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Concept of Horsepower in Cars
Long back in mid 90s when the automotive sector was established in India car models like the Maruti 800, Hindustan Ambassador, and the Fiat Padmini were the only cars that were ruling Indian roads. All the three cars were equally good and unique in their style, performance, and price segment. None of these cars had their competitors and they all rejoiced their individual success till the time when new and advanced cars started making their debut to India.
Today when Indian roads are packed with a bunch of cars from different segments the entire scenario that the market was rejoicing in mid 90s has changed. Now the interesting car game has shifted its focus to horsepower. The competition is gradually increasing between various car models purely based on horsepower.
Today when Indian roads are packed with a bunch of cars from different segments the entire scenario that the market was rejoicing in mid 90s has changed. Now the interesting car game has shifted its focus to horsepower. The competition is gradually increasing between various car models purely based on horsepower.
What is Horsepower?
In general term, horsepower is defined as the rate of doing work. When talking about cars, it is the rate at which car’s engine is able to perform its function.
The term horsepower was invented by the engineer James Watt (1736 - 1819) who is known for his extraordinary work on improving the performance of steam engines. According to Watt, one horse can perform 33,000 foot-pond of work in one minute. So, if taken an example of a horse raising pounds of coal from the coal mine, a horse exerting 1 horsepower can raise 330 pounds of coal to 100 feet in a minute or 33 pounds of coal to 1,000 feet in one minute, or 1,000 pounds of coal to 33 feet in one minute. The three different situations generate different horsepower. Hence different combinations can be used to have a certain horsepower as long as the product is 33,000 foot-pounds in one minute. Similarly, even car manufacturers can choose different combinations of fuels and technologies to generate the expected horsepower.
Horsepower can be converted into different units depending on the requirement. Some of the significant unit changes of horsepower are:
The term horsepower was invented by the engineer James Watt (1736 - 1819) who is known for his extraordinary work on improving the performance of steam engines. According to Watt, one horse can perform 33,000 foot-pond of work in one minute. So, if taken an example of a horse raising pounds of coal from the coal mine, a horse exerting 1 horsepower can raise 330 pounds of coal to 100 feet in a minute or 33 pounds of coal to 1,000 feet in one minute, or 1,000 pounds of coal to 33 feet in one minute. The three different situations generate different horsepower. Hence different combinations can be used to have a certain horsepower as long as the product is 33,000 foot-pounds in one minute. Similarly, even car manufacturers can choose different combinations of fuels and technologies to generate the expected horsepower.
Horsepower can be converted into different units depending on the requirement. Some of the significant unit changes of horsepower are:
- 1 horsepower is equal to 746 watts.
- 1 horsepower over the time span of one hour is equal to 2,545 BTU (British thermal units). BTU is the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of 1 pound of water at 1 degree F.
- 1 BTU is equal to 1,055 joules, or 252 gram-calories or 0.252 food Calories.
Difference between Power and Torque
Power and torque are two different attributes that are considered as one by many people. Power is the rate at which engine drives the car and torque is the actual twisting force at the engine’s crankshaft.
The best way to understand the actual difference between the two is to see the movement of the long lever attached to the engine output. The engine produces a certain amount of force to turn the attached lever and the amount of force that turns the lever is known as torque. At the other end the rate at which this force is delivered is the power.
In short, torque is the capability of the engine to determine its acceleration whereas power is a multiple of engine torque and its speed rating in terms of revolutions per minute (rpm).
The best way to understand the actual difference between the two is to see the movement of the long lever attached to the engine output. The engine produces a certain amount of force to turn the attached lever and the amount of force that turns the lever is known as torque. At the other end the rate at which this force is delivered is the power.
In short, torque is the capability of the engine to determine its acceleration whereas power is a multiple of engine torque and its speed rating in terms of revolutions per minute (rpm).
Power from Automotive Engine
Behind the wheel it’s difficult to judge power or torque generated at the flywheel because all drivetrains are not hundred percent efficient. The entire Power generated by the engine is not transferred to the wheel as some of the power is lost in the process of combustion. This gives different levels of efficiency to the engine as well provide different acceleration.
Most of the cars today are powered by a four-stroke-cycle internal combustion engine. In the modern era, many other types of engines like multi-fuel injection system, supercharged engines, and turbocharged engines are also used. Supercharged and turbo-charged engine deliver about 50% enhanced power. Fixed with these technologies even a small engine can considerably deliver higher power output. Thus, the power of a car varies from engine to engine irrespective of the size of the car.
Most of the cars today are powered by a four-stroke-cycle internal combustion engine. In the modern era, many other types of engines like multi-fuel injection system, supercharged engines, and turbocharged engines are also used. Supercharged and turbo-charged engine deliver about 50% enhanced power. Fixed with these technologies even a small engine can considerably deliver higher power output. Thus, the power of a car varies from engine to engine irrespective of the size of the car.
Measurement of Horsepower
To measure the horsepower of an engine hook the engine to a dynamometer. Dynamometer is a small automotive tool that is used to measure torque, rotational speed, and power of a car engine. The dynamometer places a load on the engine and measures the power that the engine produces against the load. It helps to measure the load that one specific engine can handle at varied speeds. It is very essential to apply the load to a floored engine or else the engine may explode. This small machine actually helps to measure torque and power can be calculated by multiplying torque by engine speed rating (rpm) divided by 5252.
The power that is generated from the internal combustion engine is commonly known as brake horsepower (bhp). BHP is the common power unit that is used to measure the power produced by cars in India. In international car market the same unit is transferred to HP.
The power that an internal combustion engine can produce is calculated by the following formula:
BHP = P * L * A * N
Where,
The power that is generated from the internal combustion engine is commonly known as brake horsepower (bhp). BHP is the common power unit that is used to measure the power produced by cars in India. In international car market the same unit is transferred to HP.
The power that an internal combustion engine can produce is calculated by the following formula:
BHP = P * L * A * N
Where,
- P is the mean effective pressure of the brake
- L is the length of its piston travel or stroke
- A is the piston area
- N is the rpm at which the engine can run
High Performance Cars
In the modern era, the true competition between all cars is based on its peak power. The cars that are tagged as high performance cars are the ones that produce a lot of power with respect to the weight of the car.
There is a strong belief that the weight of the car puts great impact on the power output of an engine. If the weight is more the engine needs more power to accelerate the car and if the weight is less it needs comparatively less power.
If the power to weight ratio of the car is high the acceleration will also be better. So, all that is required to maintain improved acceleration is to reduce the weight of the car to all possible means.
There is a strong belief that the weight of the car puts great impact on the power output of an engine. If the weight is more the engine needs more power to accelerate the car and if the weight is less it needs comparatively less power.
If the power to weight ratio of the car is high the acceleration will also be better. So, all that is required to maintain improved acceleration is to reduce the weight of the car to all possible means.
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