\n| 150 ft\/lb torque @ 4500 RPM<\/td>\n | 157 ft\/lb torque @ 2500 RPM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Take a look for a moment at those numbers. Notice anything… odd? The Mazda has a slightly smaller<\/em> engine… yet it develops more <\/em>peak horsepower! How can this be?<\/p>\nAnd look at those torque numbers… the Outlander develops more torque at lower RPMs. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a graph of horsepower and torque curves, so we can’t compare them like that, but still, it makes you wonder.<\/p>\n We’ve taken the Mazda3 for a test drive – it’s definately a spunky little car with lots of “get up and go.” Moreso, I dare say, than my beloved Outlander. And yet… those torque numbers continue to befuddle me.<\/p>\n Horsepower vs. Torque<\/strong><\/p>\nHorsepower and torque are confusing ideas – we all tend to think we understand them, but when you look at their definitions, you can’t help but feel a little confused. We often tend to think of more horsepower as good, because it makes the car faster, right? Well, horsepower is “work done over time.” Now try to work out in your head how being able to do “more work done over time” makes your car faster.<\/p>\n Same thing for torque – which few people even pay attention to. Torque is just rotational force – which gets really confusing when you realize that even if something is not rotating<\/em>, it can still have torque! For example, when you try to turn a stuck bolt, you’re applying torque – even if the bolt isn’t turning.<\/p>\nGiven that, you’d think that torque would be a very important number for cars – more turning force seems to imply that you could turn the wheels faster, right? Well, yes and no. You see, it’s not just raw turning force – you’ve got to consider that your car produces different amounts of torque at different engine speeds (RPM), and then you’ve got the gear ratio to consider (different for each gear your in, plus the gear ratio of your drive train). If you’re a casual car buyer, trying to figure all this out can give you a major migraine.<\/p>\n There’s got to be an easier, more objective way to measure things, right?<\/p>\n Power to Weight Ratios<\/strong><\/p>\nLooking back on the Outlander vs. Mazda3 chart, I realized that it may just be the weight numbers that are throwing off my perceptions – the Outlander is quite a bit heavier, due in no small part to it’s (fantastic) all-wheel-drive system. So how can we compare?<\/p>\n A little bit of digging on the subject turns up the term “power to weight ratio<\/strong>.” Ahhhh, here’s what we’re looking for!<\/p>\n\n\n\n| <\/td>\n | Mazda 3<\/strong><\/td>\nOutlander<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\nTorque\/weight ratio<\/strong><\/td>\n| 0.050<\/td>\n | 0.045<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \nHP\/weight ratio<\/strong><\/td>\n| 0.052<\/td>\n | 0.041<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Ah, now that’s a bit better. We’re still ignoring the final drive ratio (produced by the drive train, etc.), but this is much better for comparing power “at a glance.” And now we can see why the Mazda3 feels “zippier” – it’s power\/weight ratio is a bit higher than the Outlander’s.<\/p>\n Of course, this reveals another anomaly – the Mazda’s HP\/weight ratio is higher than it’s torque\/weight ratio, while with the Outlander the opposite is true. But it’s not really much of an anomaly if you look at the rated towing capacity of the two cars – the Outlander is rated to pull (much) more than the Mazda.<\/p>\n So there you have it – the means to (somewhat) objectively compare horsepower and torque ratings between cars, so as to get a sense for their performance. It’s not the total picture, and of course you should still drive a car before you buy it, but perhaps this will help you narrow down your choices (as it sort of did with me).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We’re thinking about getting a second car – Yay! We’ve been looking rather longingly at the Mazda3 5-door. But when I look at the numbers, I get a little… confused. Mazda 3 (2008 5-door) Outlander (2003 AWD) 2983 lbs 3461 lbs 4.8 inches ground clearance 8.3 inches ground clearance Fully independent 4-wheel suspension Fully independent… Continue reading Horsepower and Torque<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"webmentions_disabled_pings":false,"webmentions_disabled":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[102],"class_list":["post-1288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cars-and-trucks","tag-cars","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pimUj-kM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4561,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2014\/10\/17\/behind-wheel-2003-mitsubishi-outlander\/","url_meta":{"origin":1288,"position":0},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander","author":"Keith Survell","date":"October 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"To keep this \"Behind the Wheel\" series going I thought I'd mix things up a bit and give some thoughts on cars I've actually owned, as opposed to ones I've just driven for short periods of time. We'll begin this little mini-series with my current car, a 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"the amazing keithmobile-D","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.staticflickr.com\/3189\/2605679901_cb249f2e8e_m.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4816,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2016\/03\/14\/behind-the-wheel-2014-mercedes-benz-glk-250-diesel\/","url_meta":{"origin":1288,"position":1},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 2014 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 (Diesel)","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The little SUV from Mercedes that won the right to carry on the name \"Keithmobile.\"","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/keithmobile-E.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4962,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2017\/03\/12\/one-year-with-the-keithmobile-e\/","url_meta":{"origin":1288,"position":2},"title":"One Year With the Keithmobile-E","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"After a year of driving it, does the Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 still hold up as the right choice for the Keithmobile-E?","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Keithmobile-E in the early evening sun","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/03\/Keithmobile-E-in-the-early-evening-sun.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5071,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2017\/05\/12\/behind-the-wheel-2017-mercedes-benz-c300\/","url_meta":{"origin":1288,"position":3},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 2017 Mercedes-Benz C300","author":"Keith Survell","date":"May 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Yes, that's right - I'm reviewing another C300, this time a 2017 model. But is it any better (or even any different) from the 2016 I drove last year?","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/05\/2017-Mercedes-C300-front.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/05\/2017-Mercedes-C300-front.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/05\/2017-Mercedes-C300-front.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/05\/2017-Mercedes-C300-front.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/05\/2017-Mercedes-C300-front.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2017\/05\/2017-Mercedes-C300-front.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4645,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2015\/06\/15\/behind-wheel-1996-chevrolet-s-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":1288,"position":4},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 1996 Chevrolet S-10","author":"Keith Survell","date":"June 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Continuing the series of Behind the Wheel reviews of cars I've owned, we now move on to the predecessor of my current car... which was actually a truck. Specifically, a 1996 Chevrolet S-10 LS Extended Cab 2-wheel drive pickup truck. This truck was a lot of \"firsts\" for me: My\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2014\/10\/The-Keithmobile-C-in-2003.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2014\/10\/The-Keithmobile-C-in-2003.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2014\/10\/The-Keithmobile-C-in-2003.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2014\/10\/The-Keithmobile-C-in-2003.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4810,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2016\/03\/08\/behind-the-wheel-2015-subaru-outback-2-5i-limited\/","url_meta":{"origin":1288,"position":5},"title":"Behind the Wheel: 2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited","author":"Keith Survell","date":"March 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, the repair costs on my faithful old 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander started to exceed the value of the car - so it was time to start looking for a replacement. One of the cars I looked at rather extensively was a 2015 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited. I wanted something similar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cars and Trucks"","block_context":{"text":"Cars and Trucks","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/cars-and-trucks\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2015 Subaru Outback","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2016\/03\/2015-Subaru-Outback-300x180.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} | | | | | |