At 06:33 PM 2/13/2005, you wrote:
>It's not so much that the horsepower itself is derived... it's just
>that we can't directly measure horspower and we can easily measure
>torque, so we're left to calculate the HP. What we generally call a
>torquey engine, simply generates more horsepower at lower rpms than
>what we refer to as a horsepower engine. Either way it's all about
>where the engine makes its POWER... you simply need to gear properly to
>keep the power readily on hand for the intened use.
I seem to be overly prolific tonight for no particular reason. It all
boils down to the compromises you want to make for your favorite
application. Those that really want to run open track events are going to
want their three or four top gears to be as close as possible and a top
ended torque curve so that they can stay at the top of the power band at
high speed. They will do the majority of their tuning with the
differential gears for different tracks. Those that autocross want
intermediate gears that may span a much wider range as they'd like to run
one gear and not have to shift. Most autocross applications tend to be 1st
2nd gear operations and low end torque is paramount to fast times. The
last thing you want is to have to shift and break the continuity of the
drift or run out of rpm before the corners. Drags have their own demands
where initial gearing and maintaining the "area under the curve" is second
only to repeatability.
Most street operation is in the lower gears and it's certainly nice to be
able to be reasonably competitive in events the lower four gears and still
be able to ride home or go on trips in fifth gear in cruise conditions
getting reasonable mileage and a noise level that is below annoying.
For those of you that like the T-5, My new casting and kit is almost
ready. I'm about 30 days from my first article finished casting. As soon
as that is complete I will assemble the first prototype and road test the
assembly and kit. I have already have 330 ft lb rated T-5's in stock
waiting for the new castings. This kit will take the place of the AMC
housings that are so hard to find. It also is designed to fit into he
Tiger with no cutting and will drive the speedometer gears above the ATF
level eliminating the primary source of leakage. The kit will be complete
from bellhousing to pinion flange.
If you are even more serious with power and race intentions, I also modify
3550 and TKO Tremec's for Tiger application. You will have to cut the
transmission tunnel but not into the structural arch. I have one with 6
months on the street so let me know if you'd like to talk to the owner.
In the next month, you will also be able to find our new integrated web
site "Tiger Engineering.net" with lots of hard to find information, Tech
Tips, and hardware related to Tigers.
Tom Hall, ModTiger Engineering / Rob Guerra, Flying Tiger Enterprises
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