Torque converter (N·m, lb-ft)

Multiply by 0.737562, or divide by 1.35582. 100 N·m is 73.76 lbf·ft, and a 120 N·m wheel-nut setting is 88.51 lbf·ft. The factor comes from 1 lbf·ft = 4.4482216152605 N × 0.3048 m, which is exact, so only the reverse direction is rounded.

They are the same size, 1.3558 N·m. By convention the pound-foot (lb-ft, lbf·ft) is used for torque and the foot-pound (ft-lb, ft·lbf) for work or energy, mirroring the SI split between N·m for torque and joules for energy. In everyday use “ft-lb” is often written for torque too, and the number is the same.

Multiply by 0.112985. A pound-inch is one twelfth of a pound-foot, so 12 lbf·in = 1 lbf·ft = 1.3558 N·m. Small fasteners are specified in lbf·in or N·m: 50 lbf·in is 5.65 N·m, and 5 N·m is 44.25 lbf·in.

Exactly 9.80665 N·m, the torque of one kilogram-force on a 1 m lever. Older workshop manuals give torque in kgf·m, sometimes written kg·m or kgm, so a 10 kgf·m figure is 98.07 N·m or 72.33 lbf·ft.

Torque and energy are different quantities that happen to share the dimension N·m. NIST SP 811 states that the SI unit of moment of force is the newton metre rather than the joule. Energy is force times distance moved, torque is force times lever arm, and a torque of 1 N·m acting through one full turn does 2π J of work.

Accuracy depends on your inputs and the method's assumptions. Decimal arithmetic uses 50 significant digits, but estimates, numerical methods and source data can be less precise; the displayed rounding does not remove those limits. It is checked against 4 worked examples whose answers come from independent sources; for example, “100 N·m in lbf·ft” is checked against 100 / (4.4482216152605 × 0.3048) (Python 3.8 fractions from the legal definitions).

NIST SP 811 (2008), Guide for the Use of the SI, Appendix B — conversion factors; NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C — General tables of units of measurement.