How much horse power do you need ??

RalphVa · May 20, 2016

Torque moves things far better than hp.

Our VW TDI has around 240 ft-lb of torque and only 150hp but it moves as though it had a big 6 or small V8. It's only 2.0 liter.

You can get this torque in a 2.0 liter engine with gasoline via a lot of turbo boost. This is how BMW gets 255 ft-lb of torque in its 2.0 liter in the 328i. It's the same 2.0 liter engine as in the 320i but with a whole lot more boost.

The trick to use of turbo is to get the boost on at a low rpm so there's no wait or lean spot with no turbo. That would be disastrous in pulling a load with a tractor or truck.

Ralph

Sysop · May 20, 2016

RalphVa said:
Torque moves things far better than hp.

Indeed. As the saying goes; Horsepower determines how fast you hit the wall. Torque determines how much of the wall you take with you when you do...

Copperhead · May 20, 2016

Agree. Torque is the key, and where you hit it in the RPM band makes the difference. To really be effective, a majority of the torque needs to hit low in the RPM band. That is why heavy diesels hit their peak torque at 1100-1200 RPM and hold it for at least 400-500 RPM before starting to drop off. I didn't need diesel for what I do in my Chevy 2500, but one of many reasons I selected it was because the L96 6.0L gasser not only had a great reputation for durability and longevity, it hits 90% of its torque at 2000 RPM and carries it on up thru the max at 4200 RPM. Now that is a nice, relatively flat, wide working range for a gasser. Combined with the 6 speed and 4.10 diffs, it is a pleasure to use. Not the whiplash producing stuff of something like the 6.2L in the 1500 series, but some characteristics that make it actually a bit better in a working 3/4 ton pickup.

dstig1 · May 21, 2016

More HP makes life easier, not possible. My Dad (RIP) told his story a million times: the Tomato Truck story. His uncle would take his truck to the farms to pick up tomatoes and other produce. He and his brother as kids would sometimes go along. There was a long hill up towards town. His uncle would put the truck in low gear, pull the throttle out and step out of the cab for a nice walk along side it while it loped up the hill. He said "we got the H*** out of the truck and walked too, as we didn't want to be in a vehicle without a driver"

It made it, but slow enough they could walk along side. Get there fast nowadays, or get there period, back then...

Tomtint · May 21, 2016

How much do I need ? ... All of it !

timswi · May 23, 2016

My 6.2 2013 GMC does a nice job of towing heavy loads albeit the max torque is made at high RPM's...Kinda sounds like one of those interior videos from NASCAR when climbing the mountains with my TT (9000ish#)--55 MPH at 4000ish RPM going straight up miles long hills. Not an everyday thing, so it's all good for me...It sure is fun running unloaded too.