Yesterday at the track I decided to shift to 4th because I had what I thought was a bad launch. When I got my timeslip, it turned out to be my best run to date. For those of you with the typical mods (intake, y-pipe, catback or B-pipe) you may want to try out these shift points. The points have been determined from my dynojet runs. The rpms I list are the rpms "indicated" by the tach (it reads about 300 rpms high).

1-2 6500
2-3 6200
3-4 6000

According to my dyno plot the 4th gen VQ looses power after 5700 rpms in 4th gear and then dramatically falls off after 6000. By staying in 3rd the entire length of the track, you end up laboring in 3rd at near 6500 rpms when you hit the timing boxes. The drag racer rule of thumb is that you want to be crossing the line at hp peak. By shifting to 4th, you are crossing at 5300rpms which is much better than 6500. Why? Because at 5300rpms I'm making 172 fwhp vs 145 fwhp at 6500. Even though it doesn't feel like it, you are still accelerating in 4th.

BTW, shifting to 4th should only be done by those who can shift relatively quickly or else you et and trap speed could possibly be worse. I don't powershift, but I come pretty close (ie rpms never exceed 6500).

Dave