jt01gt

can you actually say gears increase horsepower, or they help you get to your horsepower. I guess my question is do gears themselves increase your rwhp. (hard to explain) but do you know what i mean?

jt01gt

anyone

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Mark99GT

Gears do not increase hp. They increase torque to the rear wheels.

Adam03GT

It acts as a torque multiplyer... It works the same way your gears on your bicycle works.

Hash06

thats a really good way of explaining it

cliffyk

Using plug-in numbers to make the math easy, and ignoring powertrain losses;[/align][/align]Let's say an engine can produce 300 lb.ft. of torque availablefrom 2500to 6000 rpm atWOT, that 1st gear has a 3.0:1 ratio, the rear-end is also 3.0:1, and the tires are 2 ft. diameter.[/align][/align]This means that there is 300 * 3.0 * 3.0 = 2700 lb.ft. being delivered to the rear axle, and since the radius of the wheel is 1 ft. thereis 2,700 lbs. of force available to push the car forward--and that at 2000 rpm the car will be traveling 2000 / 3.0 / 3.0 * 60/ (5280 / pi) = 7.9 MPH; and at 6000 rpm 23.8 MPH...[/align][/align]Now change that rear-end ration to 3.5:1 and there will be 300 * 3.0 * 3.5 = 3,150 lbs. of force available to accelerate the car--obviously 3,150 lbs. of force will be able to accelerate the car faster than 2,700 lbs. BUT (there's always a but), now at 2000 RPM the car will only be traveling 6.8 MPH, and at 6000 rpm 20.4 MPH.[/align][/align]So, the bottom line is that with the 3.0:1 rear end you'll have 2,700 lbs of force pushing you from 8 to 24 MPH, and with the 3.5:1 gears you'll have 3,150 lbs. pushing you from 7 to 20 MPH--you accelerate faster and you shift faster too...[/align][/align]