The World Australia Bookshop 4WD Links Toys Contact Us Return to the main 4WD page . Power and Torque. Torque is the rotational version of force. The more torque an engine produces, the more force it can exert at the rim of a flywheel of a given radius.
Power is force multiplied by speed.
The more power an engine generates, the more work it can do in a given time. The power and torque will vary through this rev range. Torque increases as revs increase from idle to a certain figure and then falls as the revs increase above this figure. Acceleration is proportional to the amount of force pushing the vehicle forward, so maximum acceleration in a given gear is attained when maximum torque is attained. Power is force multiplied by speed, and maximum acceleration is attained by having maximum propulsive force at the wheels.