Convert Torque from Kilogram-meters to Pound-feet (kgm to lbf-ft)

Kilogram-meter to Pound-foot Conversion Formula

Example

Let's convert 5 Kilogram-meter (kgm) to Pound-foot (lbf-ft).

Using the formula:

Therefore, 5 Kilogram-meter (kgm) is equal to 36.165067877059218125 Pound-foot (lbf-ft).

How many kilogram-meters are in one pound-foot? One Pound-foot (lbf-ft) contains 0.13825495964772340086 Kilogram-meters (kgm) — the inverse of the factor above. Multiplying by 7.233013575411843625 takes you from kilogram-meters to pound-feet; multiplying by 0.13825495964772340086 brings you back.

Put in words: one kilogram-meter equals 7.233013575411843625 pound-feet, so the kilogram-meter is the larger unit of this pair. Converting between them never changes the amount of torque being measured — only the size of the unit you count it in.

What Is a Kilogram-meter (kgf·m)?

A kilogram-meter (kgf·m), sometimes written kg·m or kgm, is the torque produced by one kilogram-force acting at one metre from the axis.

• 1 kgf·m = 9.80665 N·m

A Gravitational Metric Unit

Like the kilogram-force it derives from, this unit builds the Earth's gravity into its definition. That made it convenient before SI was standardised — a 1 kg weight hung on a 1 m arm gives exactly 1 kgf·m — but it is deprecated in modern engineering, where N·m is the correct unit.

Where You Still Meet It

• Older Japanese and European vehicles — service manuals from the 1970s and 1980s specify torque in kgf·m.
• Motorcycle specifications, where engine torque is still occasionally quoted in kgf·m.
• Legacy torque wrenches with kgf·m scales.
• Older industrial machinery documentation.

If a workshop manual gives 11 kgf·m for a wheel nut, that is roughly 108 N·m — a normal modern figure, just written in an older unit.

Converting Kilogram-meter

What Is a Pound-foot (lbf·ft)?

A pound-foot (lbf·ft) is the US customary unit of torque: the twisting effect of one pound-force applied at a perpendicular distance of one foot from the axis.

• 1 lbf·ft = 1.355818 N·m

Pound-foot Versus Foot-pound

You will see both spellings, and in practice they are used interchangeably for torque. Strictly:

• Pound-foot (lbf·ft) is the correct name for torque.
• Foot-pound (ft·lb) properly describes energy — the same distinction as newton-meter versus joule.

Almost every workshop manual, torque wrench and specification sheet writes "ft-lb" and means torque. Read it as pound-foot and you will not go wrong.

Where Pound-foot Is Used

• US automotive service — wheel nuts, cylinder heads, suspension bolts.
• Engine specifications — American engines are advertised in horsepower and lbf·ft.
• Construction and heavy equipment in US markets.
• Torque wrenches sold in the United States, usually graduated in lbf·ft with a secondary N·m scale.

Everyday Reference Points

• A typical car wheel nut: 80–100 lbf·ft.
• A car oil drain plug: 25–30 lbf·ft.
• A large pickup truck engine: 400–1,000 lbf·ft.

Converting Pound-foot

Kilogram-meter to Pound-foot Conversion Table

Here are some quick reference conversions from Kilogram-meter (kgm) to Pound-foot (lbf-ft):