Measuring Horsepower and Torque Curves of a Car

We have developed a system to measure the motion of a car with very good precision. It requires a laptop computer and a standard sensor interface. The added parts are relatively simple and inexpensive, and can be connected to a variety of cars easily and quickly. Using this system, we are able to derive the horsepower and torque versus engine speed for any manual transmission car. Students enjoy the lab because it gives them an excuse to floor their car but it also produces remarkably good data.

Contents

• BODY OF ARTICLE
• System Description
• Experiment
• Analysis
• Results
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgments
• REFERENCES
• About the Author
• FIGURES