[black88coupe]

i am in the process a changing my stang from a straight line hauler to a corner carver and want to
know if my 8.8 w/auburn posi 3.73 is going to work well i run a tko 5sp. and plan on running 17"cobra
&nittos or another good tire is this going to be good or will i need something like 3.55 gears

[Saleen Owner]

Depends on what type of track your going to be racing on. When AutoX'ing my 3.55's are about right most of the time to stay in second gear. The car still pulls hard coming out of a slow apex, and can manage most of the straights without having to shift to third. A fixed road course with long straightaways is a different animal, where desired staightaway speeds are more a factor in gear selection.

[black88coupe]

so it all about if i am willing to shift more with 3.73 on shorter tight courses i havn't put the new cam in to see what kind of bottom it gives me but panhandle per. says it will be a great low end mid range cam
that just keeps on pulling and with my 3.73 i think it will be a good combo for now

[TobyBall]

Yeah, I would think that 3.73 is probably the best all around Road Race gear, especially with normally aspirated engine combos.

[Mad Max]

In road racing you want to spin the drive shaft as slow a posible(highr rear end) while and your tranny is geared higher. (I have a 3.08 gearing with a 4.06 first gear and .68 sixth. I'm thinking about running 2.73 gears so my drive shaft wont see more than 5500 RPM) Other wise you end up waisting energy in spinning the drive shaft up to speed.
I know that's not always posible so what you have to do is figure out what you want you top speed is going to be and then gear your rear end for red line in that speed. Kinda like how dragster hit red line right at the 1/4 mile mark

[black88coupe]

the track i will do open day at is lime rock and i talked to a guy that runs his stang there and he says just what you say about gearing thanks for your response

[TobyBall]

Sounds like getting info from the guy already running that track is a good idea. May want to check with the CMC and American Iron Racers (classes run by NASA) on what they are running at that particular track. Just make sure to take all this theoretical, rule of thumb advice from all sources, especially the hardcore racers gunning for places, points, and pride, and DISCOUNT it to fit in with your needs and reality, also known as budget. The more time you keep your engine spinning up near redline, the shorter it lasts... by an exponential amount. I have heard engine builder estimates that literally every 1 SECOND a motor spends at or near (say 10%) redline reduces it's life expectancy by 10 HOURS.

That is the basic reason why those circle track racers (NASCAR, etc.) spend $50K+ for each motor to make it last for qualifying and the race, maybe 10-20hours of life expectancy. That price probably jumps to $100K+ when they build in all the development costs. They use up those beautifully overengineered 800HP motors in a few thousand miles worth of driving (if that), which would probably last a few hundred thousand miles or more in a street car.

Just yesterday I was at the fastest road course in the west, and as we crested the rise at turn 6 my buddy overreved the engine when the car got light, pegged it against the rev limiter at over 7,000 rpm, and shredded the Serpentine belt. That redline time also blew up the circuit breaker due to the power spike from the alternator overspinning just before the belt let go, and we lost over $100 worth of precious track time (3 of 7 hours), even though we had a new belt. We thought we were well prepared, but had to go hunt down a whole new fuse/breaker setup midday.

Since fun (and low lap times) even on a road course, especially one as tight as Lime Rock, is created by acceleration, and acceleration comes from net torque at the wheels, a little more gear and less redline (shortshifting as needed) will save you tons of headaches, lost track time, and money. If you run what you already have, and find you are hitting redline in top gear long before your braking point on the longest straight, then perhaps a lower gear would be in order. Although I haven't driven Lime Rock (yet) myself, I'm guessing that probably won't be an issue, at least for a while.

I would also save all the money I could to spend on more sticky tires and beefed up brakes, suspension, etc.

Basically, when not sponsored, cost really does matter.

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by TobyBall

I would also save all the money I could to spend on more sticky tires and beefed up brakes, suspension, etc.

Basically, when not sponsored, cost really does matter.

You said the part that most mustang guys forget.

[TobyBall]

Thanks MM.

sounds like you have some pretty wicked rides going... have any full time road race courses up in that beautiful neck of the woods you can run them at?

Please give all the juicy details... I know about the street course they set up for CART and CASCAR in downtown Vancouver. Nice city BTW, really enjoyed my visit a number of summers ago.

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by TobyBall

Please give all the juicy details... I know about the street course they set up for CART and CASCAR in downtown Vancouver. Nice city BTW, really enjoyed my visit a number of summers ago.

We have one road course about an hour away from downtown that's about 2.2km long. Other than that we go about an hour and a half a way from the city and practice on the back roads. The cops don't seem to mind if we go that far out and away from the public. Plus we can get up to our usual +200km/h speeds

You must be a a visitor to enjoy the city. I've bean all over Canada and U.S. and we have some of the worst traffic problems in N.A.(stupid drivers and bad roads) and CART/CASCAR make it worse. I don't hate the track, but I don't support it.

[stang99svt]

Different tracks can demand differnet stuff, tall gears are generally in my opinion good for short tracks. i generally keep a 3.55 for gingerman.