Could we please get this stickied. If everyone contributes to it with Frequently Asked Questions that would be cool. Please don't ask questions or take it off-topic.
I'll start with:
#1 It's VTEC, NOT V-tech, VTEK or any other varient
#2 Power is a derivitive of torque. anyone that says that one is more impotant than the other has no idea of what they are talking about.
You can easily convert torque to horsepower by multiplying torque by rpm/5,252.
When a graph
Quote:
...points out is that any engine has a peak horsepower -- an rpm value at which the power available from the engine is at its maximum. An engine also has a peak torque at a specific rpm. You will often see this expressed in a brochure or a review in a magazine as "320 HP @ 6500 rpm, 290 lb-ft torque @ 5000 rpm" (the figures for the 1999 Shelby Series 1). When people say an engine has "lots of low-end torque," what they mean is that the peak torque occurs at a fairly low rpm value, like 2,000 or 3,000 rpm.
Another thing you can see from a car's horsepower curve is the place where the engine has maximum power. When you are trying to accelerate quickly, you want to try to keep the engine close to its maximum horsepower point on the curve. That is why you often downshift to accelerate -- by downshifting, you increase engine rpm, which typically moves you closer to the peak horsepower point on the curve.
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From HowStuffWorks
#3 If you can't find info here, please use the search engine as a lot of things will be easily available
#4 Please don't ask "how fast will my car go if..." because there are a lot more factors involved - mostly the idea that you suck as a driver
More to follow I guess