LUVTruck.com

I have been doing much research in my never ending quest to quench my thirst for knowledge. And i am having some frusteration with horsepower specs.
I have noticed that up until 1972 there was no real universal way that all manufacturers had to test and claim the vehicle specs by.

Basically i am confused with all the talk about brake horsepower, net hp, gross hp, and wheel hp.

What type do we use today, what did companies use in older vehicles. what is the best way to tell how powerful your engine is, how do engine hp specs compare with engines of the 90's until now?

Some outside info and knowledge to help clear any of this up for me would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Duck

Prior to 1972 engines were rated at gross horsepower, which was with no accesories installed except the ones needed to run the engine.

After 1972, they used net horsepower which was engine setup as installed in a vehicle minus drivetrain. That resulted in the lower HP ratings.

Brake Horsepower is basically dyno hp. Utilizing the dyno as a brake this would be basically the same as crankshaft HP or net/gross depending on configuration.

Rear Wheel HP is more actual conditions and is measure at the rear wheel on an chassis dyno. It is a realistic measure of the power of your vehicle as it accounts for power losses in the drivetrain

As for the power of today's vehicles comapred with older vehicles, you might be hard pressed to find a right answer. The newer engines are a more efficient design making more with less, but the manufactuer's numbers are always a bit skewed to favor them. Only way to really tell would be to put both cars in question on the same dyno under matching conditions and see.

thank you very much, having someone say iy normaly without a bunch of technical mumbo jumbo.

Thanks
duck

no problem...