Why is torque important for off-roading, towing capacity, etc?
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Torque is a force multiplied by a lever arm distance. So when you’re tightening a bolt with a torque wrench, you apply, say, 100N at a distance of 0.5m along the wrench, that’s 50Nm of torque.
By contrast, power is force multiplied by distance per second. So if you imagine an engine attached to a brake drum, power being generated is the frictional force the brake applies, multiplied by the speed at which the brake surface is moving (this is how engines used to be tested and is the origin of the term Brake Horse Power).
When an engine generates a certain torque, it’s transmitted through the drive train, and the drive wheels convert it to a force pushing the vehicle forward. When towing or off roading, the peak motive force you can generate to move the vehicle at low speed, by generating torque, is more important than peak power, which is more applicable to the top speed the vehicle can achieve.
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