Acura and Lexus caught fudging horsepower figures?

Or the more politically correct way of saying it is they 're-stated' horsepower figures...

For years auto scribes have questioned why Japanese V-6s, such as the 270 horsepower motor in the 2005 Acura TL sedan, seemed more powerful than many American V-8s. Now we have some answers. For 2006, Acura claims only 258 hp for the TL's 3.2-liter V-6.

Nameplates such as Acura and the Lexus division of Toyota Motor (nyse: TM - news - people ) have quietly restated figures on a number of models. For 2006, the high-end Lexus LS V-8 sedan, the 430, for example, drops to 283 horsepower from 290, while the V-6 in the Lexus RX 330 fell to 223 hp from 230. In contrast, numbers went up a bit for some motors from Pontiac and Buick.

*I thought we were called Auto Spies, not Auto Scribes ;)

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thegriffon - 9/29/2005 1:21:54 PM

+1 Boost

It seems American Honda and Toyota Motor Sales have for many years mistaken Japanese SAE "metric" hp for US SAE US hp (1 hp = 1.01387 PS, or "metric" hp, also the commonly quoted unit of "hp" in continental Europe). The Japanese SAE standard net hp is also calculated at a more favorable temperature and pressure (similar to the old German DIN or the UN ECE standards) than the US SAE standard (which is similar to the new European EEC). In combination the difference is substantial, and is only increased under the revised SAE standard (which also allows new systems which may increase hp, as well as requiring any fitted which decrease net hp). In contrast Toyota Europe quotes the Japanese SAE figures as DIN metric hp, while Honda Europe strictly adheres to the EEC standard which produces lower figures similar to the old US SAE standard (many automakers ran the same test for both, simply converting from metric to US hp, a subtlety often lost in English translations of European press releases).

Except for the Infiniti FX45, Nissan is not quoting revised US SAE standard test results, while American Honda is again assuming that new engines (such as the R18A in the new Civic) have been tested to the revised US standard, when this is not the case. Unlike Honda and Toyota most manufacturers are not retesting engines except in new applications. Most increases from domestic manufacturers have been for new engines with conservative preliminary estimates. GM has long been notoriously conservative in results quoted, but is now having testing certified by third party observers under an additional US SAE standard. This is producing higher outputs than previous GM testing, but again mostly in comparison to "preliminary" figures for new engines, with few older engines retested.