I'm just wondering if I have too much gear in my car. My peak horsepower on my dyno sheet is at 5500 rpm's, and I go through the traps at 6300. It's a 4.10 gear. What do you think, any opinions would be great.

By the way, I love the website.

How about some more info. The car is a 69 coronet. It weighs 3700 with driver. The motor is a 500in, 440. It makes 560 hp at 5500,and 620 tq at 3500. It has a 3000 conv. 4.10 gear with a 28in. tire. It runs 11.30's at 117 mph with 1.60 60 foot.

I was always told that you want to be as close to peak horse as possible through the traps, but I don't know for sure.

you might be a tad high, but you need that gear because your car is heavy.
you could go to a 29.5 tire, which would drop you down a little trough the traps.
your stuck in a catch 22 situation.
i wouldnt change the gears.

I don't think it's to much at all. could use some more tire and converter

I would definately go to a taller rear tire. It's easy enough to do.

Get out in front of the house and burn off what you have and then order a new set of tires.

Some say you want to be 10% past peak power in the traps.

How about the intake. Its got a performer rpm. maybe a victor.

with it peaking at 5500, i'm guessing it has a hyd. cam? if it has, it probably has stopped making power at that rpm.

Let me be the first to say

Post all the details of your set up. There are some truly knowledgable folks here that can let you know if somethings not matched for optimum performance or if your leaving something on the table.




And no,


I'm not one them

I am close to your combo in my 63. It weighs just over 3700 with me in the car and it is a .030 over 440 (446) with KB pistons and stock bottom end. I use 906 heads and the MP .557 cam. Holley Street Dominator intake and 850 DP. I run 4.30's with a 30" tire. I shift about 6200 and trap about 6400. Dynamic 9.5 converter flashes about 4200 and a best et of 11.52 @ 116. Best sixty is a 1.57. I feel I may go faster with a bit less gear as I am pretty well wound out going thru the traps. But if you have 4.10's and a 28" tire I would not go to less gear.
As for the Performer RPM it is a good intake. My son runs one on the 400 in his Dart and shifts about 6700. He has run 11.40's with the same basic combo as me but he has Eddy heads and he uses 3.91's with a 26" tire. I would think maybe more converter in your car rather then a gear change. Ron

My slicks are shot. Maybe taller slicks and an intake. Or would that be to much.

What RPM are you shifting at in 1st and 2nd gear? If 5500 RPM or close to that try moving the shift points up to 5800 or 6000 RPM and see what that does before you change anything else. My Duster motor makes peak power on the engine dyno(two different tests on two different dynos two years apart) at 5600 RPM on the first tests with iron heads and 5800 RPM on the second tests with CNC ported Eddy RPM heads, the car runs faster shifing it at or above 7000 RPM in 1st and 2nd gear The first cuople of times I raced it I shifted it at 5400 rpm and 5600 RPM, it seemed like it spent a long time in high gear I switch tachs to a VDO Extreme playback and treid shifting a little higher, two to three hundred RPM each time. The tach never slows down on the play back, even shifting at 7500 RPM, where I get scared and move the lever anyways. The higher I shift it the faster it goes, that is with a Eddy six pak intake and stock type Holley carbs. I have treid 3:73, 3:91 and 4;10 in the car and it goes 128.6 with all three ratios some things don't make sense but they work anyways

I shift the car at 5800. I have tried from 5200 to 6500. It starts to run slower whene I start going over 6000.


Thanks for all the advice. If anybody has any other ideas let me know. thanks.