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1,760 Posts
How long is "too long"?
Your top speed will ultimately be limited by 2 things:
1 - Whether you can actually spin the tires fast enough through the drivetrain, and
2 - Whether you have enough power to actually go that fast.
#1 is trivial, and is almost a matter of convenience. On a long enough track, doesn't really matter, put it in top gear at start and your top speed isn't going to be affected any.
#2 is where you need to put all your brainpower. Figure out what the top speed is likely able to be in terms of power, not mechanically. Then work backwards to find a top gear that is reasonably within the right limit (and just a hair over so you're not leaving anything on the table).
Any time you start talking about a mixture of goals (i.e. top speed while also being X, Y or Z), then it's almost too hard to give advice because it depends so heavily on how you weigh the elements in that mixture and what you're willing to sacrifice of each to get something else.
Can't optimize for multiple variables at the same time.
Your top speed will ultimately be limited by 2 things:
1 - Whether you can actually spin the tires fast enough through the drivetrain, and
2 - Whether you have enough power to actually go that fast.
#1 is trivial, and is almost a matter of convenience. On a long enough track, doesn't really matter, put it in top gear at start and your top speed isn't going to be affected any.
#2 is where you need to put all your brainpower. Figure out what the top speed is likely able to be in terms of power, not mechanically. Then work backwards to find a top gear that is reasonably within the right limit (and just a hair over so you're not leaving anything on the table).
Any time you start talking about a mixture of goals (i.e. top speed while also being X, Y or Z), then it's almost too hard to give advice because it depends so heavily on how you weigh the elements in that mixture and what you're willing to sacrifice of each to get something else.
Can't optimize for multiple variables at the same time.