Horse Power & Torque & 30 Years

[VetteGuy66]

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.

 

[twiget]

Rob has a pretty cool article posted about the relationship between Hp & Torque

While I'm not an expert, I do know that gearing does play a big factor in how fast a car can get to a certian speed. I would think that if you where to try and run your buddy off the line, you would pull on him because of your 120 ft lb of torque advantage. Weather or not he would catch you? I dont know, I've never had the opprotunity to run my GS against a 427.

If you guys decide to experiment, be sure to let us know the outcome!

Jason

 

[VetteGuy66]

HP & Torque

Thanks Jason, I read that article and it was not as well written, ie. "For Dummies" as I had hoped. If me and my friend (Dana) ever find a safe environment with low police risk, we might experiment. I do not want to power shift or in any way abuse my car, so it may not be a fair comparison, plus, he's got the wide rubber to hook up his power... I could just spin the skinny 6 inch tires with my car's power. Motor Trend had an article some time ago, I just have a Xerox copy, which compared the 67 big block 435hp with a 97 Vette. They were very comparable in acceleration. Like my Uncle says: "You can't out-muscle muscle." :bash :bang Man, I love these grahics!