Torque...what does it really mean?

[john warren]

torque is the measurment of force my wife applies to my ear when i have said something that she find embarising. it is directly related to whom is present.

[honda03842]

The following calculation is designed to show torque available for initial acceleration (the ability to start a load on a hill) and hill climbing. The people at Can AM RV suggest a value of 5 for serious hill work and at least a value of 7.

The following is the torque calculation for our tow vehicle:

1. Max available torque: 162 ft-lbs
2. First Gear Ratio: 3.53
3. Final Drive Ratio: 4.76
4. Tow Tire Radius: 1.2 ft
5. Tow Vehicle + Trailer Wt: 6400 lbs
6. Lbs per Ft-lb of Torque: 3.1 lbs of weight per ft-lb of torque

To get the lbs per foot-pound of torque you do the following

1. x 2. x 3. / 4. divide the result of this into the combined weight (5) of the tow vehicle and trailer = 6.

According to Can RV a value of 7 is acceptable and 5 great for mountains. The number for our tow vehicle came out surprising low which makes me suspicious. Any of you scientific types, please check my calculation

Since we plan to get a new tow vehicle in a couple of years I calculated the value for a number of different vehicles. It's an interesting exercise. As Andy Can AM suggests in his post though some larger vehicles have more torque, they also often weigh a lot and that reduces the available torque for the trailer load.

To prepare this article I slowly, really slowly, re-read the Can AM article I posted yesterday. There is tons of very good information in that article. When I get back to Ontario I intend to visit their store.

[Bonnie n Claude]

Sadly, Norm, as I'm sure you know, our gasoline is a wee bit more costly than in the USA. I'm still working on moving the world--or at least my little corner of it but guess although I'm quite good at speaking softly I haven't found a bit enough stick to move much of anything. I do, however, agree with Raz that the Edmunds site is a good starting point. High school science? Hmmm...I knew there was a reason I switched to stenography, typing, accounting and office practice. (Thank heavens I kept up on the languages components or I would never have been allowed to continue my studies past high school.) Shame on you, Darwin. I am very much like Winnie the Pooh it seems--a bear of very little brain--and quite pleased with today's understanding that the big stick turns the gizmo. As far as torque in relation to ears, I learned a lot about that in my childhood, John, as where I lived corporal punishment was alive and well both in the schools and in the home. Just never thought of it as 'torque'.

And now that I've driven everyone including myself to distraction regarding what torque is and how much torque is needed to pull a Boler, had best run along and get ready for our weekend company!

Thanks to all of you for the information and the laughter.