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?

2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

2 Comments

kellygrant2mo ago

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.

7

fionafoster2mo ago

Just remember torque and horsepower are different things, but yeah those little motors really are impressive.

5