what Transmission to use for circle track?

[mrbee64]

What transmissions are you guys running in 2.2 Daytona's on 1/4 mile and 1/3 mile asphalt circle tracks?
Thanks

[Vigo]

Well, are you asking about auto vs manual? Is there any rule in your class that says you have to run one or the other?

The manual will give you a lot more engine braking when you get off the gas, which could be good or bad depending on how you drive.

The auto will let you think about other things besides shifting.

In a straight line, the auto will be far slower, and it weighs a good 50 lbs more. But its a lot less likely to be damaged in racing imo.

If you use an auto make sure and run a BIG external cooler.

[mrbee64]

manual

[Vigo]

Ahh, well if you have to run a manual, you got a few options.

There's basically two 'styles' of transmissions, with slightly different shifter setups and pretty much the same everything else.

the older a520 and a555 and the newer a523 and a568.

The 555 and 568 are the 'high performance' versions of the 520 and 523 that have stronger gears and slightly different gear ratios.

Basically, any one of them would work fine. None of them are likely to break unless you're making WAAAY too much power for circle track.

One thing i would do is put diff pin savers in them because you will probably be spinning one wheel more than most other kinds of racing.

So really the only ones to avoid is anything that says a4XX like a460 or a465, the a525 which is weak and would require mods to run in a later daytona, and the a543 which only fits v6.

[turbovanman²]

In a straight line, the auto will be far slower, and it weighs a good 50 lbs more. But its a lot less likely to be damaged in racing imo.


How the hell do you figure that? :confused:

Do you want to run an LSD? that will throw a wrench into things as well.

[mrbee64]

I've heard of guys running A460's and A525's because of the final drive in 2'nd gear falling in the 6.34 to 6.73 range. I'm just not sure which final drive is working the best for people.

[BadAssPerformance]

Welcome to the forum!

Here is a trans guide in our Knowledge Center

http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/vbarticles.php?do=article&articleid=13

What gear ratio are you looking for? Really short?

What kind of car? I'm guessing N/A due to most 4cyl circle track rules?

[BadAssPerformance]

And for gearing, check out Frank's gearing calculator:

http://www.squirrelpf.com/gearingcalc/index.php

[mrbee64]

Thanks JT :D Franks gearing calculator is a big help. :thumb:

[Vigo]

How the hell do you figure that?


How much power do you think you can make in one of these things and not spin the inside tire constantly in a race where one tire is constantly unloaded cuz you're always turning? At those power levels a 5-spd is WAY faster than an auto.

Also, circle track racing is gonna be real hard on a manual transmission if you dont go out of your way to be nice to it because most people arent gonna wait for things to spin up and down while shifting, they're just gonna jam the ---- out of it until it goes into gear. I mean if you think about the way people shift their 5spds at the drags, imagine shifting like that for 15 minutes straight instead of 15 seconds. Youd trash the synchros and grind gears off in no time. IF you were nice to it that wouldnt happen, but in the heat of wheel-to-wheel racing i dont know if many people would spare the time and patience for their tranny.

[mrbee64]

Also, circle track racing is gonna be real hard on a manual transmission if you dont go out of your way to be nice to it because most people arent gonna wait for things to spin up and down while shifting, they're just gonna jam the ---- out of it until it goes into gear.

FYI:you should not be shifting on the track. You should be in 2nd gear for the whole race. I was trying to find out what transmissions people are using for 1/4 mile circle tracks. Every manual trany has a little different final drive in second. If you are shifting you have the wrong set-up.

[Vigo]

i guess then i just dont know enough about circle track racing. Realistically, 2nd gear in most of the 5spds wont go past 60 without tall tires and a lot of rpm.

however, in an auto, 1st can get close to 50 and 2nd can go past 80 on tall tires.

What is the speed range you are asking about?