> Part of the key is redline, how high and how fast can you reach it. The Si
> engine redline is around 7000 rpm. You get there very quickly in 1st, 2nd
> and 3rd.
Bzzt! Wrong. The key is horsepower, not just peak power at the flywheel
but how much total horsepower gets delivered to the road. How fast the
engine is turning really isn't relevant, except to the extent that power
produced is closely linked to engine size (torque) times engine speed.
> Another factor is gearing. We know that 1st gear to 1st gear, the TR will
> always win, even stock TR against modified Si. How much of this
> attributable to FWD vs RWD?
FWD will always lose out when acceleration is near 1 G. The torque reaction
transfers weight away from the drive wheels, making it impossible to even
approach 1 G acceleration. On a RWD car, the transfer is towards the drive
wheels, making it possible to even exceed 1 G (turns out tires on pavement
don't always obey high school physics).
> How much to actual gear ratios?
Well, we're talking modified cars here ... the 'big' Triumphs have the
choice of 3 or 4 different final drive ratios (using only factory parts) and
that 7-speed gearbox (8 with some modification) doesn't hurt either. The
'small' Triumphs (Spit, GT6, etc) have an even wider choice of final drive.
> With a high HP engine in a TR, can it match or beat the high HP
> Si?
Probably depends a great deal on how you measure. Let's talk, for example,
"period correct" for 1960, a TR3A could do 0-60 in about 8 seconds (with the
help of a period correct Judson blower), while a Honda car could do 0-60 in
about 4 years ...
Randall
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