WHAT IS BHP IN CAR

The letters in BHP in car means Brake Horsepower. It’s a standard of measurement used to determine the car’s power. It is generated by the car's engine before delivering power to drive wheels of a vehicle. 

BHP is a crucial concept in automobiles. It is a metric to assess a vehicle's performance. Getting knowledge about BHP lets you understand how fast the car can accelerate.

Also, you come to know how swift it climbs the up and down hilly roads.  Additionally, you can understand how a vehicle can carry a heavy load potentially.

 

What Does HP of a Car?

Horsepower (HP) is a measurement that is used to evaluate how fast force is generated from a vehicle engine. It's an output power.

Let’s understand how it functions.

Technically, the brake horsepower produced by the vehicle engine reaches the flywheels. Further it reaches to the car’s drive wheels during which, the power flows through components like gears, drive shafts, coupling and many other parts. Bypassing these components, finally, power reaches to drive wheels. It results in power loss due to friction with components.

There is 20% power loss in the automatic transmission gearbox and 15 % in the manual gearbox. The power that finally reaches the wheels can be called the Horsepower.

In a nutshell, Horse Power is a unit to measure actual power produced by an engine reaching to the wheels.

 

Importance of BHP in Vehicles

Let’s appreciate the reasons that show why it is important in automobiles.

1. Performance Gauge:

BHP is a concept that is all about determining the car’s performance and its efficiency. You can simply get to know the engine’s actual output power before losing it in friction. Knowing a car's BHP lets customers compare other cars based on their overall performance.

2. Speed and Acceleration:

BHP rating directly impacts the speed and acceleration of a car. The vehicle having high BHP makes the car accelerate immediately and at a higher speed.  Sports or racing cars are responsive and provide ultimate performance due to its higher BHP.

3. Towing Capacity:

Higher BHP vehicles have the potential to bear heavier loads comfortably. It’s not only significant for SUV cars but for utility vehicles too. For example, trucks having higher BHP can transport excessive weight.

4. Driving conditions:

Vehicles with higher BHP are considered as most responsive. Hence, these vehicles can smoothly run on highways and maintain speed on hills too. Plus, it gives you a safe ride under any driving conditions.

 

BHP Vs HP

Horsepower is one of the most discussed factors when it comes to shopping for a car. However, most of the people get confused between the Break Horsepower and Horsepower.

Let’s discuss the points to differentiate between BHP and HP.

BHP delivers more accurate performance results of engine power before losing it from various components in the vehicle. HP doesn't deliver the precise measurement of engine power.

Owing to producing the raw engine power output, BHP helps to identify a vehicle's performance accurately. While in terms of HP, 20% of the power losses in the event of friction. Hence, it does not deliver the appropriate calculation in the context of the vehicle's performance.

Furthermore, BHP is always higher than HP, because it is measured before the power losses during transmission. BHP is calculated on the basis of engine type with the help of a dynamometer. To calculate the HP of a vehicle, following formulae can be used-

BHP- friction loss = HP.

 

How is BHP Measured?

Let’s understand this with a real time example.

Every vehicle has a different BHP. It is calculated at the time of manufacturing a car. In every vehicle, the engine is attached to a machine called a dynamometer. 

The dynamometer applies a pressure on flywheels in the engine when it starts to rotate at full speed. Aiming to stop the engine, diameter applies a force on flywheels till it comes to a rest. It implies that the dynamometer applies a break on the flywheel. 

The amount of power that dynamometer applied to the flywheel is the BHP of that engine. Owing to the brake applied by dynamometer, make it called Break Horsepower.  

Briefly, BHP indicates how much-power the dynamometer has to apply to pause the engine from rotating. Its readings are displayed on the dynamometer.

Small cars with 80-160 BHP are suitable for driving in small cities. Sedans having 150 to 250 BHP can run on highways.

The sports car comprises 300 to 600 BHP giving best road performance.

Vehicles with 600+ BHP deliver extreme level smooth performance like Lamborghini.

TATA Naxon, and Mahindra XUV300 are some of the best BHP cars in India.

 

Impact of BHP on Car Mileage & Pickup

Let’s understand how BHP affects car mileage

Higher BHP means a higher powered engine consuming more fuel.  Generally, the higher BHP vehicles are equivalent to lower mileage but have higher speed and acceleration. It obviously results in immediate pickup.

Next, BHP affects the fuel consumption in vehicles. The engine works dedicatedly to produce more power. Naturally, it burns more fuel and therefore, it decreases the fuel efficiency.

To maintain a balance between BHP, mileage and pickup, vehicles having 100 to 200 BHP is an ideal choice. But it is for daily use purposes. To get better performance, 250+ BHP delivers quick pick up but lessen mileage.

 

Conclusion

BHP measurements are essential to know how well a vehicle can perform in different driving conditions. Better acceleration and speed always get considered to overtake, and run sports cars too. Apart, vehicles with higher BHP are said to be safe to carry passengers without any struggle. Overall, it's a key factor to compare the performances of different vehicles to get the best one.

 

BHP in Vehicle- FAQs

1. Does BHP Affect Car Insurance Premiums?

Yes, high BHP cars are riskier for reckless driving incidents, and high BHP cars often have costlier parts increasing repair cost which typically attracts higher premiums in car insurance.

2. Does Electric Cars BHP Rated?

No, electric cars are HP rated. Only petrol or diesel vehicles can be BHP rated.

The power in EV cars is measured in Kilowatts as well. Despite this, you can view the BHP rates used to understand its performance better.

3. How Torque is Different from BHP?

Torque is the “toughness” to take a load at a low speed. Whereas BHP is concerned with speed and performance of an engine.

4. How Can I Find My Car's BHP?

You can find your car’s BHP in manuals or brochures of the manufacturers. Besides, it is also available on the manufacturer's website.