HP

[Vahagn23]

Hi, Just wondering does 18 HP make any noticabledifference? because I saw the sentra and it gets 140hp while the versa gets 122, so does it make any noticable difference?

[Ever Victorious]

It's all relative. It depends on many factors including weight, gearing, aerodynamics, etc.

In the simplest terms, a 100 HP car that weighs 2000 pounds should be pretty much as quick as a 200 HP car that weighs 4000 pounds.

[Great White Versa]

Another very important factor is WHEN the engine reaches its max torque/HP. I had an 01 Prelude (lost in accident) and then a 91 BMW 318. the lude got 200 HP and about 135 ft-lb where the beemer got only about 130 of each (very similar numbers to the Versa). I noticed only a marginal difference in how the two engines performed because the 318 reached its power band very quickly and maintained nearly peak torque for most RPM levels.

At high speeds and high engine RPM, of course, the Prelude performed much better. But for daily driving and for quick, fun city driving the Beemer was just as good.

[tweety73]

Another very important factor is WHEN the engine reaches its max torque/HP. .

Don't forget the transmission how this power is delivered de-facto to the wheelsjust today a local car magazine has published a story that it examinedthe actual power of some compact and mid-size cars . the test showed that the actual power was low in 15%-38% then the rated power , this are the result :Opel Astra 1.8 rated 140HP , actual 112 HP Huynday i30 1.6 rated 122HP actual 88Mazda 3 1.6 rated 105 actual 80Subaru B3 1.5 rated 105 actual 73Suzuki SX4 1.6 rated 107 actual 91 Skoda Octavia 1.6 rated 102 actual 75 (use VW engine ) VW Jetta 1.6 rated 102 Actual 63 (weird it suppose to use the same engine of the Octavia ) Ford Focus 1.6 rated 100 actual 78Kia Serato rated 105 actual 89Renault Megane 1.6 rated 110 actual 76Chevrolet Optra 1.6 rated 109 actual 72

All A/T

No TIIDA nor Corola , CIVIC , and Citroen C4 in the test

(The TIIDA and Renault has in Israel the same importer so it's not understood why the Megane could took the test and the TIIDA not)

any how according to the story - the power was measured directly on the wheels unlike other traditional tools that check the power on spinning wheelsand the main cause is the transmission, and the A/C , and the quality of the local gasoline they didn't indicate in what rev engine they achieved the maximum power that measured...

[Rockhound]

^^^ I'm not sure if that magazine thought they were running an expose, per se, but that's not really new information. The HP rating that every manufacturer quotes is the power the engine creates at the crank. Add in a transmission and then measure the power distributed to the wheels, and you're going to notice a distinct drop in power, especially with many automatics. As far as I know, cars have always been advertised with crank horsepower - it's not really dishonest, you just have to keep in mind that not all of that power will reach the drive wheels.

A typical dynamometer measures the power to the wheels, so you know how much "usable" power/torque your engine creates. For a 122 hp car like the Versa, I'd guess that maybe just around 100 hp actually gets to the wheels in the conventional automatic. I'm not sure how a CVT behaves in a power-delivery manner, if it would be more efficient than a 4-speed auto, in this case. Undoubtedly, the 6-speed Versas get a few more HP to the ground than their auto brethren.

[TheClevelandSound]

It's all relative. It depends on many factors including weight, gearing, aerodynamics, etc.

In the simplest terms, a 100 HP car that weighs 2000 pounds should be pretty much as quick as a 200 HP car that weighs 4000 pounds.

oh is that why ford f-350s are like 400 HP?

[Vahagn23]

oh is that why ford f-350s are like 400 HP?

must be lol, that car looks like its really heavy, plus its like construction type thing carries alot of loads, should have alot of hp

[tweety73]

must be lol, that car looks like its really heavy, plus its like construction type thing carries alot of loads, should have alot of hp

Rockhound is right , I guess it's not the HP rate like the torque and how it delivered to the wheels , i.e how the gearbox multiply it.. My TIIDA has 113 lb/feet @4200 RPM and 110 HP@6000 RPMwhile the Diesel version has 144 lb/feet @ 1900 RPM and max power 86hp @ 4000rpm BUT the DIESEL version with M/T will accelerate a bit faster then the TIIDA petrol with A/T . sure the top speed will vary -.. just like big trucks - who has "only" 500 HP but torque of 2300 lb/feet !!!and still has the ability to carry 25-30 Tons...

so the f350 not necessarily need high power engin unless it need to get a top speed of 130MPH and beyond ..