To convert newton-meters to foot-pounds (N·m to ft·lb), multiply by 0.73756. 1 newton-meter equals 0.73756 ft·lb.
| newton-meters | foot-pounds |
|---|---|
| 1 newton-meter | 0.73756 ft·lb |
| 2 newton-meters | 1.4751243 ft·lb |
| 5 newton-meters | 3.6878107 ft·lb |
| 10 newton-meters | 7.3756215 ft·lb |
| 25 newton-meters | 18.439054 ft·lb |
| 50 newton-meters | 36.878107 ft·lb |
| 100 newton-meters | 73.756215 ft·lb |
| 250 newton-meters | 184.39054 ft·lb |
| 500 newton-meters | 368.78107 ft·lb |
| 1000 newton-meters | 737.56215 ft·lb |
Definition: The turning force from one newton of force applied at the end of a one-meter lever arm - what you feel when you tighten a bolt with a wrench.
History: Named for Isaac Newton, whose second law of motion underpins the newton itself as a force unit. Pairing it with a meter of leverage gives the SI's standard way to measure torque, the rotational cousin of ordinary force.
Current use: European and Asian car manuals, bicycle component specs, and virtually all modern engineering torque specifications outside the US.
Definition: The turning force from one pound of force applied at the end of a one-foot lever arm.
History: British physicist Arthur Mason Worthington actually proposed calling this "pound-foot" in his 1900 book Dynamics of Rotation, specifically to avoid confusing it with the identically-named foot-pound unit of energy - a real, separate quantity. The distinction never really caught on in everyday use: garages, manuals, and torque wrenches worldwide just say "ft-lbs" for both, and mechanics learn to tell them apart from context instead.
Current use: The dominant torque unit in the US - car manuals, torque wrenches, and workshop specs almost universally use ft-lb for anything beyond small fasteners.
The factor is 0.737562, which is derived rather than defined, so any decimal you see has been rounded somewhere.
For a quick estimate, multiply by 0.75. That is off by about 1.7%, which is fine for a rough figure and not fine for anything you are paying for or building to. Use the exact factor of 0.737562 when it matters.
Going the other way, one foot-pound is 1.356 N·m, which is usually the easier direction to work in. Because the forward factor is small, watch the decimal place rather than the digits: a factor-of-ten slip is the common error, not a rounding one.
To anchor the scale: 2 newton-meters is about 1.48 ft·lb.