Saw an ad for the new Turbo Legacy. Said has 250HP. Is that at the crank or at the wheels? Same question: When car manufacturers advertise HP are they giving numbers at the crank or at the wheels? Seems to me they would use the crank since that number would be higher.

I checked the Subaru of America website and didn't see any mention of how they arrived at the horsepower rating. I strongly suspect the 250HP rating is at the crank.

 

I have heard that the HP rating for other Subarus, including the WRX and those with the 2.5s, is for crank HP. For instance, I've heard that the Phase I EJ25 in my car, while rated at 165, puts out less than 100 HP at the wheels.

 

I think many other manufacturers do the same thing and that drivetrain loss shaves off substantial HP for a lot of cars.

Presumably in the US they're using SAE horsepower. "SAE Net horsepower is the horsepower generated by the engine at the flywheel with all accessories attached."

 

As the same engine could be put in anything from a 2 door coupe to a pickup truck at most manufacturers, that's a reasonable approach.

 

I suppose there are 4 wheel dynomometers around, but that would add as many variables as it reduced.

at the flywheel.