Working out overall car performance?

[saflyfish]

If i have the unladen tare kerb weight of the vehicle,the power in kw and the torque in N/m is it possible to determine between two cars which has the best overall performance?

 

[skeptic_SA]

I would say yes

 

[Messugga]

Performance in terms of...?

If acceleration, you need to take into account aerodynamics and traction as well as drive train losses (unless the power figures are on the wheels) and losses in terms of gearing and shifting.

 

[IziWhatNow]

Yes, with a drag race

 

[Messugga]

Yes, with a drag race

Not with only those metrics.

 

[Sepeng]

This sounds suspiciously like a "my 100km/h is faster than your 100km/h" question.
Car mag actually tried to do this a while back. They took all the specs of two cars, aerodynamics, drive train, gearing, and tried to predict the 0-100km/h time. They came close but concluded that you still need a real world test to measure performance.

 

[TheChamp]

Performance in terms of...?

If acceleration, you need to take into account aerodynamics and traction as well as drive train losses (unless the power figures are on the wheels) and losses in terms of gearing and shifting.

Best answer so far, pending further explanation from OP

 

[Gadget Man]

You can roughly judge the relative performance between two vehicles, however there are many other factors, e.g. the tranmission used, aerodynamics, etc.

Torque is good for towing or pulling a weight and how well it will sustain a speed on a hill (but you also need kWs).
kWs will give you an idea of how fast it will take off.
Kerb weight will also give you an idea, but a low kerb weight, low kWs can't directly be compared to a high kerb weight and high kWs.

Real life test is necessary.

 

[skeptic_SA]

You can roughly judge the relative performance between two vehicles, however there are many other factors, e.g. the tranmission used, aerodynamics, etc.

Torque is good for towing or pulling a weight and how well it will sustain a speed on a hill (but you also need kWs).
kWs will give you an idea of how fast it will take off.
Kerb weight will also give you an idea, but a low kerb weight, low kWs can't directly be compared to a high kerb weight and high kWs.

Real life test is necessary.

Add things like stripes on doors. Bootspoilers. M badges and there are so many other variables that come into play.

 

[Pox]

Comparing the torque-curves and weight will give you a much better idea than just power.

 

[Messugga]

You need to also factor in the torque and power curves. When they rate an engine at say, 200kW, that's typically the maximum power of the vehicle. If there's a huge turbo on the thing, the power curve will be heavily slanted towards the upper end of the rev range.

 

[qscwbt]

most cars will have tested 0 to 100 can you not search them.
option 2 use a vbox or torque app with obd2 reader and test it yourself