what gear when crossing the line?

[txgunrunner]

i have 2 buddies that say they cross the line in the 1/4 just as theyre shifting into 4th and sometimes 3rd. i find crossing the line in 3rd hard to believe. are they holding the gear to the last rpm to keep it in the power band longer. i've never raced at the track and thought i'd ask before i go. thanks

 

[I_AM_CANADIAN]

depends what gears they have, with my 3.08's I can hit approx 165 at 5 grand in third gear.... if they had 2.73's I don't even wanna know what speed they are going lol.

 

[slow93]

im hittin 4th just before the line in 1/8 mile with 4.10s

 

[TrophyHead]

All I know is with a 5 speed you never want to go into 5th gear.

Unless you have some crazy 5th gear set-up. Like the TKO 600RR.

 

[Michael Yount]

With 2.73 gears, crossing the line near the top of 3rd is completely possible - but not desirable if optimizing your 1/4 mile time is the goal. Ideally you'd want to cross the finish line perhaps a couple of hundred rpm above the power peak in 4th. For a stock or nearly stock car, the power peak is around 4500-4800 rpm. Most folks hold the car MUCH too long in each gear for the quickest acceleration. It makes lots of noise and they think they are going quicker but they aren't. With near stock engines, shift points in the 4800-5000 rpm range will get you down the track the quickest. You want to keep the engine working between the torque and HP peaks which occur around 3500 for torque and 4600 for HP.

4.10 gears would likely have the stocker crossing the line near the power peak in 4th instead of third.

 

[Drew_Carroll]

I've got 3.55s in mine and its close to stock. I plan on going to Moroso soon and dont want to embarass myself but seeing as how its my virginal time I probably will. Should I shift at 5k? Higher or lower? Please help.....

 

[Michael Yount]

I'd shift 1-2 about 5200; 2-3 about 5000; and into 4th about 4800. With the gear ratios in the T5 - that'll drop you back to right around the torque peak each time you shift into the higher gear.

 

[Drew_Carroll]

I'd shift 1-2 about 5200; 2-3 about 5000; and into 4th about 4800. With the gear ratios in the T5 - that'll drop you back to right around the torque peak each time you shift into the higher gear.

Thank you, sir. You wouldnt happen to be Jesus would you? j/k

 

[25thmustang]

I have found winding the gears out longer worked on my car. If I shifted low (were talking aftermarket tach) like around 5000-5100 it would run slower than shifting it at 5400 or so. Then when I did the valves the car runs better being shifted at 5700-5800, then 5400 or so!

Its something you can play with at the track!