Marky Dissod, You're probably right, it would probably feel fine driving around town with a 3.23. While I do prioritize highway cruising RPM over E/T for sure, the E/T still isn't completely meaningless to me. I'm willing to trade 2 or 3 tenths for better cruisability but I think giving up a half second or more would be where I draw the line. unfortunately, no way of knowing how much E/T i'd give up dropping to that low of a gear which is why I'm a little worried about going that low when I know 3.73 is optimal. First step is going to be get some baseline E/T's from the car this coming season, then I can better decide how much i'm willing to give up.
With a 3.42/26" tire/.75 OD the car would cruise something like [email protected] That's totally doable and the car feels fine at those RPM's, but I think it's just more for peace of mind for me not having in the back of my head that the engine is working harder than it has to when cruising it 2 or 3 hours down an interstate on a road trip to the track/car show/Nationals. Also being spoiled by newer cars with 6/8 speeds doing [email protected] LOL
Jack R, most CTSV guys I have seen making the kind of power i'm making E/T the best by 'gearing out' the first gear and launching in 2nd. The 4.03 is useless on the track in any car making any power, but launching with a 2.36 first in a 4400lb car, even with 700+HP, isn't ideal either...not with a 2.9x rear anyway. When you look at what CTSV guys do, they basically just treat the 6 speed like a 3 speed only using 2nd, 3rd and 4th and the optimize gearing the same away anyone would with a 3 or 4 speed would, by looking at RPM's across the traps. The great benefit to the 6 speed though is if you WEREN'T looking to perfectly optimize gearing for E/T, you can get away with a very low 2.9x or 3.0x rear gear because you have such a steep first gear and less drop off between gears. Something that wouldn't feel too great in an impala with a 4 speed, I don't care how much power you have (unless that power is being made with a diesel engine 632cid big block).
I would say you're onto something for a big power street car racing on the street where races are usually won by the car that gets something vaguely resembling traction quicker. On a prepped track though, I have no desire to slow down the car's potential to accelerate. I'm just likely going to need a much more aggressive compound to get the car to hook up.
Wider tires with more contact patch and taller sidewalls with more give are god's gift to big power cars with poorly set up (for drag racing) chassis setups. Back in the early 00's I was a kid working in a speed shop and my friend/mentor/boss would run 8.60's with the shop car, a 468 BBC 69 camaro and a whole lot of nitrous ON LEAF SPRINGS. no ladder bar, no 4 link, no anti roll bar, but it would carry the front wheels off the ground and put most of the fancy pro street cars at the time to shame. Stock chassis with subframe connectors. Most people wouldn't believe it when you told them, until they saw the car and realized it was a really just a tire with a side of car.
With a 3.42/26" tire/.75 OD the car would cruise something like [email protected] That's totally doable and the car feels fine at those RPM's, but I think it's just more for peace of mind for me not having in the back of my head that the engine is working harder than it has to when cruising it 2 or 3 hours down an interstate on a road trip to the track/car show/Nationals. Also being spoiled by newer cars with 6/8 speeds doing [email protected] LOL
Jack R, most CTSV guys I have seen making the kind of power i'm making E/T the best by 'gearing out' the first gear and launching in 2nd. The 4.03 is useless on the track in any car making any power, but launching with a 2.36 first in a 4400lb car, even with 700+HP, isn't ideal either...not with a 2.9x rear anyway. When you look at what CTSV guys do, they basically just treat the 6 speed like a 3 speed only using 2nd, 3rd and 4th and the optimize gearing the same away anyone would with a 3 or 4 speed would, by looking at RPM's across the traps. The great benefit to the 6 speed though is if you WEREN'T looking to perfectly optimize gearing for E/T, you can get away with a very low 2.9x or 3.0x rear gear because you have such a steep first gear and less drop off between gears. Something that wouldn't feel too great in an impala with a 4 speed, I don't care how much power you have (unless that power is being made with a diesel engine 632cid big block).
Yea, I have to fully disagree with that. I've been around a lot of fast street cars, how many do you see running 10's on 255 D/R's? Not that it can't be done, but if it's getting done it has far more to do with chassis/suspension than deleveraging the final drive ratio and that's going to be near impossible with 700hp in a chassis not set up for drag racing (no anti roll bar, no adj parallel 4 link etc...)
I would say you're onto something for a big power street car racing on the street where races are usually won by the car that gets something vaguely resembling traction quicker. On a prepped track though, I have no desire to slow down the car's potential to accelerate. I'm just likely going to need a much more aggressive compound to get the car to hook up.
Wider tires with more contact patch and taller sidewalls with more give are god's gift to big power cars with poorly set up (for drag racing) chassis setups. Back in the early 00's I was a kid working in a speed shop and my friend/mentor/boss would run 8.60's with the shop car, a 468 BBC 69 camaro and a whole lot of nitrous ON LEAF SPRINGS. no ladder bar, no 4 link, no anti roll bar, but it would carry the front wheels off the ground and put most of the fancy pro street cars at the time to shame. Stock chassis with subframe connectors. Most people wouldn't believe it when you told them, until they saw the car and realized it was a really just a tire with a side of car.
