[urq] Optimum shifts

[Bruce Bell]

OK,

I Assume we are talking of straight line acceleration here. A road course
adds other considerations.

For computational purposes it makes no difference whether you use Torque or
horsepower curves. Remember, horsepower has a linear relationship to torque.
Horsepower, quite simply, is how fast a motor makes torque.

Since we are talking shifts, that means we are talking gear ratios, and the
transmission is by definition a torque multiplier. so...

By way of example, assume an 016 transmission with 3.60 first and 2.13
second gears in a stock WX urq. If you shift at 5500 rpm in fist (160 hp
/5500 * 5250 = 153 ft lbs.), the car is at that moment producing 550 ftlbs
(153 * 3.6) of torque. If you were to arrive in second gear at the torque
peak (you won't) you would only have 362 ft lbs of torque available (170 *
2.13). Obviously you need to accelerate past the point of peak hp prior to
shifting. In reality, given this example, you could continue until torque
dropped to around 100, (wherever that is) and still make more torque than
you would in second gear..

To summarize, you stay in the lower gear until it is less productive than
the gear you are shifting into by the above example. It is all about power
at the wheels, maximize it!

Bruce