We know that brands in some cases – not all – like to do a little “creative marketing”. By "creative marketing" is understood to exacerbate the qualities and specifications of your products in order to enhance it. As we know, one of the factors that most influence car purchases in some markets is the maximum power numbers, Portugal is a perfect example of that. So it is relatively common for brands to stretch these values a little in order to attract more customers to the product.
In view of the numbers presented by BMW for its latest M5, PP Perfomance, independent preparer of power kits, was looking forward to removing the stubbornness from the numbers presented by the Bavarian brand and submitted the super saloon to a power test on its seat (a MAHA LPS 3000 dyno).
Result? The M5 registered a healthy 444 horsepower at the wheel, a figure that translates to 573.7 at the crankshaft, or 13hp more than BMW advertises. Not bad! The torque value also surpasses what the brand discloses, 721Nm against the conservative 680Nm announced.
For those who are less used to concepts such as power at the wheel or crankshaft, it will be worth giving a brief explanation. the concept of crankshaft power expresses the power that the engine actually “delivers” to the transmission. While the concept of power to the wheel it expresses the amount of power that actually reaches the asphalt through the tires. The power differential between one and the other is equivalent to the power dissipated or lost between the crankshaft and the wheels, in the case of the M5 it is around 130hp.
Just so that you have a better idea of the total losses of a combustion engine (mechanical, thermal and inertial losses) I can give you the example of the Bugatti Veyron. The 16-cylinder engine in W and 16.4 liters of capacity develops a total of 3200hp, of which only 1001hp reach the transmission. The rest dissipates through heat and internal inertia.
Text: Guilherme Ferreira da Costa