Is more HP and a Lower RPM better?

Same goes for torque number... The higher the torque @ a lower rpm is good right?

Or am I reading this wrong?

i.e. 300hp@4800rpm good or bad?

v.s. 330hp@6400rpm

School me please.....

 

HP=(torque*rpm)/5252.

So if you have an earlier torque peak, you'll have an earlier hp peak. Larger displacement motors typically don't rev as high as smaller motors(general rule, there are always exceptions). So they peak earlier in the power band. However, larger displacement motors usually have more torque available throughout the entire rev range, so the exact placement of peak power doesn't really matter.

You're really getting into engine theory at this point. If you want more horsepower, you're pretty much limited to the following options:
1 - increase volumetric efficiency(more air, forced induction, etc)
2 - increase displacement
3 - increase revs

If you choose option 3, you typically shift your powerband up. The typical trade off is that by shifting the powerband forward, you lose power down low.

Regardless, we're just talking peak numbers here. In that, your question doesn't really make sense. For example, if you make 300hp at 4800rpms versus 6400, you're just talking peak numbers. More important is the average number you make over a large rev range. In that case, you must frame the discussion by the rpm endpoints; are you racing on the drag strip, road coarse, or daily driving? Each "profile" will have different characteristics.

 

I was basically camparing specs between cars when I noticed that some had around the came engine specs, but had different rpms.

 

Torque [lb/ft] and HP are the same thing. Hp is just torque multiplied by the ratio of measured rpm/5252. Obviously at 5252 rpm both are an equal number.

Hp is a made up name used by James Watt to sell steam engine powered pumps to coal mine. My engine can replace the 15 horses you keep to turn the pumps and it eats the coal you mine and doesn't poo anything that has to be shoveled up. Thus a 15 horsepower engine.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsepower

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