Speed by Spectre Air FIlter Rating
Spectre Performance Air Filters are rated by flow capacity or CFM (Cubic Feet Per Minute). The CFM allows you to compare how a filter will affect ...
Automotive Troubleshooting : How to Interpret Car Tire Ratings
The Department of Transportation (DOT) number of a tire rating indicates when the tire was made. Find out how to interpret car tire ratings in ...
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Auto Tech: Horsepower and torque
Comparing horsepower and torque ratings between vehicles can be confusing, partly because when manufacturers tune their engines, they are after specific engine characteristics to match the weight, size and purpose of the vehicle. The numbers vary from engine to engine and typically only the peak ratings are given, which can also be misleading. Let’s take a look at what horsepower and torque really are and how they are measured. Horsepower is a measurement of the engine’s ability to do work. One horsepower can lift 33,000 pounds up one foot in one minute. Horsepower is measured over time. The more horsepower a vehicle has, the more mass it can move in the same amount of time, or it can move a fairly constant mass (the weight of the car) in less time. In simple terms, to get a vehicle accelerating quicker, we need to produce torque faster. Until 1971, horsepower was reported in SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) gross ratings. This measured power at the flywheel but without any accessories, exhaust or air filters. In 1972, SAE ratings were now given as net horsepower. This was with all accessories and components as would be found when the engine is installed in a vehicle. As a result, the power ratings were significantly lower. A couple years ago SAE announced a new J1349 power and torque certification procedure. This J1349 standard not only specifies new test procedures for measuring engine horsepower, but also requires that an SAE qualified observer witness and verify the actual test. This enables consumers to compare the horsepower of one certified engine to another. But there is much more to vehicle performance than just horsepower numbers. That brings us back to torque. Diesel engines typically have high torque ratings compared to their horsepower output. Some of this is provided by the higher compression used in diesel engines but most of it is created by the diesel combustion process. Diesel combustion starts when the fuel is injected...