To convert foot-pounds to newton-meters (ft·lb to N·m), multiply by 1.3558179. 1 foot-pound equals 1.3558179 N·m.
| foot-pounds | newton-meters |
|---|---|
| 1 foot-pound | 1.3558179 N·m |
| 2 foot-pounds | 2.7116359 N·m |
| 5 foot-pounds | 6.7790897 N·m |
| 10 foot-pounds | 13.558179 N·m |
| 25 foot-pounds | 33.895449 N·m |
| 50 foot-pounds | 67.790897 N·m |
| 100 foot-pounds | 135.58179 N·m |
| 250 foot-pounds | 338.95449 N·m |
| 500 foot-pounds | 677.90897 N·m |
| 1000 foot-pounds | 1,355.8179 N·m |
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.
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.
The factor is 1.35582, which is derived rather than defined, so any decimal you see has been rounded somewhere.
No simple round multiplier is close enough to be useful, so this is one to look up rather than estimate. The exact factor is 1.35582.
The reverse factor is 0.738, so one newton-meter is that many foot-pounds. Two decimal places is plenty for most purposes, and three is more than a tape measure can justify.
To anchor the scale: 1 foot-pound is about 1.36 N·m.