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c/auto-mechanicsstella_scott96stella_scott965d agoProlific Poster

Just looked up how much torque a starter motor actually puts out

I was replacing a starter on a 2002 F-150 yesterday and got curious, so I googled it. Turns out a regular 12V starter can crank out around 150-200 ft-lbs of torque, which blew my mind since it's just a little electric motor. Has anyone else ever been surprised by the numbers on basic parts like that?
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2 Comments
kellygrant
Wow, that really surprised me too... I always figured a little electric motor like that was all torque and no actual power, but 150 plus ft-lbs is legit serious business. Definitely makes me look at those starters differently now, knowing they're basically tiny torque monsters hiding under the hood.
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fionafoster
Just remember torque and horsepower are different things, but yeah those little motors really are impressive.
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