cmanf

LOL Urban I always read your posts you have a good way of putting the explanation down that I wouldnt want to type out.

It has taken me years to learn you build a car as a Package to achieve a goal.
Engine drivetrain and suspension.
AMG Black engineers said it best.
There are cars with more H.P. but Torque is where you live and drive we build torque and H.P.
is a by-product. That being said it explains why I have a 325 rear gear behind a TKO I dont need to change gears as oftenin and out of corners and a broader power band and torque takes up the lack of 410 gears.

67mustang302

Yes, I'd rather have an engine that made power at a lower rpm with broader torque. 2 important negatives are generated when you make power at higher rpm. Though you can gain the torque at the wheels back with gearing, turning the higher rpm is harder on engine parts(reduced reliability, negative 1) and there's more engine friction at higher rpm, so making the power there means you're burning more fuel to do it(increased fuel consumption, negative 2). And a 3rd big negative as well, is the cost involved in setting a car up that runs at high rpm.

F1 cars do run insane rpm because they're rules limited to 2.4L 90* V8 engines(145cid and they make 750hp), and a maximum of 18,000rpm. Under previous rules they were turning 2.4L engines up to 20,000rpm(making close to 900hp). NASCAR is limited to 358cid, but the rules limit their top rpm by the use of what is known as the "gear rule" where the sanctioning body stipulates what final drive they can run, essentially hobbling their engine performance by making it run with less gear than ideal so it can't hit max rpm.

Since a road racing setup isn't as dependent on engine power, and suspension and brakes are critical, the smaller WEIGHT engine is better for handling/braking, which is why a 347/363 is quite nice, since you have the compactness and limited weight of a 302 setup, but with more cubes so you can make broad torque at lower rpm. It's not as much of an issue to build an OHC engine that's small and runs at higher rpm, but pushrod engines get quite expensive quite fast when you build them to reliably run at sustained high rpm. That's quite important for the average enthusiast that doesn't have the huge amounts of money to spend on a setup.