Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

I wondered what the engine torque is for the '38-era 320 Super 8 motor then was surprised to find I could not locate it anywhere. I've been through all of my Packard books, magazines and brochures, and none of the specs I located online include it.

I know the Twelve had 322 lbs but what about the Super 8 by comparison?

For those of you fortunate enough to have driven both the Super 8 and Twelve of '37-'39 - just how much quicker is the Twelve's acceleration despite its extra weight?

Thanks-

When new the V-12 could do a rolling burnout. That is, if you floored the accelerator while rolling in high gear it would do a burn out. The Su8 never did that. The primary sensation in the V-12 is a seemingly bottomless well of torque and much smoother engine. When you get to 50 mph in the Su8 you know the motor is working. The other is that the amount of throttle being used is much lower in the V-12. I never abused Packards with full throttle acceleration tests except when asked to.

Recently I found a comparison of the Pontiac straight 8 to the new V-8. They found the straight 8 was superior for trailer towing.

Looked around last night, but couldn't find any torque output for a 320 either.... Guessing I would say 240-250 lb/ft

TQ figures will be the same as a 34-5-6 Eight. The 37-8 Super 8 is the same engine.

Publishing a specification for engine torque was not a particularly common practice in the prewar era.

For 1935 the Twelve was rated at 366 lbft of torque. The equivalent rating for the 320 ci 8 would be around 271. That's a lot of extra push.

The 12 limosine came in at 0-60 in 19.2 with the 4.69 ratio, The 32 Deluxe Phaeton 20+ with 135 hp, and the Caddy 16 20.2 with a 4.75. So a 38 Su8 Limosine will be competent but not startling whereas the V-12 will be impressive. A 1960's Chevy Impala 6 cylinder stick shift will turn a 20 second 0-60 time so neither the V-12 nor the Su8 were incompetent performers.

For the 1940 engine Packard was claiming a 13-14 second time for 0-60 which leaves any V-12 in the dust.