A instrument designed to estimate engine horsepower based mostly on a car’s efficiency over an eighth-mile drag strip makes use of elapsed time and car weight as main inputs. As an example, realizing the time it takes a automotive to cowl an eighth of a mile and the automotive’s weight permits the instrument to calculate an approximate horsepower determine. This estimation offers a helpful, albeit simplified, efficiency metric.
Such a calculation provides a readily accessible efficiency benchmark, notably within the context of drag racing. It offers a comparatively fast and cheap methodology for evaluating car efficiency and gauging modifications’ effectiveness. Traditionally, this methodology gained reputation as a result of prevalence of eighth-mile drag strips and the relative ease of information acquisition. This accessibility fostered its continued use as a efficiency indicator, at the same time as extra subtle measurement methods grew to become out there.