I couldn't disagree more... The engine in my Blazer is cammed so that
it makes peak power (horsepower) at 5100rpm. It's practically useless
in that truck. Sure, it can make power, but only at such a high rpm
that it'd be screaming down the road. Even with 3.73 gears and 31"
tires, I only turn around 2000rpm at 80mph.

The truck would run much better if it made it's peak torque at a much
lower engine speed. I would not have to turn it as fast. As it stands
now, there's no low-end acceleration, it runs incredibly rich at low
speeds, and the gas mileage is horrendous (11mpg on the interstate).

Horsepower is a derived value...it's not measured, it's determined.
It's used to describe how much work is done over a period of time. The
truth is, I have no need for that much "work" to be done in that short
of a time period. I need torque, and lots of it, and will need even
more once the lift kit is installed with the bigger tires.

Horsepower could not be any more irrelevant to me than it is right now.
Buying into the idea of more HP for the money is what got me into this
mess with my truck.

~jp

Doug wrote:
> Everyone is all hot on torque, but what matters is power. You just have
> to shift down to get the power you need. Look at the rock crawlers,
> they have gears so low they can go 1 mph at 5000 rpm! Power is what you
> need. Torquey motors give good power at low rpms, which is a kick I
> guess.
>
> Diesel fuel has more btus (watts) per gallon than gasoline. Diesels
> engines can be run at higher compression ratios because engines wont
> ping with the diesel fuel. I think just about all diesel engines are
> fuel injected (but so are gas now). Anyway, both work. Personally I
> don't like the noisy, dirty, stinky diesel (prefer gasoline), but they
> do work well. Make an engine with really big cylinders and big flywheel
> and you will have a torqy sob no mater what fuel you use.