My alloy headed 11/1 367 has more torque than 325/50-15s can handle on the street. I have run it with a 292/292/108, a
270/276/110, and she currently has a 276/286/110; the 270 was my favorite. She went 93 in the Eighth with the 276 cam@ 3457 pounds. Her normal weight is 3650 me in it.
Forget a long flat torque curve; one of two things will happen; 1) if a stroker, it will have freight-train torque impossible to harness.
2) if a 360 it will still have a preponderance of low-rpm power meaning lots of tire spin, but the top end is no weak.
We are not in the 80s anymore, there is no good reason to compromise your combo with low-compression. Alloy heads will support cranking pressures up to 200psi still on pump gas. I have run 185/190 on 87E10
Lemmee show you something;
Say your engine has a dead flat torque curve of 400ftlbs from 2000 to 6000. the formula to convert torque to horsepower is
torque times rpm, divided by 5250
watch this;
400 x 2000/5250= 152hp
400 x 2800/5250 = 213hp
400 x 3600/5250 = 274hp
400 x 4400/5250 = 335hp
400 x 5200/5250 = 396hp
400 x 6000/5250 = 457hp
Is that what you want?
I don't think so.......
Because ;
1) yur not gonna run a 2000 stall, so kiss 152hp goodby
2) yur not gonna run a cam on the street, that would get you 457hp at 6000, so kiss that goodby.
3) the 396hp at 5200 is already pushing the power peak pretty high for a streeter.
4) the faster you drive, the more power you need.
5) the slower you drive, the less power you need
6) if your combo can smoke the tires with 3.55s all thru first gear, then you obviously have more power at slow speed than you need.
Therefore do I say, for your combo, forget a long flat power curve.
Instead, tailor the power to what the chassis can handle, and still provide the kick you want, and let the torque be what it will be.
Here is what you might like; simple easy cheap and effective. the dip at 3200 is obviously an anomaly, probably a fueling issue, Ignore it and extrapolate from say 3800 to 3000 in a straightline.
Look at the powerpeak up near 5700. This is more peak than you need. 5700rpm with 3.55s and 27s is 46mph in first/77 in second .............. so not the best fit. It really wants more gear or less cam for your combo.
More gear will destroy your cruise-rpm.
Less cam will increase your cylinder pressure and increase your low-rpm power, at the expense of high-rpm power.
But honestly, 437hp at 46mph is still spinning the tires, and as a streeter, ask yourself how often will you be at WOT at 77 mph. So, IMO, you can easily ditch that 5700rpm cam.
> now, draw a line, right across the graph at
400ftlbs. With a 360engine it will not be possible to pull the torque up to your 400ftlb line, in the rpm range that you will normally be driving, unless maybe you stroke it; even then 400@3000 is a heck of a thing for the chassis to try and deal with, and there is NO good reason to go there, as you can make the numbers down there, with gearing. That's why you have a transmission, and a Convertor..
So again; forget a long flat torque curve.
> now go back to the power peak at 5700. Do you see how slowly the power is dropping off? there is at least 300 maybe 400 more rpm left in her. Lets say a first gear outshift at 6200. With 3.55s and 27s, that is now 50 mph. In the zero to 60 contest, that only leaves you 10mph to pull in second, beginning at 3660 rpm, down around 250/260 hp, on this graph.
This is messed up.
For a streeter; You have waaaaay to much power in First gear, and are seriously choked in Second gear.
IMO, again, you would be better off with a much smaller cam, and hit Second gear much sooner.
Now I know you said "no strip racing" but
who builds a 437 hp engine and never stretches it out. What would be the point of that?
What you really need/want is another lower gear in the trans, or an overdrive, and any old SBM, at that point; Ask me how I know.
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