Reply to "gear ratios for race"

IF you are building your own ZF and selecting gears for it, I would look at this article.

http://www.5speedtransmissions.../5sp_comparison.html

I personally like the gearing in the Richmond 5 speed but it makes no provisions for the overdrive 5th like in the ZF.

It is in my GT350 and it copies gear spacing as used in high performance T10's. It pulls hard in every gear.

I would use it as a model for gearing the ZF if I had this type of choice.

With it I can only adjust for the final drive in fifth by changing the rear gear ratios.

The -2 ZF has an effective final drive in 5th gear of 2.95:1.

An RBT 6 speed MIGHT be an alternative?



I would think that the 4.22 rear is going to be the easiest and therefore the least expensive ratio to come up with.

The last time I was involved with Pro Stock racing at all was about 1990. At that time there was a dyno computer program where the engine could be run on the dyno, through the 1/4 and the best combination of gears ratios, engine rpm and shift points could be determined for the best ET.

It's an extensive amount of work to determine the best results and combinations but actually to answer your question scientifically would probably be necessary. It produces reams of data that may or may not be useful to you at all?

What software is being run now I don't know. Certainly the BIG F1 teams have been running their engines like this for quite some time.

Exactly how an individual can do this now WITHOUT software is not clear to me. The entire procedure is mind boggling.


The only way I COULD do it now is to make a spread sheet. You are going to need a completely linear induction system though for one thing. Engines tend not to be linear in performance. How much time do you want to invest in this?