Quote:
Originally Posted by New2Roundel
This isn't 100% accurate though. HP may dictate the rate acceleration, but you feel torque. I've driven an e90 335d and it felt fast as hell. Pulled like a freight train. I have an e92 M3 which has way less torque but way more power. Yeah, the M3 is much faster from a stop watch perspective, but the 335d felt much faster---particularly under 4k rpms.
There's a very old saying in US which is relevant here: HP wins races, but torque sells cars. So from a real life perspective, I would say that torque can be much more important than hp, since most people aren't out there "winning races".
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No, you can't feel torque. You feel acceleration (regardless of what causes it), and like you say, HP defines acceleration. If a slower car felt faster, you just need to recalibrate your butt dyno.
For example, if you were to engage the clutch (press the gas, in an auto) while holding the brake, at a standstill, the engine would be applying a lot of torque to the drivetrain, but 0 power would be applied to the wheels (no energy dissipated/transferred by them)...and you wouldn't feel anything, other than hear or feel in vibration that the engine was straining.