[Dysan911]

So those of us with the M6. It's best to always know exactly what gear to target when you need maximum torque no matter what your current speed is.

Say you're cruising along on the highway at 65mph and you need full power. How do you determine which gear to select?

Do you guys keep a speed range in your head at all times like

3rd Gear = 70-85mph being that it would be in the 4k range of the RPMs.

For me it seems 3rd gear is great if you're at around 70mph to 75mph. 2nd gear pulls hard at a speed of 30mph-50mph. 4th gear is for 85 and higher.

Just curious if that's about right with what others go by.


Here's the official chart.

[Waiting46]

Good to know the car will do nearly 300 at max gear/rpm

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by Dysan911

Say you're cruising along the highway at 65mph and you need full power...

Ahh, yes, for when you spot that barricaded on ramp for what used be the bridge over Critter Creek and Rosco is hot on your tail.

I would hit the rev match and drop it in 3rd.

[Dysan911]

Originally Posted by ctrlz

Ahh, yes, for when you spot that barricaded on ramp for what used be the bridge over Critter Creek and Rosco is hot on your tail.

I would hit the rev match and drop it in 3rd.

LOL. Exactly!

[diirk]

Peak torque is supposed to be around 4-5k. So that would be where your max power is being made.

[ctrlz]

Originally Posted by diirk

Peak torque is supposed to be around 4-5k. So that would be where your max power is being made.

Yes. Using the rev match is a great way to avoid drivetrain shock in this situation.

[BradfordCamaro]

I always need full power, never leave 3rd gear.

[diirk]

I still get surprised on occasion when I go WOT and the car breaks loose in 3rd gear at 5k rpm. Love it every single time.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by diirk

Peak torque is supposed to be around 4-5k. So that would be where your max power is being made.

The rpm that you hit peak torque at doesn't have anything to do with maximum power.

Power (hp) = Torque (ft-lbs) x Engine Speed (rpm) / 5252

You can make 600 ft-lbs of torque at 1000 rpm & you won't even be making 60 hp. But 300 ft-lbs @6000 is almost 350 hp.

Originally Posted by Dysan911

So those of us with the M6. It's best to always know exactly what gear to target when you need maximum torque no matter what your current speed is.

Say you're cruising along on the highway at 65mph and you need full power. How do you determine which gear to select?

Do you guys keep a speed range in your head at all times like

3rd Gear = 70-85mph being that it would be in the 4k range of the RPMs.

For me it seems 3rd gear is great if you're at around 70mph to 75mph. 2nd gear pulls hard at a speed of 30mph-50mph. 4th gear is for 85 and higher.

Just curious if that's about right with what others go by.


Here's the official chart.

Do you want to know when you'll have maximum power, like in your thread title, or maximum torque like in your post? Power and torque are two different things that serve two different purposes. Want to accelerate quickly? You need power. I can't think of a reason why you'd actually want to be at peak torque that wouldn't be better accomplished with more power in a lower gear. Yes, when you downshift to 2nd at 55 mph you are going to be very close to peak toque ... but thats not why you're shifting to that gear. You put it in 2nd because if you had gone down to 1st, you'd already be at redline.

Maximum power comes at 6000 rpm for the LT1. So 50 mph in 1st, 74 in 2nd, 102, 132, 178, & not applicable in a stock Camaro SS.

Max torque is at 4400 in the Camaro LT1. 36 mph, 56 mph, 74, 96, 130, & probably not applicable in a stock Camaro SS

[Dysan911]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

The rpm that you hit peak torque at doesn't have anything to do with maximum power.

Power (hp) = Torque (ft-lbs) x Engine Speed (rpm) / 5252

You can make 600 ft-lbs of torque at 1000 rpm & you won't even be making 60 hp. But 300 ft-lbs @6000 is almost 350 hp.


Do you want to know when you'll have maximum power, like in your thread title, or maximum torque like in your post? Power and torque are two different things that serve two different purposes. Want to accelerate quickly? You need power. I can't think of a reason why you'd actually want to be at peak torque that wouldn't be better accomplished with more power in a lower gear. Yes, when you downshift to 2nd at 55 mph you are going to be very close to peak toque ... but thats not why you're shifting to that gear. You put it in 2nd because if you had gone down to 1st, you'd already be at redline.

Maximum power comes at 6000 rpm for the LT1. So 50 mph in 1st, 74 in 2nd, 102, 132, 178, & not applicable in a stock Camaro SS.

Max torque is at 4400 in the Camaro LT1. 36 mph, 56 mph, 74, 96, 130, & probably not applicable in a stock Camaro SS

Ok I think I'm even more confused now. lol I just want to know at any given speed what is the best gear for highest acceleration..

Assuming this is correct I went based on peak torque because as you pointed out you don't want to pick a gear that's going to put you at redline.

I think that's where things can get confusing. Basically you need to know in your head at all times at any given speed what gear to throw to for maximum acceleration. Keeping in mind that you don't want to pick a gear that's going to bring the RPM's up near redline.


Example: You could hold first gear from 0 to 50mph. Peak pulling power is around 4400rpm which would be at a speed of about 36mph. Granted you would not want to throw to 1st if you were near 50mph though as you mentioned since it would be to close to redline.

Based on that and the graph I came up with what I think the gear to throw to if your speed equals the following.

Speed 0-37 = 1st gear

Speed 37-56 = 2nd gear

Speed 56-76 = 3rd Gear

Speed 76-99 = 4th Gear


I know this can be confusing because even though first gear can pull hard to 50mph, you wouldn't want to throw to first if you were already doing say 45mph because that would put you close to 1st gear Redline.

Hope that makes sense.

[I`m Batman]

A = F / M

acceleration = force (torque) divided by mass (weight of the car).

These are approx torque numbers from Chevy website for LT1 crate engine.


Based on the acceleration formula and approx torque and weight of the car... the best RPM to be in is around 4000 - 4500 RPM. Maybe even a little bit lower (3750 or even 3500) so you can get more of the meat for longer!

RPM Torq Mass Acceleration
1000 300 3700 0.081081081
1500 340 3700 0.091891892
2000 380 3700 0.102702703
2500 410 3700 0.110810811
3000 425 3700 0.114864865
3500 440 3700 0.118918919
4000 450 3700 0.121621622
4500 460 3700 0.124324324
5000 445 3700 0.12027027
5500 425 3700 0.114864865
6000 400 3700 0.108108108


Since the mass is a constant, and the only thing that changes is your torque... you can just basically use your torque curve to determine your acceleration.

[Dysan911]

Originally Posted by I`m Batman

A = F / M

acceleration = force (torque) divided by mass (weight of the car).

These are approx torque numbers from Chevy website for LT1 crate engine.


Based on the acceleration formula and approx torque and weight of the car... the best RPM to be in is around 4000 - 4500 RPM. Maybe even a little bit lower (3750 or even 3500) so you can get more of the meat for longer!

RPM Torq Weight Acceleration
1000 300 3700 0.081081081
1500 340 3700 0.091891892
2000 380 3700 0.102702703
2500 410 3700 0.110810811
3000 425 3700 0.114864865
3500 440 3700 0.118918919
4000 450 3700 0.121621622
4500 460 3700 0.124324324
5000 445 3700 0.12027027
5500 425 3700 0.114864865
6000 400 3700 0.108108108

Nice so rounding the speeds up just a tad I updated it to be



Speed 0-35 = 1st gear

Speed 35 - 50 = 2nd gear

Speed 50 - 70 = 3rd Gear

Speed 70 - 90 = 4th Gear

Speed 90 - 120 = 5th Gear

Easier to remember too.

[DGthe3]

I got 10 minutes into writing a big treatise on power, torque, gearing, speed, and acceleration ... then realized thats probably not what I should be doing right now.

I'll get back this thread later this evening when I've got a lot more time.

[Hard Parker]

holy hell 80mph in second gear lol