Ok, I'm a moron.....but
 

What is whp? This must be different from HP. Is is also different from rhp?

My car supposedly has 280hp. What are these 240 numbers that I am seeing?

Thanks,

Jeff

W = Wheel H = Horse P = power

The HP number from the factory is what the motor makes but not what the car puts to the ground after making it through the drivetrain.

the 240 is whats actually going to your wheels hence "w", Some horsepower is consumed while getting the car going. It is lost in the tranfer from trnasmission to the axels to the wheels...so you never make exactly what your car is advertised to do. This is true for all cars.

WHP = Wheel Horse Power

The true measure of horse power is what comes out at the wheels. You would lose power from the engine to the wheels, so the amount that get's cranked out, isn't the amount that you actually have.

Edit:

Damn, we all posted at the same time! So, as the other guys said!

Like the others have said WHP = wheel horse power.

RWHP is sometimes used when refering to rear wheel drive car.

Thanks for the reply. It's actually kinda depressing when you see the truth behind the numbers.

yeah manufacturers tell you the numbers at the crank because hp sells cars. Unlike you now, most people don't know the truth.

At least the current SAE net HP ratings are much more accurate than the old gross HP ratings used in the 60's. The gross ratings were taken on an engine dyno w/ and did not require things like the accessory belts (which sap power) to be attached. They may have used a water tower to keep the engine temp down too.

Now, I believe the engine has to be rigged up how it would be in the car, with all belts and stock cooling system.

RWHP = rear wheel horsepower
BHP = brake horsepower, seen at the flywheel
For AWD cars like the Mitsu Evo, the engine is rated around 276 hp but on 4 wheel dynos, they put out 190-200 hp to the ground.

yeah, its usually around 80-85% of the hp at the crank/ flywheel...

whp = 0.85 x hp (i love equations!)

They teach you that one in school Kia???? Cause I don't remember....that or I never payed attention. :p

front wheel drive cars generally have lower HP loss versus rear wheel.. so in this order

FWD% > RWD% > AWD%

lame terms: amount of crap your HP has to go through to get to the wheels