In doing so, we have broken down the top speed equation into two primary factors which are: Force: Represented in horsepower Resistance: Represented in drag Breaking it down even further: The factors affecting how much force your car has behind it are related to: * The total amount of raw horsepower you have to work with * The final drive gearing of your vehicle which combines your transmission gear ratio, your differential final drive ratio, and your wheel and tire package diameter And the factors affecting how much resistance your car has against it are related to:
The car's aerodynamic profile which is summed up with a single number called the drag coefficient which summarizes different parameters such as: o The car's frontal area (which determines how well the car penetrates through the wall of air ahead of it) o The car's height or ground clearance which When the total sum of the forces propelling the car forward, are exactly equal to the total sum of the forces holding it back, the car can no longer increase its velocity and reaches a steady state top speed. In general, top speed is physically a balance point between all of the forces acting on your car. However, before we get into calculating the amount of horsepower you need to reach a certain top speed goal, let us first look into some of the factors affecting your car or vehicle's top speed.
Horsepower calculators can help you figure out how much horsepower to reach a certain top speed figure with your car.
The car's aerodynamic profile which is summed up with a single number called the drag coefficient which summarizes different parameters such as: o The car's frontal area (which determines how well the car penetrates through the wall of air ahead of it) o The car's height or ground clearance which When the total sum of the forces propelling the car forward, are exactly equal to the total sum of the forces holding it back, the car can no longer increase its velocity and reaches a steady state top speed. In general, top speed is physically a balance point between all of the forces acting on your car. However, before we get into calculating the amount of horsepower you need to reach a certain top speed goal, let us first look into some of the factors affecting your car or vehicle's top speed.
Horsepower calculators can help you figure out how much horsepower to reach a certain top speed figure with your car.