It's all in the math - you're point is an interesting one Tom. I was thinking of F1 engines that produce peak hp in the 18,000-19,000 rpm range. Those are some interesting and peaky torque and HP curves, and the interesting part happens WAY above 5252.
y would someone want low end tq and hp..lets say 460 stroked out it will produce its max hp at 3500 rpms lets say it makes 700 hp .now lets say i have a 302 with the same amount of hp @ 7700 rpms .now were draging the qt mile and he rips through his gears and im still going through mine hes gunna fall off at the end because he has no rpm band left .while im still moving whos gunna win..oh lets say car are the same weight and every thing else
Well, first of all, a naturally aspirated 460 making 700 HP would make it at a MUCH higher rpm than 3500. So your example is out of whack right from the start.
Well, first of all, a naturally aspirated 460 making 700 HP would make it at a MUCH higher rpm than 3500. So your example is out of whack right from the start.
Torque is rotational force, horsepower is how fast torque is delivered.
When you rate an engine you mainly want to know the horsepower output, because any torque can be acheived using gear reduction. Torque is meaningless because an engine that produces 100 ft-lb of torque at 2000 RPM can have twice the gear reduction as an engine with 100 ft-lb of torque at 1000 RPM, and end up having double the torque at the wheels.
BUT, people like to run their engine at a low speed for less wear and more efficiency, rather than constantly pumping out maximum potential horsepower. So engines that develop good torque at low speeds are preferred.