I’ve never pursued an accurate horsepower rating, because this number wouldn’t be very meaningful to me. Between one gas-powered car and another, horsepower can be compared apples to apples, so it’s a figure that is often passed around as an approximate rating for shafts, transmissions, clutches, etc. In reality however, driveline parts have no limit specifically for horsepower; the real limit is torque. There are some parts (clutches, flexplates, …) that also have an RPM limit, but it’s a separate issue.

With an electric motor, a horsepower rating’s irrelevance becomes clear. An electric motor can deliver full torque (in my case approx. 1100-1200 ft.lbs) at zero RPM. Despite this full torque, at a stall the motor is delivering exactly zero horsepower. Say I’m using a driveline component that has a torque limit of 750 ft.lbs (just tossing those numbers out there) and is “rated” for 500 horsepower. When I apply full power, the part will break and I’ll have done it with no horsepower at all. Big torque x zero RPM = zero horsepower. The driveline is broken before I even move.

Gas engines can’t do this, so the funny math above doesn’t really apply.

A real example. Strange claims their “Pro Iron” center section, the one shown above, to be “virtually indestructable”. It’s their strongest iron center section. Yet John Wayland has cracked two of them, with a car that only produces about 350 peak HP (but is competitive with gas cars over 600HP). The difference is the monstrous torque his motor makes, instantly off the line. Obviously, this has me a little concerned, as the Warp13 will produce a little more torque per amp than his motor.

As you begin to see the enormously different performance capabilities between gas and electric cars with similar peak horsepower, you begin to see how mostly meaningless peak horsepower is, as a measure of how a car will accelerate. The real measure is the torque curve — how much area is under the curve. More area = shorter 1/4 mile time. Once you start comparing powerplants with such differently-shaped curves, it’s the only way to really tell.

how much rwhp can the strange/lenco locker handle

Thanks
Leon
South Africa