How much horsepower does a car need? Depends. But that's probably not the answer you're looking for, right? So let's get a little more specific.
First off, horsepower is a measurement of the ability to produce power (duh) for work. So when you're talking about car engines, horsepower refers to the engine's ability to get the car moving. It's a handy thing to know about, because it will give you an idea of how well a car can accelerate without you actually needing to slide behind the wheel to test-drive it. Plus, when people talk about a car having a number of horses or ponies under the hood, you won't be tempted to call PETA.
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One horsepower is equal to 550 foot-pounds per second (745.7 watts). A foot-pound is the amount of energy required to move a pound (0.45 kilograms) (of any substance) one foot (30.5 centimeters). We call horsepower horsepower because when large-scale agricultural and industrial machines were first being introduced, they needed a unit of measurement that people (people who were used to dealing with horses) could understand. One horse can produce about one horsepower of power during sustained activity.
Knowing that using just one horse to move a car would make for a really slow car, cars use engines -- and today's engines can create massive amounts of power. For instance, the 2013 Shelby GT500 Super Snake makes up to 850-horsepower. The 2013 SRT Viper makes 640-horsepower. And then there's the 2013 Chevrolet Spark, which makes just 84-horsepower. But which car has the right number?
If you just want to move the car one foot in one second, technically speaking, each of these cars has way too much horsepower. The Chevrolet Spark has a curb weight of 2,337 pounds (1,060 kilograms). To move that one foot in one second, you need just 4.24-horsepower. The Dodge Viper, with a curb weight of 3,374 pounds (1,530 kilograms), needs just 6.13-horsepower to cover one foot in one second.
Of course, a car that can only cover a foot at a time is pretty useless. As you need to cover more distance and do it in faster times, you simply need more horsepower. You also need more horsepower in order to keep accelerating the car. No one wants to try to merge onto the highway in something that keeps a steady pace of just one foot per second. That's less than walking speed. The more horsepower you have, the faster you're going to be able to accelerate, covering more distance in less time.
So how much horsepower is enough? Depends on where you need to go and how fast you want to get there.
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Whenever I'm drooling over performance cars, that practical (but annoying) voice in my head whines, 'But how much horsepower do you really need?' Well, it turns out I need much less than what any car on the market currently offers -- so long as I only want to go one foot per second. Relatively low-horsepower cars, like the Chevrolet Spark, are great for several reasons. They save on fuel costs and they work just fine for moving you (and your stuff) from point A to point B. But, when it's time to get from A to B quickly, it's more horsepower that gets the job done.
Related Articles
Sources
- Brauer, Karl. 'Horsepower: Gross vs. Real-World.' Edmunds.com. May 12, 2009. (Oct. 1, 2012) http://www.edmunds.com/car-technology/horsepower-gross-vs-real-world.html
- Chevrolet. '2013 Spark Models and Specs.' (Oct. 1, 2012) http://www.chevrolet.com/spark-mini-car/features-specs/dimensions.html
- Drivesrt.com. '2013 SRT Viper Specifications.' (Oct. 1, 2012) http://www.drivesrt.com/assets/reveal/docs/2013-srt-viper-spec-sheet.pdf
- Phillips, Drew. 'Shelby Announces 2013 GT500 Super Snake with up to 850 Horsepower.' Autoblog.com. Sept. 19, 2012. (Oct. 1, 2012) http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/19/shelby-announces-2013-gt500-super-snake-with-up-to-850-horsepowe/
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Drivers T-com Cameras Software
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Drivers T-com Cameras App
- August 22, 2019 2.9.8
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.9.8
Released
August 22, 2019
Type
ZIP
Filesize
3MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 controller
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Added several internal interfaces for particular sensors (J003).
- January 25, 2019 2.9.6
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.9.6
Released
January 25, 2019
Type
ZIP
Filesize
3MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 controller
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Added missing Tonemapping Auto property.
- May 4, 2018 2.9.5
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.9.5
Released
May 4, 2018
Type
ZIP
Filesize
3MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 controller
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Enabled tonemapping for 8bit video formats, e.g. Y800, RGB24 and RGB32.
- November 21, 2017 2.9.4
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.9.4
Released
November 21, 2017
Type
ZIP
Filesize
3.2MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Repaired not working J003 mono sensor pattern fix on particular video formats.
- This driver version is the last that works in Windows XP.
- January 9, 2017 2.9.3
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.9.3
Released
January 9, 2017
Type
ZIP
Filesize
3.2MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Added a pattern fix for J003 mono sensors.
- January 9, 2017 2.9.1
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.9.1
Released
January 9, 2017
Type
ZIP
Filesize
3.2MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Fixed the driver signature Code 52 error on new Windows 10 v1607 systems.
- January 15, 2016 2.8.9
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.8.9
Released
January 15, 2016
Type
ZIP
Filesize
2.3MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Changed certificates so that the driver can also be installed in Vista.
- November 9, 2015 2.8.7
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.8.7
Released
November 9, 2015
Type
ZIP
Filesize
2.3MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Fixed an error which can appear when using sharpness on older CPUs.
- October 20, 2015 2.8.5
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.8.5
Released
October 20, 2015
Type
ZIP
Filesize
2.3MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Fixed a bug which can appear on LivePause call.
- July 15, 2015 2.8.0
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.8.0
Released
July 15, 2015
Type
ZIP
Filesize
2.4MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Support of DFK ECU010-L34 with serial number property.
- Added tone mapping.
- February 17, 2015 2.7.33
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.7.33
Released
February 17, 2015
Type
ZIP
Filesize
2.4MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- The Auto Focus Onepush Running flag now resets correctly after the auto focus has finished.
- February 5, 2015 2.7.32
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.7.32
Released
February 5, 2015
Type
ZIP
Filesize
2.4MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Video format MJPG (2592x1944) of DFK AFU050-L34 camera can now be used.
- January 14, 2015 2.7.31
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.7.31
Released
January 14, 2015
Type
ZIP
Filesize
2.3MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Support for IMX236 based cameras.
- Support for RGB64 color formats.
- Several performance improvements.
- June 6, 2014 2.7.9.1152
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.7.9.1152
Released
June 6, 2014
Type
ZIP
Filesize
2.1MB
Requirements
- Intel Core i3 or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 10 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Added new properties: Brightness, sharpness, de-noise, saturation, hue and contrast.
- Added new property: Highlight reduction.
- Added new property: White balance temperature controls.
- Pixelfix for Y16 cameras now works as expected.
- VideoControl_ExternalTrigger (DirectShow property) can now be set as expected.
- January 1, 2014 2.6.5.1014
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.6.5.1014
Released
January 1, 2014
Type
ZIP
Filesize
1.9MB
Requirements
- Intel Pentium IV or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- Fixed missing auto-gain for DFK AFU130.
- Fixed focus when start value is out of auto_focus_range.
- Fixed problem with AUTOFOCUS_ROI_RIGHT: minimum possibly wrong.
- Fixed auto focus ROI not working for 21*UC cameras.
- Fixed crash on load/connect with certain cameras 22/72xUC.
- Fixed previous exposure settings not being loaded on reconnect.
- Complete reworking of internal property system.
- Fixed Windows XP driver load crash.
- Fixed drop counter to be accessible from DirectShow.
- Fixed Windows 8 problem with certain video formats needing converters with standard DirectShow filters (e.g. Y800, capturing to an Y800 avi file was not possible).
- Fixed a problem with Windows 8 usbxhci driver not allowing transfers larger then 4 MB.
- February 26, 2013 2.4.14.851
Device driver for all The Imaging Source USB cameras except the 33U, 37U, 38U and AFU auto focus series.
Version
2.4.14.851
Released
February 26, 2013
Type
ZIP
Filesize
1.9MB
Requirements
- Intel Pentium IV or similar, 2 GB RAM
- USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 controller (depends upon camera model)
- Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
- Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 (32 & 64 bit), Windows 8 (32 & 64 bit)
- DirectX 9.0c or higher
Changelog
- WHQL certification.