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What RPM should a KLZE be shifted at to maximize acceleration?

(My KLZE is stock except an air intake and Pacesetter headers).

What is your drag strip launch technique(s)? (On Street Tires)

dont know much about drag but i though the ze stops making power around 6500rpm, so youd probably want to shift around there. have a look on the racing forum. i think there was a topic like this back in the day... launch would probably be about 2500 rpm mid/ 3/4 throttle. youll have to experiment, especially with your car. its alot lighter then most so youll probably end up with more wheel spin then the average mx3er.

Thanks for your input, I was thinking with a world of MX-3 Knowledge on here a good solid clue could be found LOL. Although I have not scaled my car yet, I assume the buisness end of a 326 and a MX-3 are likely almost identical, my car just does not have the MX-3's bodacious booty. If you look at my car (MX-3 Eibach pro kit) it has a hotrod rake to it, which supports my MX-3 big booty theory.

Sorry off topic but wow that engine looks sexy! Nice work man.

The 323's we get here in Australia look crap compared to that. I quite like the look. It looks much like a Familia turbo we have here.

ya id probably give up my mx3 for it. i was wondering.. are you planning on keeping this car forever or selling it off in the next couple years? from the amount of quality you've put in the build it looks like your making it to last. your car is probably as close to new as possible for a 20 year old car that is.

It's not all about where the ZE stops making power, but where you'll be in the RPM range when you shift into the next gear also. I always shifted at 7k, gave me my best times. Launches were hard, drops at around 3-4000rpms were the best launches, but I had so much wheel hop I was affraid to break something...

RX8SE3P wrote:Sorry off topic but wow that engine looks sexy! Nice work man.

The 323's we get here in Australia look crap compared to that. I quite like the look. It looks much like a Familia turbo we have here.

Thanks! Ya this car started life as a 1.6L 5spd. The V6 never came in a 323. I swapped it in using thousands of MX-3 parts. LOL The only body mods are the Hella fog lights, a First gen MX-6 front lip (cut down to fit) and a optional
(in Canada/ USA? rear hatch spoiler).

mikeinaus wrote:ya id probably give up my mx3 for it. i was wondering.. are you planning on keeping this car forever or selling it off in the next couple years? from the amount of quality you've put in the build it looks like your making it to last. your car is probably as close to new as possible for a 20 year old car that is.

I am not 100% sure what my future plans for the car are. It's original purpose of being a daily driven summer car are working out well. I did not intend to fall in love with it It was supposed to be something to thrash around in daily in the summer cause my other project car had become to valuable / sentimental to drive daily. I am actually thinking about selling the Mustang now. Considering putting a Turbo or a supercharger on the 323, Coil-overs and a LSD. I struggle with it's front wheel drive-ness and I am considering leaving well enough alone. (I am really happy with it as-is)

Nd4SpdSe wrote:It's not all about where the ZE stops making power, but where you'll be in the RPM range when you shift into the next gear also. I always shifted at 7k, gave me my best times. Launches were hard, drops at around 3-4000rpms were the best launches, but I had so much wheel hop I was affraid to break something...

Kool Thanks, This is what I have been doing on the street, but, I was not sure it would translate well to the track and I was concerned the 7000RPM shifts might hurt it, or that 7000RPM shifts were pointlessly high. I have KLDE and K8 heads to rob the valve retainers out of, so far mine are stock KLZE.

I tried shifting at 6500 back in the day at the track and it was slower for me. My ZE was revved to 7k several times daily (for 100'000kms), but never higher.

I rev the piss out of mine all the time, mind you I only have approx 1400km on it since the install. Top speed so far was 224 km/h, with a busted mx-3 tranny.
But I find shifting around 7,000 nets me the best acceleration.

To avoid wheelspin, I launch at about 2500, and when it grabs, I try to not completely stomp it. I'm not very practiced, though. I pretty much flat shift when it's screaming, but I don't look at the speedo. It's probably at about 7k, so it picks up in the next gear in the torque range. In the video I have, I have 2 full seconds of wheel spin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDCHjC5gh94

Just a simple youtube vid of a guy doing some pretty decent speeds and revs. Definitely agree, 7K shifting will get you above 5000rpms in your next gear. This would keep you very near/at peak torque.