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Re: Racing with overdrives

To: "Bill Sohl" <billsohl@smtp.interactive.net>, Gt6steve@aol.com
Subject: Re: Racing with overdrives
From: Richard Taylor <n196x@mindspring.com>
Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2000 09:13:37 -0500
>
One more Overdrive comment:

As some of you'll know, my M.O. is to drive my TR-4 to the race, remove
windshield, fix everything that broke gettin' to the track, mount my race
tires then race.   

On the highway, pulling a motorcycle/race-tire trailer, with my tall rear
end (both the car's & mine) I turn 3000 rpm's and indicate 72 mph.  

At the race track I shift at 5500 rpm's.  At Daytona last year I would run
out of rpm's in fourth gear direct. A shift into overdrive would not offer
any more speed. So unless I was engaged in a dice, I'd shift into OD and
ride out the straightaways.  If I was engaged, I'd cheat and stay in
direct. After all, I'm only human. No, I am not one of the fire breathing
gladiators out there but I garnered fourth place in the Enduro with three
other cars in my class behind me…. and a bunch of dnf's in the pits.

This might not be "real racing" compared to what a lot of you guys do, but
it was my eleventh consecutive race without a dnf. Yes, I know what happens
when you brag about things like that. But to me the OD both lets my engine
just cruise when there's an opportunity, and work more effectively in my
modest, self imposed rpm range, 5000-5500 (when I'm not cheatin').  

Richard Taylor
TR-4
Atlanta



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