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The Truth About Torque: This Is What Makes a Car Fun – And Why You Love It

March 21, 2021 by Donna Biroczky Leave a Comment

Loving life in a ragtop sports car with torque: Mustang GT 5.0 convertible sports car

Putting in the car seats was easy The kids asked for a couple of extra spins around the neighborhood.; Photo: Scotty Reiss

Gear heads have made this simple idea complicated. But you get it.

Next time you’re at a car dealership and the salesman starts to toss around ‘torque and horsepower’ lingo, then pauses to mansplain what torque is, do this:
“Hold on for just a minute while I engage my torque-driven touch-up.”

via GIPHY

Don’t Worry. You Got This.

We hate it when people throw around technical lingo to try to confuse. Or to sound super smart when they are not. Torque is one of those terms that is especially debased. Like so many other automotive terms, you don’t need to be a car guy…..or a guy…..to appreciate torque.

You use it every day: it’s simply a twisting force that causes rotation. I may have used it last night to take the cork out of my wine bottle. It’s the force that propels your lipstick out of its case. It’s also the force that propels your car when you hit the accelerator.

Here’s an old saying that puts torque into practical terms:
Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car.
Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the back of the car.
Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall.
Torque is how far you take the wall after you hit it
.
          –Old racer’s creed
Related: Get your torque moving on the fastest highways in the country. Get the list here. 

Tips to keep car sickness symptoms away so you can enjoy the journey and torque.But What Does Torque Really Mean?

Forget the wordy equations that explain torque; let’s get to the matter faster:  Torque is basically the amount of power the car has for acceleration. So, if you say, “I wanna go fast,” a la Ricky Bobby, you need torque. The more torque an engine has, the faster it can propel itself. It can be confused with horsepower, but really, it pairs with horsepower to get a car down the road. Torque is how much the engine can propel, and horsepower is how quickly it can do it.
Example: I applied torque to the lid of the peanut butter jar last night. My kids were screaming impatiently so I added horsepower to open it FAST.
Lanae Jackson, multicultural marketing manager for Nissan, described torque to us like this:

via GIPHY

It’s that blow-your-hair-back feeling of thrust. And we love that, right?

What You Need to Know About Torque

Torque + horsepower is the secret to a car’s propulsion. But more torque and/or more horsepower isn’t necessarily the whole story. In the average sized car with reasonable acceleration power, torque is typically a similar number to the horsepower rating. The BMW 530i for instance, has a rating of 248 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque (lb., or pounds, being the amount of pressure, and ft., or feet, being the distance that pressure propels). 
A smaller, faster car will typically have less torque and more horsepower because it doesn’t need all that propulsion to get it up to speed. The Porsche 911 Carrera has 370 horsepower  and 331 lb.-ft. of torque.
Then, think of a dump truck that takes forever to get moving from a green light. It needs lots of of power, but it clearly does not have a lot of torque. But for the size and shape of the truck, more torque is what will make it move faster. 
Torque is what makes boxy vehicles peppy. The Volvo XC90 has more torque than horsepower to get its large 7-passenger frame up to speed on the highway: the top of the line model has 400 horsepower but 470 lb.-ft. of torque.  
Related: Hello, Car-Ed: Make Car Shopping Easy and Find the Perfect Fit
BMW electric cars

The BMW iVision concept luxury sedan. Image: BMW

Why Everyone Will Come to Love Electric Cars: They Rule the World of Torque

Ever heard of Ludicrous Mode? That’s Tesla’s top speed setting in some of its models that lets them go from 0 to 60 MPH in the blink of an eye. And it’s something that electric cars can do much better than gas cars and that won over the EV skeptics. That’s because as the current flows from an electric motor rotation is instant and ends up providing maximum throttle when the driver accelerates. As a result, electric cars naturally have more torque and, can be more fun. But watch out; their silence paired with the torque can be a fast, and perhaps, an unwelcome surprise.
Related: The future of cars is electric and we can’t wait.

via GIPHY

Now when shopping for your next car, you can ignore the salesman’s gear head razzle-dazzle. You can talk torque all day, but you’d rather get behind the wheel and drive. You’re welcome.
Gear heads have tried to co-opt the tech that makes cars fun, but we're taking it back. Starting with torque. It's more familiar than you think; here's why.
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Donna Biroczky

Donna Biroczky

Donna is a SoCal mom of four who lives by the motto that life should never be boring, so she writes about all things food, family, fun and fitness over on her blog, Dangerous Cupcake Lifestyle. Donna is an avid car girl who drives her dream car....as much as you can drive while sitting on California freeways.
Donna Biroczky

@DangerCupcake

Donna Biroczky

Donna Biroczky

Donna Biroczky

Latest posts by Donna Biroczky (see all)

  • Five Things I Love in the 2022 Acura MDX Sporty SUV - February 23, 2022
  • Five Features I Loved In The 2022 Audi Q5 Sportback Luxury SUV - February 9, 2022
  • Toyota RAV4: A Small SUV That’s Big On Adventure - June 26, 2021

Filed Under: She Drives, Technology Tagged With: Beyonce, fast, speed, torque

About Donna Biroczky

Donna is a SoCal mom of four who lives by the motto that life should never be boring, so she writes about all things food, family, fun and fitness over on her blog, Dangerous Cupcake Lifestyle. Donna is an avid car girl who drives her dream car....as much as you can drive while sitting on California freeways.

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