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The Mack Super Pumper was a locomotive engined fire fighter (2018)

(bangshift.com)
169 points mstngl | 1 comments | 03 Nov 25 20:37 UTC | HN request time: 0.353s | source
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xnx ◴[03 Nov 25 22:05 UTC] No.45804995[source]▶
2400 hp sounds like a lot, but a Model X Plaid is 1020 hp. I assume it couldn't output 1020 hp for as long though.
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FridayoLeary ◴[03 Nov 25 23:54 UTC] No.45805938[source]▶
torque is the more important figure. Which is why 13l truck engines output only about 600hp.
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foxglacier ◴[04 Nov 25 03:00 UTC] No.45807029[source]▶
I never understood why people care about torque from an engine when it's going to be connected to a gearbox that can convert the torque to whatever you want anyway. So why is torque a more important spec than power for an engine?
replies(1): >>45809469 #
1. bombcar ◴[04 Nov 25 10:38 UTC] No.45809469[source]▶
It's usually because there's an implicit "everything else the same" - and so if you build a car engine entirely focusing on peak horsepower you might end up with a dog because the curve isn't well suited to the rest of the design, whereas if you build it for maximum low-end torque you get a kick in the pants (and then strip all the gears or snap an axle).

Especially since people often consider "horsepower" to be things like turbos, etc that have their own spool-up requirements and result in inability to launch well.