Power, torque -> acceleration

snip

Actually, neither torque NOR horsepower is really that good a predictor of performance. What is really important is the integral of torque.d(rpm) carried out over a range of rpm (definite integral) between recommended shift points. We can have two engines with the same peak torque at some given rpm. But one is a very peaky engine, and the curve drops rapidly on either side of that peak. Another engine has a wide band, with torque almost as high for quite a band below peak. The later will have superior performance.

Through the years there has been discussion about creating some performance ratiing based on such an integral, but it has never become popular. For now all you can do is look at the torque or horsepower plots (versus rpm) and quantitively estimate.

Or you could plot tractive effort (tire force vs vehicle speed) which would take into account tire diameter, differential ratio, individual transmission gear ratios and the engine's torque curve. The graph would give you a series of intersecting lines, one for each transmission ratio. The maximum force would then occur when you shift at the intersection of each pair of gear ratio lines. It shouldn't be too much of a stretch to add in vehicle mass in to get acceleration.

Or, put simply, take a dyno plot, and measure the area under the curve.

CD