How is it that a certain car with LESS horsepower is faster than another certain car with MORE?

Question

I'm currently driving a 98' Grand AM which has 150 horsepower. I'm about to get a 98' Acura Integra LS, which has 140 horsepower. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that the Integra will be faster than the Grand AM. How is this possible? Also, if the Integra IS faster, about how MUCH faster is it than the Grand AM?

Here are the cars' specs...

Integra:

Length: 172.4 in. Width: 67.3 in.
Height: 52.6 in. Wheel Base: 101.2 in.
Ground Clearance: 5.9 in. Curb Weight: 2640 lbs.
Acceleration (0-60 mph): 7.8 sec. Road Holding Index: .83 g
Base Number of Cylinders: 4 Base Engine Size: 1.8 liters
Base Engine Type: Inline 4 Horsepower: 140 hp
Max Horsepower: 6300 rpm Torque: 127 ft-lbs.
Max Torque: 5200 rpm Drive Type: FWD
Turning Circle: 34.8 ft.
2 door

Grand AM:

Length: 186.9 in. Width: 68.3 in.
Height: 53.5 in. Wheel Base: 103.4 in.
Curb Weight: 2877 lbs.
Base Number of Cylinders: 4 Base Engine Size: 2.4 liters
Base Engine Type: Inline 4 Horsepower: 150 hp
Max Horsepower: 6000 rpm Torque: 155 ft-lbs.
Max Torque: 4400 rpm Drive Type: FWD
Turning Circle: 35.3 ft.
4-door

Answer 1

i own a repair shop and you can have all the numbers on anything, and that doesn't mean any thing ,weight and gear ratio play the biggest role in deciding this on any vehicle,you can take a 4 cylinder car with the right gear ratio and less weight and run off an leave a car with 300 horse power,its not about power here ,its about gear ratio,s and weight,good luck hope this helps.

Answer 2

Maybe it has something to do with the weight to power ratio. Since the Integra is lighter it will be able to utilise the HP better.
Also, I could be wrong here, but doesn't the fact that the integra's maximum torque RPM is higher affect how the power can be used, and therefore allow the car to go faster whereas the Grand AM may have more pulling power but not neccessarily a higher top speed?

Answer 3

The Grand am will be faster, it takes the torque to accelerate faster..... the horsepower isnt reached until a higher rpm.... the Japanese cars have very little torque..... the Grand Am will smoke the Integra. Gearing has alot to do with it also, but torque is the major deciding factor here.

Answer 4

You have part of the answer in your stats - the lower horsepower is matched by lower weight 140:150 2640:2877
But the other part is missing: the drag coefficient. I would guess that a Japanese car from 98 is going to have a lower drag number than an American muscle car of the same period because the Japanese base cars used it to get mileage. For the same reason, the same horsepower in almost any car 20 years old will drive it to less top speed than a car sold today, the efficiency needed for fuel economy has partly come from lowering drag and this carries over to top speed well above highway speeds.
http://www.answers.com/topic/drag-coefficient-1

Answer 5

weight is a factor, rule of thumb for every 100lbs weight saved = about .1 tenth sec quicker. so the integra is about 200lbs lighter than the grand am so it should be quicker in short runs. If you consider top speed then weight doesn't make much difference it just takes the heavier car longer to get reved up to top speed. other factors come into play. how much quicker is hard to say but i'm with you on that i'd say integra should be quicker short runs..

Answer 6

By faster, I'm assuming you mean that it accelerates faster, not that it has a higher top speed. Acceleration is going to be determined by gearing, power to weight ratio, drag, etc. There's a lot more to it than just horsepower.

Answer 7

Torque and weight play a huge role in how 'fast' a car can run.