# Torque?

**URL:** <https://forum.kirupa.com/t/torque/179661>\
**Category:** random\
**Created:** [February 22, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/torque/179661 "2006-02-22T02:55:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ya3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e95f7d/32.png) [@ya3](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/ya3)\
**Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 2:55am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/torque/179661/1 "2006-02-22T02:55:12Z")

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A quick question for all my fellow Kirupian car enthusiasts. What exactly is torque? I know it’s ‘circular force’ or something like that, but what is it in the context of a car engine? From what I’ve read, it’s to do with the pistons turning and pushing within the cylinders, creating pressure and subsequently combusting the fuel… but um… I don’t seem to have a concrete answer.

So basically, if someone were to ask you “what’s torque?”, how would you summarise it **in the context of a car engine**? And what effect does it have on performance?