S2k vs 4.44 geared S2k
08-10-2006, 11:07 AM
#1
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S2k vs 4.44 geared S2k
I recently got 4.44 gears installed and I've been interested to do a comparison with another S2k. We ran before the gears and it was dead even. Last night we did a couple runs from various speeds and to my shock, horror, and disappointment it was NOT a one sided victory. At normal highway speeds it basically came down to who jumped first. We did runs from a slow roll (5mph?), he jumped a little off the start and I seemed to pull back slightly before Vtec then it just evened up. We did some rolls from 45-50 to 85ish and whoever got a slight jumped seemed to hold it, for the most part. I felt like I had a very slight advantage (given a perfect race), he said it was dead even, either way it was certainly not an obvious victory. We then did a roll from 70-120 where his bumper was at my rear fender.
Between the pre and post-gear runs he cut vents in his stock hood. He runs without the airbox as well. We speculated that the hoods allowed for better air induction to help offset the gears, but obviously we both expected the gears to do more. My differential also has a slight whine from 35-55mph (installer aparently wasn't the best) so I've wondered if a poorly setup differential is costing me a couple hp??? My advise: if you're going to do gears go with atleast 4.57's but personally I wish I'd put the money toward a supercharger. No flames please, just the facts...
I'm going to the dragstrip later tonight. I ran 14.36 @ 97.78 before the gears. I've pulled out 94 pounds of "junk" (who needs a passenger seat anyway?) in addition to the gears, hoping to break 14. I'll report back later.
Between the pre and post-gear runs he cut vents in his stock hood. He runs without the airbox as well. We speculated that the hoods allowed for better air induction to help offset the gears, but obviously we both expected the gears to do more. My differential also has a slight whine from 35-55mph (installer aparently wasn't the best) so I've wondered if a poorly setup differential is costing me a couple hp??? My advise: if you're going to do gears go with atleast 4.57's but personally I wish I'd put the money toward a supercharger. No flames please, just the facts...
I'm going to the dragstrip later tonight. I ran 14.36 @ 97.78 before the gears. I've pulled out 94 pounds of "junk" (who needs a passenger seat anyway?) in addition to the gears, hoping to break 14. I'll report back later.
08-10-2006, 02:21 PM
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On the highway or even from a roll after the gears have lost their advantage, this is not a surprise. You're already moving.
From a dig, it's a whole different story.
Gears are not horsepower.
From a dig, it's a whole different story.
Gears are not horsepower.
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08-10-2006, 04:58 PM
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Originally Posted by geists2k,Aug 10 2006, 06:21 PM
On the highway or even from a roll after the gears have lost their advantage, this is not a surprise. You're already moving.
From a dig, it's a whole different story.
Gears are not horsepower.
From a dig, it's a whole different story.
Gears are not horsepower.
08-10-2006, 08:18 PM
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Originally Posted by geists2k,Aug 10 2006, 02:21 PM
On the highway or even from a roll after the gears have lost their advantage, this is not a surprise. You're already moving.
From a dig, it's a whole different story.
Gears are not horsepower.
From a dig, it's a whole different story.
Gears are not horsepower.
it sounds to me like it has something to do with driver in this case.... no matter what the speed a gear'd car is going to rev slightly faster, therefor putting more power to the ground quicker......
08-10-2006, 09:20 PM
#10
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When we did the test runs we did as much possible to eliminate any driver differences, although I feel like we are fairly equal drivers. Someone mentioned gears help more from a stop than a roll. In my opinion going from a stop depends a lot on both the driver and tires, from a roll those factors are virtually eliminated and the true effect of the gears has more opportunity to show. Again, at low speeds it was very very close, as speeds rose the geared cars advantage showed MORE although it was still disappointingly close (for both of us, the other guy was looking into getting gears as well).
I went drag racing a few months ago for my first time. Since then my tires have gone from basically new to getting close to the wear bars. Other than that the only change was the installation of 4.44 gears, 94 pounds of weight savings and whatever learning curve may be established between your 1st and 2nd drag racing experiences.
1st time at track: stock gears, more thread on tires (times in order)
15.7 @ 92.7, 2.30
15.0 @ 94.8, 2.25
14.7 @ 96.3, 2.31
14.4 @ 96.5, 2.24
14.6 @ 96.5, 2.19
14.3 @ 97.7, 2.37
2nd time at track: 4.44 gears, 94 pounds lighter (times in order)
14.2 @ 97.4, 2.26
14.3 @ 97.9, 2.22
14.1 @ 97.2, 2.25
14.3 @ 96.7, 2.19 (slight bog, down to 5000rpm)
15.1 @ 94.4, 2.26 (bogged bad)
Again, just the facts. I'm telling it like it is. I've read so many threads saying "gears take .5 off your ET" and I felt obligated to share my experiences. Maybe some have had better results, maybe I'm not the greatest driver, but it's hard to argue that in this particular situation gears did not significantly help my times.
On the positive side, the gears have not effected my MPG much at all. Since getting the gears I've done a large amount of highway driving at higher speeds (80-90mph) and have recorded mileage almost identical to my pre-gear numbers under similar driving conditions. Once I go through enough tanks to for a sample size I'm comfortable with I'll post exact figures.
EDIT: 60' times added
Runs made in Bradenton FL. It's Florida so... elevation = 2 ft and temperatures = 90+
I went drag racing a few months ago for my first time. Since then my tires have gone from basically new to getting close to the wear bars. Other than that the only change was the installation of 4.44 gears, 94 pounds of weight savings and whatever learning curve may be established between your 1st and 2nd drag racing experiences.
1st time at track: stock gears, more thread on tires (times in order)
15.7 @ 92.7, 2.30
15.0 @ 94.8, 2.25
14.7 @ 96.3, 2.31
14.4 @ 96.5, 2.24
14.6 @ 96.5, 2.19
14.3 @ 97.7, 2.37
2nd time at track: 4.44 gears, 94 pounds lighter (times in order)
14.2 @ 97.4, 2.26
14.3 @ 97.9, 2.22
14.1 @ 97.2, 2.25
14.3 @ 96.7, 2.19 (slight bog, down to 5000rpm)
15.1 @ 94.4, 2.26 (bogged bad)
Again, just the facts. I'm telling it like it is. I've read so many threads saying "gears take .5 off your ET" and I felt obligated to share my experiences. Maybe some have had better results, maybe I'm not the greatest driver, but it's hard to argue that in this particular situation gears did not significantly help my times.
On the positive side, the gears have not effected my MPG much at all. Since getting the gears I've done a large amount of highway driving at higher speeds (80-90mph) and have recorded mileage almost identical to my pre-gear numbers under similar driving conditions. Once I go through enough tanks to for a sample size I'm comfortable with I'll post exact figures.
EDIT: 60' times added
Runs made in Bradenton FL. It's Florida so... elevation = 2 ft and temperatures = 90+