Quote:
Originally posted by Red
Yes, basically you need as much energy per second as you can get to accelerate, but that energy should be the result of a higher torque. Not higher rpm.
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Yes you need more torque..... but it is
rear axle torque that matters.... not engine torque, that's what the gearbox is for. Rather than explain it myself, it might pay to read the following link (already mentioned in this message topic):
http://vettenet.org/torquehp.html
If you have engine A with 100Nm of torque at 2000rpm and engine B with 50Nm of torque at 8000rpm (or maybe it's the same engine), then what do you do?
You gear down the output of the engine to 1/4 of crankshaft speed, then run the engine at 8000rpm, the output shaft will run at 8000/4=2000rpm and the torque of the output shaft will be 50x4=200Nm.
Power wins because more power can be converted to more torque at the rear axle, providing you have a suitable gear ratio.
There are occasions where you don't have a suitable gear ratio. For example, a standing start (or maybe pulling a plow with a F1 car), but once you are on the move and you have a suitable gear ratio (CVT or overwise), then the answer to the question is "power".