4x4ord wrote:
Torque just seems to confuse people. Torque without rpm is useless and torque with rpm is power. Like you mentioned: my example of the lower torque engine putting more torque to the rear axle wasn't fair because the lower torque engine was more powerful.....that is the point power is what matters.
The peak torque figure in conjunction with rpm (which equates to power) and peak Hp describe an engine's pulling and driving characteristics.
Torque doesn't confuse me even a little. Part of my real job is spec'ing in motors and gear boxes for industrial applications. Make a mistake on a $40,000 gearbox and shut a plant down that charges off downtime by the minute and I'd better have my information straight.
As far as the "torque without rpm" statement, that's where a diesel shines. It doesn't have much of a torque curve, it's more of a torque line. A N/A gasser may make decent peak torque, but get even a few 100 RPMs away from that peak and watch it drop to it's knees.
The new generation of boosted gassers (Ford's Ecoboost, for example) do offer a very wide torque band at a very low RPM, kind of diesel like, actually.
