Do Nascar Drivers Shift Gears
The 4-speeds in current use are evolutinary copies of the Ford 'top loader' (Jerico) and the Borg-Warner T-10 (Tex 'T-101' One of the major differences is that these transmissions are available in a wide variety of ratio combinations - low gears range from 3.5/1 to 1.8/1.Rear gear ratios are easily changeable as well - when DW mentions a 'gear', he is talking about a removable carrier assembly, which holds the ring & pinion and the differential - 2 guys can change one in about 20 min. Available gears range from 2.6/1 to 7/1.with these options available, it's pretty easy to get a gear combination that works for the particular track.Cost is not a small issue - Quaife just introduced a new hi-torque racing transmission, to compete in the same market as the Jerico.Jerico =$3500, Quaife = $14K Jerico has a 5 spd sequential for Grand Am & SCCA, goes for $7500.How many transmissions does a Cup team have in stock, per car/driver? I'd bet a dozen.
Nascar Cup, and their other divisions are a production based racing series.The transmissions currently used are updated versions of production transmissions.F1 engines turn 15000 rpm plus, and do not have a particularly wide powerband - thus the need for more speeds, with closer ratios, and the paddle shifters, cuz' ya gotta shift so much to kep the little missle up in it's powerband. The big beast of a sedan has similar horsepower, but turns 1/2 the RPM, with a broader powerband.The other thing is - 7 speed, paddle shifters would increase costs considerably (especially with the necessary sophisticated engine control software), and would not improve the show.
You are forgetting they use 6speed transmissions on LMP cars and the past decade have been dominated by diesels with power coming from as low as 2500 rpm with a peak of round 6000-7000 rpm but to + to his answer? NASCAR doesn't need more gears on ovals but they prove useful on the road courses which brings us to another?
Famous Nascar Drivers
Nascar Transmission Shift Pattern
SHOULD NASCAR RUN MORE ROAD COURSES? Personally I think they should but which races to cut from the season? They have so many great tracks and they've already cut several great tracks from the schedule to accommodate new tracks I'd rather they expanded the number of races in the schedule.