

And as for top gear only going on about BHP figures, well that's easy too, because for them its all about power and maxing out.

I am not sure if people get the relationship between Torque and BHP! Even though regular someone will come up with the formula of how it works.

Otherwise you would see they work together! and ie acceleration?

Its actually just as important if not more so to have usable lowish rpm torque.

As for towing, and the importance of torque.where are the numbers? How much torque do you actually need?

Saying the more the merrier is as silly as petrol heads going on about absolute power? How much power do you need 200bhp 500 bhp! 1000 bhp? The last two figures are silly but cars do have them.

So the same applies to torque, and its importance, exactly how much torque is sufficient? And to say for towing bhp is just pie in the sky,is it really?No its not.Remember you are towing and that's as much work rate [bhp] as pulling power[torque].