On Sat, 2 Mar 1996 TeamGTZ@aol.com wrote:
> I dunno about an auto/318, but I raced my manual 318 Club 2wd against a short
> bed auto Chevy 350 (not the new Vortec), and I got spanked. Not by much, but
> no traction with those Goodyears and a heavy right foot/quick shift. Time to
> start buying the performance goodies!
>
That's why I love to race people with 4 speeds. The automatic is faster off
the line, especially if you flash the converter and then footbrake against
the throttle for maximum torque multiplication. The stock goodyears work
fine if you know how to hook them up. I made over two hundred passes
last year on my stock street goodyears, sometimes against 8 second
dragsters and won most of my races at the starting line. Buying more
performance goodies (short of possibly fabricating a pinion snubber)
would be a waste of money until you get it to hook.
The stick has slip the clutch to hook up and the drivetrain has absolutely
no torque multiplication unless it is a hybred that uses a converter (Lenco
and some others). Chrysler used to make transmissions like this available as
an option in the early 50's by the way. Inches gained at the starting line
can work out to yards at the finish line.
Downtrack, your average stick driver demonstrates that they can't win by not
being able to shift to their advantage. Mostly, this means they shift at a
RPM that is way past the optimal (just at the point where the torque curve
begins to decline) and most either don't know how or, if they have any
brains, are AFRAID to powershift. In fact, during the season, I watch about
1,500 passes a week and have only seen two drivers in the division
consistently win with street four speeds. In both cases, they couldn't make
the final rounds in big races last year because of busted drivelines. If you
like loosing and want to break parts, buy a stick and drag race it.
mel
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