Series Land Rover (U.S.A./Canada)
Serving the Series 1, Series 2, Series 3 and other Land Rover communities worldwide.

Torque is a type of force which rotates or turns things. Old units are pound-inches or pound-feet and new units are Newton-meter. The Series Land Rover engine produces torque to turn the crankshaft. The torque is passed through the gearing and transmission to the wheels, but some torque is lost at each step along the drive chain.

Figures quoted for torque are always for an engine on a test bed and do not relate to a vehicle in motion. For a Series Land Rover on or off the road, as the engine revs increase in a particular gear, then the torque rises to a peak and then drops down. So low revs and high revs are not where maximum torque is. Maximum torque for many 4x4's is somewhere in the mid range of engine revs and often around 3/4 max revs. Standard Series Land Rover engines develop maximum torque at lower revs than most engines of the same period and this results in bettter acceleration, less gear changing at low speeds and the ability to maintain speed on inclines. These engine characteristics make the Series Land Rover more capable offroad.

Torque is not the whole story however, because the energy to produce the turning force, comes from the engine; the more power the engine can develop then the more energy it has to produce torque. The more powerful an engine the more torque it can develop.

(Torque x Engine speed) / 5,252 = Horsepower

It is the internal design of the engine which determines where maximum torque appears in relation to engine revs .

It is also important to note that the lower the gear, the higher the torque that is possible. This is why the steapest ascents should be attempted with the lowest gear and engine revs should ideally be at the level which produces the maximum torque. So for best offroad performance it is important to know the engine revs/torque curve for your particular engine. In general, power peaks after torque in relation to engine revs.