Please help newbie with HP/Weight ratio

[ramcharger_440]

Is there a simple formula that will help me compare horsepower/torque to weight? As an example, I would like to know how a 450 HP engine would perform mounted in a 5000 lb vehicle compared to mounted in a 3500 lb vehicle. Many thanks for your help.

[dave571]

The only simple formula I can think of, is to use a horsepower calculator.

If you search for "horsepower calculator" on the net. You'll find a few web sites that have calculators, that can calculate horsepower,by giving weight and et.

Use a constant et(like 13 seconds) and play with the weights.

Or a constant weight and play with the et's and see how drastically the power requirements go up, from 12 to 11 then from 11 to 10.

It's an eye opener.

Keep in mind the numbers provided by these calculators are in wheel horsepower, in ideal circumstances.