When a car manufacturer advertises that a V-8 engine delivers 250 horsepower, what does this mean? Technically, the term horsepower means the capability for doing so much work in so much time. One horsepower is defined as 33,000 foot-pounds of work per minute. So, the power necessary to lift 33,000 pounds one foot in one minute is equivalent to one horsepower. Suppose you weigh 200 pounds fully clothed. If you were to climb a stairway 10 feet high in slightly over 3 1/2 seconds, you would be developing about one horsepower.
Advertised horsepower, the figure you find in brochures and tabulations of data, is measured at the maximum power output point on a curve of horsepower vs. engine rpm. Normally, power output increases with engine speed up to a maximum. At higher speeds, the friction and flow losses cause power output to fall off. However, a car that advertises 250 horsepower may deliver only about half of that power to the rear wheels. Where does the rest of the power go? When rated for output, an engine is stripped. Accessories and power train elements subtract from this maximum power until, by the time the power reaches the driving wheels, half of the available engine power has been drained away. Some of the power-robbing elements include:
- Dual mufflers reduce power output by roughly 7 per cent at high speed – single mufflers by roughly 14 to 15 per cent.
- Air cleaner subtracts another 3 per cent at high speed. Muffler and air cleaner losses are proportionately less at low speeds.
- Heat-riser valve to speed warm up it takes its bit out of the horsepower pool to the tune of 2 to 5 per cent.
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