Torque is a function of horsepower. Torque is basically the ability your engine has to apply the amount of horsepower of the engine. More torque means that the engine doesn't have to work as hard to produce the same amount of power.

Think of it this way... Take my 3800 and a 4 cylinder and set them up with the same gears and HP but the 4 cylinder with half the torque... Running at 2500 RPM at 90 MPH, my car will barely have the gas pedal pressed down, while the 4 cylinder may be nearly on the floor.

Torque gets you moving, once the vehicle is moving, it's all about HP.

Both numbers are very important but generally speaking, HP is what people go by most because it is the "go fast" parameter of the equation... If you understand both numbers, then both have equally great importance

HP is what twists the chassis in a car (and many V6s have managed to do it...) but torque is how able the car applies that power.

 

I would disagree. HP is a function of torque. Torque is the engines ability to twist or turn something. HP is a measurement of work that can be done relative to time. You can have a motorcycle with 400 HP at 12,000 RPMs at 175 fl/lbs to torque you not going to twist a 2nd gen Camaro with that. A diesel truck engine may only have 200 HP at 2800 RPMs and 350 ft/lbs of torque it could twist a 2nd gen.

Maybe it would help to look at it this way. Look at a 600 HP BB. It reaches it max HP at 6500 RPMs; put a RPM limiter on it so it can not go over 5000 RPMs. You have effectively cut the HP down to about 475 HP. Sure you reduced the ¼ mile time but have you reduced the chances it will twist the frame? Since most frames are twisted during launch you may have no effect on the twisting of the frame. That is unless they have some way to launch at over 5K

 

Torque is defined as how much force it takes to move an object. Personally I look for torque more than horsepower because torque will get you to the horsepower faster as where if you have lowend torque than you are going to get smoked.

 

ok cool, gorn, me personally i havent seen a 3.4l or 3.8l dyno'ed so i wasnt sure about it

 

can't find an accurate link, i do have a friend that's done it before. if you haven't changed your "chip" you still have the consumer chip, to my knowledge there are 2 types of chips available, consumer and police. not sure of the legalities for it but it just makes your engine perform more efficiently. (I AM NOT COMPLETELY SURE, THESE ARE THINGS I HAVE HEARD FROM PEOPLE I KNOW)

Edit: i am buying a police chip ^^

 

So...What other way can I get more HP/torque????

 

Don't buy a chip. Especially if they advertise it as a "police" chip...

 

The reason I asked about the chip was because back in the 80s you could just add an adjustable resistor to the TPS sensor and "trick" the computer. It made the car feel a little faster but had not real effect on 1/4 mile time because of the WOT switch. I got a little confused because you said the intake design had some effect on it. You could also change the PROM (AKA the Chip) in the ECM and reprogram the Fuel map and timing curve.

What ever your chip is it will not work with your 96. You need a tune not a chip. There is no removable chip. There are a ton of performace based 3800 websites. These guys post this weekends time slips. If there was a "Chip" that worked with these engines it would be in a sticky. There is a sticky for FAQ and one of the topics is where to start moding. Note there is a complete lack of a "chip"

If you want more HP figure a budget do as many mods as you can afford then get the car tuned for those modes. See the FAQ.

 

Intake, Exhaust, Gears, and a good Tune

 

I knew it was one of those. I couldn't remember if HP was a function of torque or vice versa... Been too long since Physics class