Hi Folks,
To answer the question "How much power is just right?
I have always used a wheel slip percentage in the highest gear of 14% at full throttle as the forward bite number. (this is one of the things that you work with on in chassis setup using dampers and spring rates, etc.)
This is the number that the race tire engineers like to see.
Of course, in the lower gears these numbers become much greater and requires a driver that does not treat the throttle as a on-off switch.
The JBL chassis likes about 475 ft-lbs of torque. This gives the 14% wheel slip in 4th gear with a 3.55 rear gear and 315/35/17 Hoosier DOT slicks. (The overdrive screws the numbers, therefore it is ignored in the setup process.)
With the standard street tires (Michelin Pilot 335/35/17) the number is 380 ft-lbs of torque.
Sorry, but I do not have a clue as to what the other chassis out there like. Some may be less, but I am sure that others like a lot more. (Particularly beam axle cars.)
One thing that I have found, the drivers always say that they never have enough power. But when you look at the telemetry, the throttle position, and wheel slip numbers, it is always falls in the 12>14% range. (If the car has enough power to produce these numbers.)
NOTE: This means drivers who can turn competitive lap times consistantly. (Professional level folks. For us normal guys, the numbers do move around a bit. You know, smoke from the tires due to going backwards after too much throttle application at the apex.)
