Wow Ron I thought I had analysis paralysis. :lol:

TKO 600 w/ .64 OD
650-750hp/tq depending on boost
2.87 1st gear
3.70 rear gear
5th gear rpm around 2200rpm @ 75mph on recent road trip.

Good one Flash.

This may sound like an odd question but would a high hp motor like yours with a low rpm 5th gear (2200) damage the motor in anyway?

Thanks.

No damage at that rpm that I am aware of. I have EFI which definitely helps, but if you are carbed and running at maybe 2000rpm or much lower you could get some bogging and bucking I guess? I don't know at what point/scenario some specific damage might occur though. I'll let someone more knowledgeable answer that one.

:beathorse


:cheers: :woot:

I know I know but I can only learn by asking questions.

Thanks.

Let me ask this question.

What first gear and what rear gear would I need to have a comfortable take off from 1st to 2nd gear in bumper to bumper traffic or pull up in and backing up in a parking spot without the car wanting to take off on me? (with 600+ hp)

Thanks.

it doesn't work that way. Just because it has 600 hp does not mean it wants to "take off on you......." You still control the gas pedal.

Ron --

You need to understand HORSEPOWER.... You don't have "600 Horsepower" at idle or just off idle -- or even at 1500 rpms....

The questions you're asking are just all wrong. Nobody can answer them. There are so many variables - like tire size - cam - cubic inches - rear gear...

Is the motor RADICAL - or is it a pretty tame build - that just happens to make that HP - a Twin Turbo small block can make 1000 hp and drive like a Lexus around town... a big block Pontiac will make so much low end torque (the only good part of any Pontiac motor) that you won't need HORSEPOWER - which by the way - is ONLY a mathematical equation of how much TORQUE you make and what RPMS you're turning...

So if you're big block motor is built with a .700 lift cam - with radical duration - and doesn't make ANY torque below 2500 RPMs -- you're going to have a motor that SUCKS big time for the kind of driving you're asking about... but if you build a nice big block Pontiac with 455 cubic inches and are making 400 ft lbs of TQ at 2000 rpms --- it's going to drive easy - and like a street car should. It's going to FEEL powerful - without being a beast to drive.

So if you build a drivetrain like everyone is telling you to --- a 500 hp 455 Pontiac - Tremec 5 or 6 speed OVERDRIVE - 3:70ish rear gears.... 18" 40 series or 19" 35 series tires -- you're going to have a very nice combo that you'd love to drive and will be hugely powerful without issues. You want to snot it up a couple of notches and start making 700 hp - then it's still all about the CAM and where it makes it's power... and THEN you figure what gears/tranny you NEED to make that combo work.

Thanks Greg and JB and everyone else for your in site, opinions, and help.

I will have more questions about my car and parts as each stage of my build comes along. Now if I could only get my builder to start the metal stage...

Thanks.

I can cruise at 1600-2000 rpm in 5th with mine and it's got a pretty big cam on a 114 lobe separtation. Of course I only do it on flat ground under minimum loads. Big block torque.:D