Getting the best out of gears in a transmission?

[Corpsey]

Is there any solid way to know if I'm getting the most out of my gearing or is it always a trial and error thing? Especially for acceleration, and top speed.

My biggest sub-questions are:

For the 1/4 mile, what is the best use of the powerband in relation to the gearing? If the band is peaky/raises linearly? If the car is rwd/4wd? For that matter, what's a good torque sensing center differential setting?

For top speeds, do the lower gears mean anything at that point?

 

[kennyblanco]

Try giving this a read- https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=235213 It contains very helpful information pertaining to your question. Hope it helps you out. Good luck! 👍