Re: Horsepower or torque
old old saying, Horsepower gets the air time and Torque does all the work ... <br /><br />now, we are talking towing, right kids? a three hundred horse cummins will tow 80,000 pounds with EASE for half a million miles.<br /><br />why?<br /><br />cause its got 600 pounds of torque!<br /><br />take a 327/325hp out of a sixties corvette, cobble it up to bolt in where the diesel is, better yet a chevy 302 (yes virginia, chevy DID make a 302!) with 302 horses, and crank that baby up<br /><br />after you have burnt most of the clutch facing off the disc, youll say, goodness, this mighty 302 horse motor is a dog! nope, its not, bolt it back into that Z 28 it came out of and it will blow your doors off <br /><br />but it cant tow, no torque, and its peaky torque at that<br /><br />what its all going to come down to, in view of the emerging macroeconomy, is what can get the job DONE and provide economical transportation day to day.<br /><br />Dedicated tow vehicle, great, go big go strong you wont go wrong<br /><br />Family car (well, truck) that does 12000 a year dragging kids and groceries around, and 400 miles dragging the mobile money pit around ... different story, have to weight out the good and the bad<br /><br />My 5.3 crew cab Sierra WILL get 24 mpg ... at 47 mph, dont accellerate, dont use cruise, but do keep the AC on and the windows up.<br /><br />Towing the tinny it got 22 at 55 on the Parkway, with occaisional clips to 65 - 70, loafing at 1700 rpm<br /><br />On the other hand, its real mileage, in real world day to day city stuff is more like 14.7 ... and with 3 bucks a gallon coming like a freight train, that number isnt too great. Still, on a trip to the shore (or lake, or mountains, or whereever, a round trip of say 300 isnt going to be too much more expensive) I love the power and comfort of the thing, but if I didnt have a 3 ton boat to lug around id be looking pretty hard at the mid size trucks<br /><br />just my 2.49 and nine tenths worth! (price of fuel today, 39 bucks to fill from just below half a tank (indicated)<br /><br />
