Stick vs Auto

[Mike Taylor 3601]

i have comparison that may help...
my car was F/pure stock.305/160-230 (IHRA rating)350 TH 2.75 low gear set,low volume pump..
changed over T-10 2.88.1.75,1.33.... best with auto was 8.28 1/8 third pass with stick went 8.02 eventually went 7.68/12.30 without any changes to engine..
later converted to K/S ran 11.85 with T-10 broke it a few months later switched to jerico and went 11.66 first pass....
was converter perfect.NO but i had done all I was going to do with it...adjusted all it could be..... when i switched over was clutch perfect NO...and never was,but best I could do... 7.68/12.30 on 8.90/13.75 index was best I could do...

[Dave Gantz]

Some people may not be physically able to race a stick. I had a friend who could street drive a stick, but there was no way he could race one.

[Tom Meyer]

Ls auto to a stick goes from 382 hp to 357 or 25 hp less. 8.5 class x 25 hp less is 213 lbs. Maybe 2 tenths fast with a stick. If you look a well known stock racer just put stick in his mustang Tom.

[Jim Grande]

I have run my SS/D 69 Camaro both ways and it is a solid .20 quicker with the stick!
Auto is ATI TH400 with ATI converter. Stick is GF5R Gforce with Mcleod softlock clutch.
Perhaps a ProTrans would narrow the gap but the stick would be quicker and waaay more fun!

[weedburner]

Stick has the potential advantage of launching at a much higher rpm than an automatic.

Here's one of my ClutchTamer customer's sealed engine Coyote Stock graphs from several years ago, it clearly shows stored inertia energy contributing quite a bit to the car's initial acceleration rate. Energy that was stored prior to the start of the clock, then un-leashed after the start of the clock to boost acceleration. Notice that all the highest points of the Accel "G" trace on the graph occur while the engine's rotating assy is losing rpm (discharging energy) against WOT. But then as soon as the clutch stops pulling the engine down and engine rpm begins to climb, the G trace drops like a rock as engine torque alone is now accelerating the car with no help from discharged inertia...



Just something you might not notice if you are currently "driving into the clutch" like a lot of class racers do.

Grant

[Jim Hawkins]

My SS/I 327 camaro lost .35 going from a jerico to a powerglide. This is up here in Denver. It needs a 3 speed but the stick will still be much faster.
Years ago with a bracket motor in the car went 11.20 with a glide. First time ever with a stick in the car went 10.66 first time out.