on my fave section of road leading off the roundabout and on to the dual the S2000 was quicker on the exit but the Ferrari was able to make up for the defecit by pure grunt

having tracked both cars from a personal point of view my gut feeling is that on a circuit such as Silverstone there would not be much in it....the S2000 benefits from a superior gear change...the ability to brake later and lean on the ABS through a corner and generally be more agile....

I do think that 'torquey' cars can give a false impression as to their outright speed

 

If you've ever driven a TVR then you'll appreciate the value of torque. Torque means you can be lazy in the gears and still get around quickly. It's a kick in the back of the neck every time you prod the throttle even gently. Torque makes for a very fun drive and makes it very quick off the mark. BHP makes a fast top end and CAN if geared right make a very quick car. The S2000 can make the most of its peaky engine because it's got an extra gear, meaning Honda can give a good selection of close ratio gears to make the most of the engine and still have a couple of cruising gears.

Given the choice I'd choose torque over power (hell, I did on the bike) but the big torquey cars are usually very heavy, very expensive, very harsh, very skittish or in most cases all four because of the huge lump of an engine.

Choosing the S2000 was a conscious decision for me to suit the kind of driving I want to do.

 

Interesting thread, my car is weighs about the same as the S and has 200HP and 200Lb Ft of torque. I assumed that the S would be the quicker car due to the higher HP but when Blurter and I went for a drive there was nothing in it really. This was his post about it. I guess the extra torque compensated for the lower HP.

That said, for road use it

 

A very good summary of the phenomenon, actually. Turbo'd motors in particularl feel quick, but in reality good old NA can be even quicker in a car with with the same BHP.

I can't wait to come up against my mates S3 (225), which is a cracking motor by the way. He loves the lazy turbo pull, and I think he believes his car is quicker than mine. Certainly when I'm in it, it feels f*cking quick, but I know the figures and it's got the same power/weight as a Mini Cooper S, which is not quick at all. It's just the sensation the torque proivides.

This is why tossers in diesel passat's/golf's etc attempt to race people in clearly faster sports cars. They have decent torque which gives you the "push into your seat" sensation, which to most people means "fast car". But in actual fact it just means lazy piece of shit with a turbo on.

 

My daily driver is an Audi S4- with 306ft/lb and its what gives you impression of speed, it's what causes the owners of scoobs/evos to think that nothing could conceivably be quicker lol

Torque is pretty much unimportant in race cars- all about power and revs, although power is torque if you know what i mean

 

In an ideal world you want both, but given the choice, I'll take bhp over torque every time.

Diesels do not feel fast IMO, they just feel steady or very linear.

My Daimler has about 320 brake and over 350 lb ft of torque. It feels fast AND linear.

One of the reasons turbos give an impression of rapidity is the contrast when they come on boost.

I may have asked this before - is there a non-turbo petrol 2 litre with a higher torque figure than the S?

 

you dont drive with BHP, its Torque thats the big difference. its what pulls you/push's you along.
my little VX is on the 2.2 engine and its pretty torq'y especially when the car only weighs in at under 800kg's.

BHP is just a 'peak' figure, its not usable power through the revs. i'd be wanting a much stronger torque curve

 

Yup. My Westie is about 170/180lb torque 2.0 16v n/a and it's not in a particularly 'high' state of tune. Just got twin 45 webers instead of injection.

 

with the turbo stuff. My impreza felt quicker than my S does, but other than at low speeds it clearly wasn't. It was one of the last of original ones before they smoothed out the delivery and you'd get an almighty wallop at about 2500rpm which made it feel even quicker than it was.

I know lots of torque is more useful in the real world, but I've always preferred a screamer

 

should be compulsory on all cars! Sorry, I think I've got a carb fetish