for road and track driving? (Let's just call this a clutching at straws thread shall we )

210 bhp and 320lb/ft torque

or

280 bhp and 240lb/ft torque

which will be quicker, assuming similar weights, similar conditions and the same driver?

Quicker at what? Traffic lights? Hills? Twisties? Out of an airoplane?

Which part of "for road and track driving" implies falling out of an aeroplane?

Its a general question, which would you rather have? Torque or horsepower and why?

I think the 280bhp one will ultimately be quicker

The 210bhp with higher torque would provide more "instantaneous" power and pull, and you wouldn't have to worry about being in the power band as much as you would with the 280.

So, I guess if you're unprepared, the 210 will give you the instant power, but the 280 will give you more "buzz" but you'll have to go revving to get to it.

One thing I'm pretty sure about though is which one will be more economical to run :D

Which in turn means you'll be saving money to get you closer to 280 from the 210 engine. And of course, you'd be getting even more torque

You know the answer to this already and as I have no clue...I'm going to guess.

I suppose it depends on the type of roads. If there's more twisty stuff then the one with more torque.

If it's just long straights and some small bends then the one with more power.

If is every day driving I'd guess the one with more torque again.

2 to 1 in favour of the 210bhp/320ft torque.

One would be a diesel engine with 50% more torque than action then !

The other would deliver its power quickly and enjoyably.

Ducks head below parapet to avoid handfuls of used free gloves from the forecourt pumps.

Doing the sums, can you realistically get 210 out of a 1.9 SDI ? :confused:

And please excuse my gullibility (sp/wording?) in advance if I'm totally wrong

It was a general question, not a specific question. I was thinking modded Fabia v modded Octy.

Jon , I suppose it all depends on whether you want to drive a tractor or not !

If it were a "tractor", I think it would belong to the tactor pulling class

Simple, more horsepower = more friends and more girls

Simple' date=' more horsepower = more friends and more girls

[/quote']

Got to go with you on that one Dave.

This may be a bit like asking for a prawn sandwich in a kibbutz but the torque and rpm profile of a 'quick' diesel (as opposed to taxi,tractor motor launch,gen-set) would work better with a good six speed.....gulp

Automatic Gearbox

No I'm not joking, think it through..........

The diesel driving experince is marred by limited rev ranges and tiresome speedsapping gearchanges, a good fast auto box well matched to the driving requirements and vehicle weight etc could turn a light car with that torque into a fairly seamless missile. The arguments about driving experience have already been written out because its a diesel anyway.

(goes away to construct an argument to prove the existence of furry dice)

for road and track driving? (Let's just call this a clutching at straws thread shall we )

210 bhp and 320lb/ft torque

or

280 bhp and 240lb/ft torque

which will be quicker' date=' assuming similar weights, similar conditions and the same driver?[/quote']

Got any power curves for both of these?

Tracks usually mean higher rpms.... which I suspect is the 280/240 combo

Depends on the track... lots of corners.... good punch req'd?

Conditions.... damp... higher torque may struggle more on traction.

bill

Dutch Equivalent of the Cannonball won by a Diesel Superb, chipped + big tank

Cannonball run Europe Brabus Diesel Merc 3rd .04mph off target time, winner was .01 mph off, (more a tactical error) & the diesel lost several hours when the tired driver filled up with Petrol. So Diesels are No slouches !!

With you on that one Stuart. If I were to ever do a cannonball run, I reckon a chipped Fabia/Octy with a bootful of diesel tank would be fairly competitive.

[wonders what the mpg at 130mph would be...?]

Which part of "for road and track driving" implies falling out of an aeroplane?

Its a general question' date=' which would you rather have? Torque or horsepower and why?[/quote']

Oops, should have gone to bed earlier... Completely missed the first 5 words in your post. If only you could hand out reputation points....

To me horsepower sounds better than torque. Especially since everyone knows what it is when you are boasting down at the pub.

I'd say torque is about as irrelevant as bhp...if a car's fun to drive, it's fun to drive. The numbers are just there to keep accountants and Subaru drivers happy...

Rob.

If it was with the same driver, I would have to say the 280 bhp would win in the hands of a decent driver. Someone who can keep it in the powerband for the gears and drive it through the bends.

The 210 would possibly be faster in the hands of an inexperienced driver as the torque would get them out of trouble if they were in the wrong gear. So the answer would depend more on the driver than the car!