Fact Check: The Cobra-Ferrari Wars

Dangerous Doug · #1 (**permalink**) 09-10-2012, 11:10 PM

Okay, in "The Cobra-Ferrari Wars" the narrator introduces the initial race-prepared Cobra (not the first race when the stub axle broke, but once Shelby's team got the car sorted out) with the Cobra power as "350 brake-horsepower".

Is that really the case? At that brake-horsepower wouldn't they have to be getting ~425 fwhp (or so)?

DD

ERA Chas · #2 (**permalink**) 09-11-2012, 05:57 AM

No you misunderstand. "Brake horsepower" is a term commonly referring to a dynamometer as a " water brake". That's how the engine is loaded for testing for a FWHP reading. (Torque actually, which is converted to HP by a conversion factor in the software.)

Dangerous Doug · #3 (**permalink**) 09-11-2012, 05:36 PM

That makes more sense in terms of the quoted horsepower. I must not be the only the only one to make this mistake as I've seen a number of people use "brake horsepower" interchangeably with "horsepower at the wheels".

Thanks for replying. DD