V
VetteGuy66
Guest
My buddy has a 96 with an LT-4 engine; what a fabulous car! I have a 66 427/390 (gross)HP. If we say my net HP is around 330, roughly the same as his (yes?), but the 427 has 460 ft lb of torque whereas the LT-4 has 340, how do these on paper differences manifest themselves when we drive? Granted he can out-brake and out-handle the 66 by inter-galactic proportions, and has a better aerodynamic profile, but that torque difference would seem to be large enough to cause a noticable difference.
Having driven down the road together I seemed to notice this: when at 40mph or so we'd accelerate to 70mph. I got the sense that my car did not have to "work" as hard, not that either of us got to 70mph appreciably sooner. Then again, is gearing and axle ratios a factor that can mess up the comparison I am asking about? I have a 4-speed, he has 6. Any "for dummies" books about HP, torque, gears, axle ratios, final drive ratio, etc. for a guy who can read these things in car magazines, but never took high school auto-shop. I was a nerd back then and took a lot of accounting and business classes. I took woodworking one summer school session, so I'm not scared of getting sawdust or grease under my finger nails. It's getting it off that bugs me.
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Having driven down the road together I seemed to notice this: when at 40mph or so we'd accelerate to 70mph. I got the sense that my car did not have to "work" as hard, not that either of us got to 70mph appreciably sooner. Then again, is gearing and axle ratios a factor that can mess up the comparison I am asking about? I have a 4-speed, he has 6. Any "for dummies" books about HP, torque, gears, axle ratios, final drive ratio, etc. for a guy who can read these things in car magazines, but never took high school auto-shop. I was a nerd back then and took a lot of accounting and business classes. I took woodworking one summer school session, so I'm not scared of getting sawdust or grease under my finger nails. It's getting it off that bugs me.