See, this is what happens when people fixate on torque. Before someone says “bhp is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you push it” then that’s a fundamentally incorrect statement too.
It’s much better to think of mid-range punch rather than torque as torque is dependent on RPM. A diesel might have the same ‘torque’ value as petrol, but it has much less power – torque is force multiplied by radius. With a derv, you’ve more or less 2500-3000rpm less than a petrol, hence the petrol with the same torque producing more power.
Here's a good example: on a good day a professional cyclist can produce around 500NM of peak torque – that’s waaaay more than any FR diesel or petrol
Cupra can make – so why can they not overtake us or go faster? Simple…rpm.
Let’s say he can cycle at 60rpm – that means although his/her torque is high, his power is low – only 4.2bhp.
Another relevant example: the 184ps diesel produces its peak power (and torque) at around 3800rpm and with 350NM makes it around the 184PS mark. The petrol is at about 6100rpm and makes nearly 300PS….with the same torque value.
So why isn’t it quicker…because it has less power due to
lower rpm! In order to make use of it’s very narrow power band the derv has shorter ratios and the petrol longer.
The diesel ‘feels’ faster
lower down the rpm range as the peak power is
lower down the rpm range than a petrol – with the petrol all you need to do is drop and cog and you’ll have more power as you’ve increased the rpm.
Torque is cheap...power is King!
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