Quote:
Originally Posted by Doug007
When people talk about area under the torque curve it's usually comparing a very peaky torque/power curve to a flatter one. One engine might make more peak torque, but the AVERAGE torque over a run (0-60, 1/4 mile, etc.) may very well be lower than an engine with a lower peak but flatter curve.
As for shift points, it's all about shifting when the wheel torque in the next gear will be more than your current gear. This is why Mr. 5 used the peak torque in the next gear.
In the higher gears, say 5-6 shift, if you wait until after 6000 rpm you will have less torque to the wheels in 5th than you would had you shifted to 6th for the same car speed.
The goal is to maximize the average wheel torque over the run...
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Great points.
Remember what gears do. Gears multiply the amount of torque from the engine and deliver that torque to the ground.
The amount of actual torque being applied to the ground by 1st gear is so much greater than 2nd. Once the torque of the next gear is higher than the present gear, there is no need to stay in the present gear any longer.