Why do big diesel engines and race car engines have such different horsepower ratings?
Let’s start by answering the question and then look at why the world works that way. The answer to your question has to do with the way the two engines are designed. Your 11 liter diesel engine has a long stroke. That means that the piston is traveling a relatively long distance up and down in its cylinder on each cycle. A racing engine, on the other hand, has a short stroke. The piston in a racing engine has a large diameter for the engine size, and it goes up and down a relatively short distance on each cycle. This means that a race car engine can run much faster — up to 15,000 RPM in a Champ Car engine — but has relatively little torque. A large diesel engine usually cannot get above 2,000 RPM, but has huge torque because of the long stroke. The torque is what lets your engine pull a huge load up a hill. So why does an engine with huge torque and low maximum RPM get a low horsepower rating? If you have read the article entitled How Horsepower Works, then you know that one horsepow
