Why do Buick motors have so much more tork than HP? Example my 350wildcat has 220HP and 350lbs of tork. thanx pat p.s. i know my speeling is wrong.
Do not take the manufacturer's rating as Gospel, especially in the years around 1960-1970. The technical design of the engine in regard to why the Buick engines tended to make more torque than horsepower is something that I understand imperfectly, and I don't want to confuse you by explaining it in less than a clear way. Many debates over hp vs torque come up on other boards, around here we just like having the best of both worlds- lots of hp AND torque:grin:
Im curious to find out the answer also.... I would think the difference would have to be the Bore/Stroke ratio but there's more to it than that Im sure. Buick Heads flowed alot less than otherso No:
Flowed less, but with more velocity, if I'm not mistaken, that's why an 800 cfm carb is probably the smallest you want on a Buick 455.
i've heard of the port velocity thing as well. it can't be a bore and stroke issue, or even one of rod to stroke ratio. why? look at the buick 350, a very torquey smallblock (slightly undersquare at 3.8/3.85), and the 455, a very torquey bigblock (very oversquare at iirc 4.3125 bore and only .05 more stroke than the 350).
Short stroke/long rod (relative to other big blocks of similar displacement) equals less piston skirt to cylinder loading (friction) and faster piston acceleration (port velocity). Read the Car Craft big block shoot-out for one of the best comparisons of these factors ever published.
