Horsepower is horsepower?

wilber1 wrote:

pnichols wrote:
Nickolas,

Thanks a lot for the Wikipedia link above explaining the methods for measuring dynamic torque - as is required in a running engine to report on it's horsepower output.

Just about as I had guessed ... it sounds as if it's a bit complex to do ... which can sometimes mean it takes a few $$ to pull it off, instrumentation-wise. I'm surprised that Ford includes a transducer arrangement in some/all of their vehicles that is able to feed dynamic torque data to after-market scanners for reporting of horsepower.

I can believe it in the Veyron .... but in a vehicle at Ford price-points?

I doubt they do but if a program had a lot of other data on the engines characteristics and efficiency it could probably make a pretty good stab at power output based on fuel flow and RPM. Not as good as actualy measuring torque but reasonably close.

I agree. Once the engine's efficiency is measured under different loads at various rpm the horsepower output is very simply calculated from fuel per time and the torque is just as easily determined from the fuel per engine revolution.