Everyone's mad obsession with kw & nm

Hey bloke,
To me a car is a 4 wheel contraption, pretty low to the ground and which I have trouble getting into and out of (I'm 6' 2" and "only" 49 y/o). It is a vehicle which is okay on black top and good dirt roads, but nothing much rougher than that.

I call my Patrol a "truck" cos I want to....it's dressed up like a truck, has a gearbox which shifts like a truck's does (& weighs about as much as a small car LOL).

I'm not obsessed with Kw or Nm, but I understand why people are. The more of these commodoties available to the driver the better the vehicle's acceleration (that's a safety feature as far as I'm concerned); pulling power (for towing etc) and longevity prospects etc.

Mate, like most things on this forum, if there's something which people are talking about which you think is frivolous or a waste of your time to read etc.....simply steer clear of it....too easy.

Cheers,

Roachie

G'day to The Horse.

I am bit like Roachie only older and taller and more cramped. My truck being a GU that weighs well over three tonnes takes a bit of horsepower to start and stop. I would love a simple method of getting it going without too much cost and cost of resources too.

If i go faster though I end up wrecking something so suspension is the requirement for attention for my comfort. I do think you have a little licence for exaggeration when "half these pages" are in a "desparate bid to increase power", aslo the "......mad obsession...."

Yes, of course a 3" mandrel bent would be great and some more boost in the turbo, but that is for the sand dunes where propulsion can be useful as I know it can sit all day at the SA limit of 110kph. Never for one up-manship......

Go Offroad - you seem to be implying that off road prowess depends on momentum to get you up most slopes. While this may be true in a few extreme cases, what about steady as she goes through traction/skill and not brute force?
semi trailers ascend and descend ranges in summer that overheat some conventional vehicles - because the trucks are operating within their limits.
Check out power figures and tyre sizes in trucks 5 - 10 tonnes, you may be surprised. These vehicles can work brutally hard and are expected to last far longer than conventional 4wd trucks.

My brother owns a 1997 navara 3.2 diesel ute. When we tow our 5.25 meter alum half cabin boat at the first sign of a hill it dies in the arse. we have on numerous occasions pulled over on the side of the road to let people pass. A basic hill and we are doing 60 kph in 4 gear and when the road winds it leaves no space for overtaking so GIMME MORE POWER and I will be not only happier but the car owners behind will thank me also. So if people talk about torque and kilowatts it may be just that they dont want to be the people who hold up traffic.

Torque,Torque,Torque,Kilowatts,Kilowatts,Kilowatts,Sunday drivers need more power;-)

I love my Kw and Nm. It allows me to pass a road train without raising my pulse. Even with the boat on.

Topend

Having owned BIG trucks in the past with 14litre turbo cummins engins etc I do confess that I refer to my Troopy as "the car".

Too true Horse. Everyone should be made to drive a 2.2 diesel hilux for six months to appreciate how good a standard motor is today. Craig............

Maybe all this power has made some people woozy. Maybe we'll go the American way in oz and all end up driving 8Litre monster trucks with v10 engines. You know what they say..."the bigger the hat, the smaller the farm".