What does horsepower PS mean?
2 Answers
Maximum horsepower PS refers to maximum power. Below are the relevant explanations: 1. Maximum power: Power refers to the work done by an object per unit time; The higher the power speed, the higher the maximum speed of the car. Maximum power is used to describe the dynamic performance of the car. If this maximum is exceeded for too long, the machine will break down; Maximum power is usually expressed in metric horsepower (PS) or kilowatts (kW), with 1PS equal to 0.735kW. 2. Relationship with RPM: The output power of an engine is closely related to its RPM. As the RPM increases, the engine's power also increases accordingly, but after reaching a certain RPM, the power tends to decline. Generally, the highest output power in car manuals is expressed in revolutions per minute (r/min), such as 100HP/5000r/min, which means the highest output power is 100 horsepower at 5000 revolutions per minute.
Once while flipping through a car magazine, I discovered that horsepower 'ps' is actually the abbreviation for the German term 'Pferdestärke', which is conceptually similar to the old ox-drawn carts we heard about as kids. Early German engineers defined 1 horsepower as the force required to lift 75 kilograms of weight by 1 meter in 1 second, equivalent to the strength of a robust horse. Now when I see numbers like 280ps on a car, I understand it means the engine can deliver the power of 280 horses working simultaneously. That's significantly more potent than the average family sedan's 150ps – it zips past others on highways and climbs steep slopes effortlessly. However, greater horsepower usually means higher fuel consumption, so car buyers should choose based on their needs. For regular city driving, 200ps is more than sufficient.
