4K vs. 2Y, not much difference?

[amalventano1 at tds.net (Allyn)]

> And just to prove how conversational I am over email...after 
> thinking about this again....it depends. :-)

Umm, you're pretty conversational in person as well, you know... :)

> No, really, follow me here...
> 
> In order to determine if it's a "good" idea to shift up to 
> the next gear to have the maximum torque applied to where the 
> rubber is on the road, you have to figure out how much torque 
> you're making right now (say 6000rpms, 2nd gear, 150ft lbs), 
> and figure out if shifting to third right then makes more or 
> less then 150ft lbs (totaly arbitrary, but not off the map) 
> for the RPM drop (which places your motor into a different 
> place in your torque curve), new gear ratio, final drive, and 
> tire height.

The biggest "if" for a shift at the end of a drag run, is the following:

Can the time spent with slightly less than 0 acceleration (shift+drag), be overcome by the increase in torque/acceleration gained by
that shift, prior to crossing the line.

> "Math is hard." - one of the old Barbie doll zip-string 
> sayings, got pulled from the shelf.
> 
> ==Brett

I'm still waiting for the one that says "unpimp za auto"

Al