Best Gear to Be in At 80mph

[Hollywood Hogan]

Hi guys, just picked up a VF620 M3 and am wondering if I were to say be on a closed course at 80mph and wanted to do a sprint to 120, what gear should I start at to maximize the speed of the M3? From most of the dyno's ive seen, the M3's top horsepower comes at or near redline.

Should I be at 3rd gear at 80mph? Sorry if this is a complete noob question

[1MOREMOD]

im not sure what the answer is for you but couldnt you try it out in successively lower gear until you find the one that puts you in best rpm range for 80mph?

[dparm]

Why not use a stopwatch and time it? Seems like you could figure this out pretty simply.

[Longboarder]

Congrats on your purchase. I do 80mph pulls all the time with my similary-equipped M3. Very simple...you need to keep the revs as high as possible without getting too close to redline to give yourself time to execute a shift. At 80mph (speedo indicated) with the DCT I'm at about 6,800 RPM if i remember correctly with a 8,600 RPM redline. My car is MUCH faster beginning in 3rd gear compared to 4th @ 80mph.

[eNViou$$$]

I started with the VF540, then VF620, now I'm running the VF650 kit, I would say 3rd gear is gonna be your best bet. The VF kits stop making much power past 7500-7800 rpm so i usually plan my shifts around 7500 and by the time i grab the next gear I'm at 7800-8000 with how fast they spin up. I used to bounce the rev limiter like crazy when i first finished my car because its such a beast from 4000-8000 rpms with the VF Kits.

Here's a quick video of my car when it had the 620 kit in it and before i changed wheels and some other carbon mods. it shows a quick dyne chart at the end if you pause and zoom. keep in mind this is in colorado at 5000ft elevation and we lose roughly 3-4% power for every 1000ft of elevation

[BPMSport]

3rd gear.

[Hollywood Hogan]

Thanks for the replies everyone. That's what I had thought. I just wasn't 100% sure so I thought I'd ask.

Originally Posted by Longboarder

Congrats on your purchase. I do 80mph pulls all the time with my similary-equipped M3. Very simple...you need to keep the revs as high as possible without getting too close to redline to give yourself time to execute a shift. At 80mph (speedo indicated) with the DCT I'm at about 6,800 RPM if i remember correctly with a 8,600 RPM redline. My car is MUCH faster beginning in 3rd gear compared to 4th @ 80mph.