Ben.....
I am always bothered by such 'one-size-fits-all' type approaches.
Many of us have more than one engine and we know that each one produces a different 'power-curve' even if they SEEM identical from a casual glance. Some of us even have each one set up differently DELIBERATELY so that we can make use of those difference on different days, tracks, conditions... etc..
For example.... on a track which is dominated by a HUGE straight with a fabulous hairpin at he end of it (I.e., Kimbolton), it becomes more important to use an egine which produces a LOT of it's power at the TOP of the rev-range. However, at Rye House, a motor with a more WIDE power band coming in lower down the rev-range may be more important.
The point I am making is that two supposedly IDENTICAL engines can be quite different.....
...... so....
......how does the 'chart' deal with THOSE two requirements? How did the writer of the chart KNOW which engine I would be using BEFORE he printed it?
Personally, I'd recommend buying a Mychron 4 (or second-hand Mychron 3) and looking at the POWWER curve of your engine to see what suits IT best at Track X on Day Y in Conditions Z.
It's worth thinking about the concept of (for example) peak revs. Many people tell you you need to hit Revs X at the end of a straight. However, when you display your 'power curve' and 'time at revs X', you'll note that you ONLY hit that peak for (let's guess) 2% of your ENTIRE lap: you then need to ask if setting your engine/sprockets for precisely 2% of the lap really IS the best use of the engine....
What I am suggesting is that you go into this a bit more deeply now you have left the comfort of an 'awning'. There are quite DEFINITELY 10ths of seconds to be found in such approaches..... if not HALF seconds!
Ian
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