off season pondering pinion angle

Dragsinger · 11-28-2012, 01:39 PM

I have a long time nagging question in ref to pinion angle and it's relation to overall race car performance. When searching the web forums on the subject I find as many theories/suggestions as when asking what motor oil a fellow likes.

From personal experience with a number of different combinations I find that sightly more pinion angle [about 1.5 more pinion down hill in relation to driveshaft] than what "they say" always helps my cars. So instead of 1 to 1.5 pinion down in relation to the driveshaft mine works best at 2 - 2.5 down in relation to driveshaft. And this result is not confined to one style race car or suspension. It has consistently give good performance and results with ladder bars or four link, slow small blocks or fast big blocks.

Also, on some forums you will find written comments about "when the pinion climbs the ring gear" and how a lower [more down] pinion angle gives a mechanical advantage to the climbing effort. So far, I have not grasp the visual or understanding of the mechanical advantage.

And think about a dragster where the driveshaft or coupler is in a straight line. Help me understand how the pinion can have any different mechanical advantage regardless of where the pinion works against the ring gear.

So, let's just open a brain storm session about your results with pinion angle adjustments. And we'll see if any light bulbs turn on for me.

11-28-2012, 01:39 PM	#1
Dragsinger VIP Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Liberty City [East Texas] Posts: 1,760 Likes: 5 Liked 99 Times in 60 Posts	off season pondering pinion angle I have a long time nagging question in ref to pinion angle and it's relation to overall race car performance. When searching the web forums on the subject I find as many theories/suggestions as when asking what motor oil a fellow likes. From personal experience with a number of different combinations I find that sightly more pinion angle [about 1.5 more pinion down hill in relation to driveshaft] than what "they say" always helps my cars. So instead of 1 to 1.5 pinion down in relation to the driveshaft mine works best at 2 - 2.5 down in relation to driveshaft. And this result is not confined to one style race car or suspension. It has consistently give good performance and results with ladder bars or four link, slow small blocks or fast big blocks. Also, on some forums you will find written comments about "when the pinion climbs the ring gear" and how a lower [more down] pinion angle gives a mechanical advantage to the climbing effort. So far, I have not grasp the visual or understanding of the mechanical advantage. And think about a dragster where the driveshaft or coupler is in a straight line. Help me understand how the pinion can have any different mechanical advantage regardless of where the pinion works against the ring gear. So, let's just open a brain storm session about your results with pinion angle adjustments. And we'll see if any light bulbs turn on for me. __________________ Larry Woodfin 471W