I’ve watched YouTube videos so o understand it’s to do with turning power but how isit linked to cars
In: Engineering
Take a wrench and use it to tighten a bolt. The pulling you do on the free end of the wrench is linear *force*, measured in newtons or pounds. The twisting (angular) force transmitted to the bolt is *torque*. If the wrench is a foot long and you pull with force equivalent to a free-hanging weight of 20 pounds, you are generating 20 ft-lbs of torque at the bolt head. This is the quantity measured by torque wrenches, where a fastener needs to be tightened to a certain precise degree, but not more.
The same principle applies to the drive axle(s) (or half-axles) in a car. With a bolt or nut you are tightening against frictional resistance until the bolt stops moving, but when driving a car you are spinning the wheels faster and faster, with as little resistance as possible. The more torque you apply to the axles, the quicker you can increase the speed of the wheels (ie, accelerate). Going 0-60 in 5 seconds instead of 10 requires more torque.
The torque number for a car is the max amount your engine is capable of generating under any circumstance. This peak amount varies with engine speed and gear ratio. High torque is what produces that satisfying pushback or “neck snapping” feel of acceleration. Electric vehicles typically have highest max torque at and near 0 rpm, so they excel at producing this feeling from a dead stop. Other cars with peak torque at higher rpms may feel sluggish off the line, but lively when you move to pass at speed on the freeway.
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