1.8 16V DOHC - Power output

[Agreeable Slick]

lmao ^^^^ 

Ideally you want as close to your horse power as possible on torque ratings. I.E mates 1.8T 335BHP/302lb/ft 

[Ali-Jay]

thats cos they are 4wd and need all the traction they can get. youll never get the power down on a small fwd hatchback with too much torque

You're obviously too young to remember but rally cars used to have just two wheel drive - back when men were men & sheep were nervous.........

Even in those halcyon days, works rally teams used to optimize their engines for torque not just BHP. To the point that for the Lotus Sunbeam, Talbot got Lotus to increase the size of the engine they were quite happily using in the Esprit & the Elite from 2.0litre to 2.2litre just so it would give a bit more low down grunt before they would use it in competition.

Cars that rely on sheer top end power are fine on the race track when youÂ’re going flat out around the same series of bends time after time. However, on public roads they are bÂ’ hard work to drive fast because their power band is so high up and so narrow.

Just drive a Civic Type R & a MkV GTI back to back on public roads if you want further proof.

[VeeDubGTI16v]

you cant compare a rally car to a road car, im old enough to know that
rally cars drop down to lower revs than road cars and thats when you need torque as i understand it, like coming out of slow corners

[AudiA8Quattro]

Power and torque are related.

horsepower = torque * rpm/ 5252

So if you have an engine that produces high torque at a relatively high rpm compared to a low rpm, then you get a more powerful engine.

END OF

As an example look at old diesel engines before pd's, they produced a pretty high torque figure of around 130-150 lb ft at around 1800rpm. But as torque quickly drops off after that, they are actually slow as a snail.
So NO a high torque figure on its own will NOT make a fast car, unless this torque is still being produced higher up the rev range like on turbo petrol engines.
VW pd engines are a general exception to this as they will produce 200 lb ft + at 1800 rpm, but as with using the above equation, these diesel engines actually have a HIGH POWER OUTPUT.
BHP figures don't lie, high BHP = fast car 

[VeeDubGTI16v]

Just drive a Civic Type R & a MkV GTI back to back on public roads if you want further proof.

i reckon the civic would win if the driver knew what he was doing

[Ali-Jay]

Just drive a Civic Type R & a MkV GTI back to back on public roads if you want further proof.

i reckon the civic would win if the driver knew what he was doing

On a race track maybe, but in real world driving I very much doubt it. For the very simple reason that unless you've got the engine spinning at around 5000rpm they go like a snail on mogadon.

[Neaty]

I had this exact argument with my mate before, he raves about typer r's but he hasnt even got a driving license!
and for the reason that he raves about them i hate them! in fact on Gran Turismo 4 i am gonna sell my civic in protest! 

[VeeDubGTI16v]

the golf would just be easier to drive quick, and you wouldnt wear the car as much, so would be a better car for the road and my choice, but still the civic would have the edge in a race because the engine revs like a race tuned engine. its not hard to keep the engine spinning at 5000 if you want to, its kinda like a valver but more extreme

[AudiA8Quattro]

uh huh.... 500bhp, 120lb/ft....... where are you going to go??? errr nowhere your going to melt your wheels to the floor. Power is nothing without torque. End OF.

Try looking it up mate, the formula is as i stated above.
Fool 

[Agreeable Slick]

uh huh.... 500bhp, 120lb/ft....... where are you going to go??? errr nowhere your going to melt your wheels to the floor. Power is nothing without torque. End OF.

Try looking it up mate, the formula is as i stated above.
Fool 

ha ha very funny, learn to read, and someone might listen.