best solution..........3.3FD and wide ***(285/295 your choice)

 

Maybe just a tiny bit because stock on the Touring you get 18's and they are 26.8" tall. So if you combine say a 3.3FD and a 305/30 you will be good.

Traction is good and tires and suspension help but you blow through the 1st 3 gears like a bike. The FD is not too short its the gears in the tranny. So thats why a final drive swap is needed, they are just way too short. Our cars should not have to shift to 5th to run the 1/4, thats why our times are so slow. If we had a 7100rpm red line 3.3 gears and slightly oversized tires, you'll see a big difference and Im thinking 2-5tenths in the 1/4mile.

 

In response to your dilemma, you have a PM about a possible swap!!!

 

My car rev limits in 6th gear @ 186mph, so top speed is hardly an issue. As for 1/4 mile times...if longer gears will net you better 1/4 mile times then why do Mustang and LS1 guys put SHORTER rear ends in their cars to get down the 1/4 more quickly?

I stick by my original statement. Tire and suspension before gearing. Much cheaper and less work.

 

LS1 cars have transmissions where the 1st gear is practically the same strength as the Z's 2nd gear as in 2.66 or 2.97 gear ratio compared to our 3.79. That's a huge difference. That's 27.6-42.8% less agressive than the Z's

They'll go to a more aggressive final drive, but it isn't a killer huge upgrade. It'll be like 2.73 to a 3.15 so that's 15.3% more aggressive. It has everything to do with the balance of the tires and hp/tq
A lot of those cars are 5 speed and not 6 speed, that means you still don't have to shift as much in the 1/4 mile despite shorter gearing.

What does the 3.36 vs stock 3.53 FD on the Z equate to? Just a little over 5%. Big freaking whoop

The Z has a lot of gears and they're very close together. It's not so ideal for 1/4 mile running. There's a reason some of the drag cars that run 7 sec or less in the 1/4 mile do it in 1 gear, 2 gears, or 3 gears. They also have the crazy tire setup that's needed to harness 800+hp

 

The trick is witha turbo you want to be in boost as long as possiable with short gearing you end up shifting way to early, with taller gearing you can let the turbo spool up a lot better "wind it out" with my 2.93 in the BMW I hit full boost in 2nd gear and top out around 75-80mph it a rush man. Its to bad nobody mods diffs it helps out 0-60 and 1/4 mile times big time you don't have to shift as much.

 

That makes absoultely NO sense at all. Turbo spool time would actually INCREASE with longer gearing because it would take the motor longer to get into the powerband. Longer gearing only allows you to have a higher top speed and shift less. But ultimately, in ANY CAR, longer gearing will slow down acceleration due to the reduction in torque multplication in each gear. Staying in a gear "longer" doesn't mean you're accelerating harder, it may feel good, but it ultimately makes your car slower.

As for "being in boost as long as possible", my car is in boost ALL THE TIME when I'm full throttle. My turbos spool nearly instantly and I don't think I have to shift too much.

When I see guys beating the crap out of my 1/4 mile time with "longer gears" and the same power level, then your claims might hold some water. But this hasn't happened yet, and I doubt it will.

 

Check out Supras gearing (3.05) and any other big turbo cars. I used to run a 3.75 and it was worthless to much wheels spin and shifting. But to each his own brother. What gear do you hit full boost? Prob. to late like 4 Or 5 gear.

 

I hope you are correct every car is different. I am a new to FI on the Z so these are some questions I am thinking about thanks for your input.

 

You are correct spool time will be better, but thats why whees spin occurs and no traction. Which makes for slower times.

 

longer spool up time? who launches a big whp car way below boost level? With drag radials or slicks, don't people launching at like 3k anyway which is where boost is?

Otherwise, when you're redlining the car, you're still in boost during every shift. It's not like you shift at redline and then the rpms drop down to 1000 or something. They'll be at like 3-4k with tall gearing which is still right in boost.

What makes you loost boost is when you have to push the clutch in and take your foot off the gas pedal while you're shifting.

 

Rear end ratio is specific to every car. I could have a 2.50 rear and and have longer gears than a car with a 4.10 rear end depending on the actual transmission's ratios.

I hit full boost @ ~3300rpms in FIRST GEAR, and have zero wheelspin issues.

 

If you have traction then you will net BETTER times with shorter gearing.

 

Boost as far as turbochargers is concerned is LOAD based, not rpm based. So launching @ 3000rpms doesn't put you instantly in boost in a manual transmission car unless you're running a two step.

You seem to be a huge advocate of tall gearing. Probably because you see cars like the Z06 and Viper that have taller gearing, and assume it's all performance based. It's not. In fact the 2 reasons those cars have very tall gearing is 1. better gas mileage (put a 350Z's gearing in a viper and it's already horrid gas mileage would be much worse) and 2. Driveability (less shifting and a slight decrease in wheelspin in lower gears). With traction, both of those cars would be quicker with shorter gearing. Yes you shift a little more, but the car would pull harder in every gear. Top speed is almost a non issue because neither of those cars every run out of gear since they are both geared to 240+mph with their steep overdrive 6th gears.

Do yourself a favor...actually DRIVE a forced induction Z with stock gearing and a traction solution and then come back here and tell me how horrible you think the gearing is for 400-500hp.

 

then the Z should be a monster 1/4 mile runner in theory but it sure as hell isn't

a 400whp 3700 lb camaro with drag radials can hit 11.6's

then does that mean they're a way better driver than Z people considering Z's with 430whp@around 3200-3300 lbs are hitting 11.7's with the way more aggressive gearing?


for reference, here's my data:
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/etdb.p...&pp=25&page=12


why don't viper people put way short gears in their car to get a top speed of around 160mph or whatever then? Seems like it'd be the performance mod of the century?
Why do professional drag cars have 1, 2, or 3 gears and not a million shorter gears? They obviously have traction

shorter gearing is a way to get more useable power out of a less powerful engine. If you have the power though, then you don't need so much gearing because of diminishing returns in speed.

 

Sentry-do you even drag race? Or do you just go off of what other cars do? You even mentioning drag cars with 3 speeds(auto's) shows your serious lack of knowledge on the subject when people are discussing stock gearing in the 6mt Z's. What works for some, doesnt necessarily work for others. Now stop arguing, your making yourself look dumb.

 

when the strip re-opens, I'll show you what a 3.3 can do for a FI Z. On the freeway our stop gearing is great. But at the track you shouldn't have to shift 4 times. Thats why all the other cars with the same power get better times. What Mike was saying about staying in boost longer is somewhat correct. Think about it. We are both at the track and line up. We have roughly the same power. When i change the FD, I'll hit 60+ in 2nd gear. You will have to shift to 3rd, by the time I hit 3rd and wind it out I'll be just about at the end of the 1/4. Then when I shift to 4th i only have to go another 100ft or so and pass the 1/4mile. The less amount of time you have to lift to shift the faster you will be as long as the gear isn't to tall which the 3.3 isn't.

 

True I will see how the car performs with the stock gearing first before I make any decisions but its a known fact taller gearing is better for turbo'ed cars you want to be in gear or your power band as long as possiable when boost hits check out the Noble cars gearing. Now N/A is a different story.

 

I'm just giving extreme situations with cars with 800+hp and how they're setup. Meaning if you're orienting the car to be more similar to those cars by getting almost as much power, you might consider some of the other things they did.

CAN ANYONE STILL NOT ANSWER ME? why is it that 800+hp pro drag cars that run 7 sec or less have 1, 2, or 3 gears? and not a million shorter gears? It makes sense to me, but no one seems to present a case why a 1000hp, 1700lb drag car has 2 gears and not an 8 speed auto tranny. Yeah some of that has to do with the extra weight of having more gears and the bulk of a tranny that big, but still, if it WAS so much better, you'd think a car like that would have at least 4 really aggressive gears instead of 2. One reason is **** breaks with too much torque multiplication and sticky tires sure but is that really the only reason? Why can't you find gearing for the viper to make it more like the Z's if really short gearing is the best thing for drag racing?

Instead I get the brilliant response of "you are stupid newbie. I rulez over jou"

I still think it's all about balancing all the factors of the car together and I'm not convinced that a 6 speed is better than a 5 speed or 4 speed in the 1/4 mile if you already have a ton of power. I think having a 6 speed with more aggressive gearing than other cars is all about getting more accelleration out of 287hp and giving you more gears to flog around on a road course, more oomph in each gear makes the car feel more fun (but when drag racing where tenths of a sec count more shifting hurts you) and yeah better mpg.

Can we really say that cars like the Zonda have tall gearing because Pagandi thought their customers would want better mpg or were too lazy to shift?


And WTF are there not many Z's hitting 10's considering all the 550whp Z's that are out there? Is it really just "you need my mad driver skills yo"?? Then in that case, I think the Z drivers must seriously suck at drag racing

 

Ditto..