I don’t understand how there could be a difference in power and torque if you are burning the max amount of fuel possible 100 percent of the time.
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You are not burning the maximum amount of fuel possible. Generally speaking, you are burning the ideal ratio of air to fuel (~14.7:1) all the time. The throttle can open and close, which varies the air intake.
The volumetric efficiency (V.E.), which is how much of the cylinder gets filled during each cycle varies. Therefore, the torque and HP vary along with it. Generally speaking, the V.E. is the highest at maximum torque RPM and is lower on each side of that point.
HP is just a math problem that relates torque to power and is the rate at which torque is transmitted.
About 180 years ago someone determined that a horse could lift 550 lbs. at a rate of 1 foot per second. This (550 lb ft/sec) became the standard for 1 HP. A horse can actually produce about 15 HP.
HP = TQ x RPM / 5252
The HP and TQ curves are for wide open throttle (WOT) performance.
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