-----------------------------
I'll admit right off the bat that I've never driven or ridden in a V10
ram, but I am pretty confident that I can take just about any of 'em, and
I'm far from the fastest Dak on this list. I think I could safely bet the
farm on Tom's 11.5@118 Dak or Dahrl's 10.68@125 being able to outrun a
big ol' dualie. ;-)
-----------------------------
The truth is, most V-10 owners do get them for towing and not racing. Just
because you haven't seen one setup for this doesn't mean they don't (or can't)
do it (I've seen one). It doesn't matter WHAT vehicle you drive, the power to
weight ratio governs everything. The only Dakota that could beat a STOCK V-10
with the correct transmission and rearend for applying it's power to the
track, would have to have over 340 ft lbs of torque. This is done by taking
the weight of a Dakota and the weight of a V-10 Ram and applying a ratio. My
calcs have it at (apprx) 4000lbs vs 5000lbs. If we go light and have the V-10
at 420 ft lbs of torque, then the Dak must have 340 ft lbs of torque to equal
the power of the ram. I haven't seen anyone on this list post numbers like
that.
-----------------------------
While its true that the V10 has a decent amount of horsepower and
gobs of torque, it makes it down REALLY low. Does anyone know the
redline on the truck V10? I think its somewhere in the neighborhood
of 3,000 RPM. Or am I thinking of the Cummins? A motor like that will
tow like a locomotive, but it doesn't stand a chance during drag racing.
Ok, I found some more info; looks like the V10 redline is 4500.
The 1-2 and 3-4 shifts occur at 3500rpm, not exactly an ideal drag
racing setup. (And I don't think its available in a manual. ?)
Check out this actual dyno pull of a modified V10 in a 1995
4x4: http://gn2.getnet.com/~sbelt/images/dyno_peak.gif
At about 2,000 rpm it was making about 470lb-ft of torque, but
it just kept falling from there, and while the HP did slowly creep
up, the curve is rather flat, finally peaking about about 260hp
around 4200rpm.
-----------------------------
A locomotive would be a good drag racer IF it was geared right for putting
power to the ground. Of course you'd need 20' wide tires or 6 axles just to
get it decent traction, but making the train Lighter so that it was just an
engine and wheels would make it a killer racer.
As you increase torque, you need to make the drive train steeper in it's
gearing to take advantage of it. Just because the motor redlines at 4500
doesn't mean that it goes any slower. Proof of this lies with the Diesel
engines. They redline at 3200 yet they are just as fast as the other trucks
in top speed *when* they are geared right. The V-10 & Diesels have VERY low
1st and 2nd gears so that they can get massive loads moving. If you put a
3:55 (or even 3:15) rear end and a transmission that has steeper gearing, you
can utilize the full power of the engine. It's just a matter of determining
the speed of your shift points: not the RPM's. As you said yourself, the
power curve is very flat, which means power throughout the band to haul the
truck at whatever shift points you pick.
-----------------------------
I've never understood the "how far can you patch out?" folks. :-) Tires
that aren't hooked up don't do anyone except your competitor any good. Its
one
of the basic philosophies of drag racing. You lift, you lose; you spin,
you lose.
:-) That Ram you saw obviously has a lot of torque, but personally, I
prefer to
have the low end a little weak to allow the tires to hook, then start churning
out the real power at midrange and high end where traction isn't such a
big issue.
------------------------------
What burning rubber prooves is *where* you can hook up at full throttle.
Of course if you lay down 15' of rubber on a regular basis then it stands to
reason that someone who lays down 25' has a more powerful motor. All it
really prooves is that you can do it. I agree with you. I'm of the opinion
to lay off the throttle a bit and wait until you're fully hooked and then
floor it. That's the skill of drag racing though. I used it as a
demonstration of raw power. This trucks tires were over a foot wide and he
still dropped enough rubber to embarass everyone else. If he can hook up with
that kind of power he'd clobber people. Problem is, he's a truck and there's
no weight in the bed. A 4x4 might do better... but you lose a lot of power
through the transaxle and that's even to the rear wheels...
------------------------------
? I didn't mean to imply that it was any less of an engine, just that
it was better suited to towing than speed. Heck, I love the pushrod engine!
Easy to understand, easy to work on... No DOHC for me, thanks! :-) It just
depends on what you want to do with your truck. I'm admittedly a speed freak,
my main interest is in how fast I can get down the 1/4 mile. So, I'll keep my
V8. (Well, I'll take the 360...) ;-) The V10 just doesn't appear to be well
suited to drag racing.
I've never seen a V10 Ram at the dragstrip, but now you've piqued my
curiosity. Anyone know about what they run in the 1/4? I think the
360 equipped SS/T / Indy Ram's run in the 16's somewhere; seems to me
that subtracting 2 seconds is a fairly tall order for a V8->V10 swap.
------------------------------
Actually, I was responding to the first persons comments there, not yours
(sorry). In this case though... I've driven a V-10, it's accelleration made
my Dakota pale. You start the truck in 2nd, not first, and you have to pull
your body out of the seat after you're done. It's an amazing ride. I still
spun the tires... (oops)(duellies too). It did put a big ol' grin across my
face though. That went away when I was imagining living at the gas station
and paying the extra $5000 for the truck. Then I found out my Dak guzzles
nearly as much gas as the V-10. I still couldn't have afforded the extra
money though, so I'm content.
I'm just imagining that same V-10 shoved into a Durango or Dakota. With
the reduced weight, and some serious drive-train mods, you could really start
embarassing some folks on the track. Especially if you made the truck in
"Stealth" mode.... your exhaust note would probably give you away though...
We really aren't discussing the practicality of this vehicle... but then,
who on the list wants a totally practical truck?
Shaun H.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:11:32 EDT
