Ferrari Mailing List: Gearing For Top Speed

[Larry T (l02turner]

I hope all will have a safe New Year and be careful when celebrating 
tonight.

Iâve read numerous books by current and past race drivers who were at the 
top of the game.  Lauda, D Bell, and others.

They said that when setting up the gearing of their car for a circuit they 
would want the car to be accelerating in top gear and reach redline at the 
end of the longest straight.  There's much more to it than that but that's 
basically how they come up with a gear ratio for top gear  -  at least as a 
starting point.

To me, it would seem a car that accelerates earlier on the straight â even 
if it âran out of steamâ after reaching redline part way through the 
straight would be the faster car.   I may not be explaining this very well â 
but I donât want to write 4 pages of email.

;-)

I suspect the drivers are right to want to accelerate all the way when on a 
straight - but I am struggling to understand how that would be the fastest 
time.

Comments?

Happy New Year!!
LarryT