if you were going to race a 3000 mile race, lets say from coast to coast, something like the silver state challenge, open streets blocked off for the race from all cross traffic, for example, your going to need more than just lots of horsepower,
an engine that made 550-650hp would push the car fast enough as your not concerned with brute acceleration, but high speed durability and low drag, and good directional control and excellent braking
keep in mind, for any engine combo you build for that application, that,your valve train stability and durability will be critical, and stress, is cumulative, you won,t need extreme hp,but concentrating on durability and cooling and your lube system will be mandatory, if I was building an engine for that application Id think about building a 4.5" bore/3.75" stroke 477 BBC, with all forged parts, and use a DART BLOCK, probably the AFR OVAL PORT HEADS with a 5 speed manual trans,with a top overdrive ratio, gear and large oval port heads and Id gear the car so ID pull no more than 5700rpm at top speed and cam it, with a roller cam having about a .630-.640 max lift, steel roller rockers and a stud girdle to keep valve control stress low, and to produce peak hp in the 4500rpm-6500rpm range , and Id use a 10.5:1 cpr so I could use less than ideal octane fuel and Id have a HUGE radiator, oil cooler and 8 qt oil pan, ID pay a good deal of attention to the tires, suspension, shocks and weight distribution,a sturdy roll cage, low weight, and building a very efficient exhaust scavenging set of headers and decent mufflers, and Id insist on heat barriers and a comfortable race car seat,with some padding and with a rubber mount to keep vibrations low and lots of well lit gauges
Id add that knowing how to read plugs and tune is mandatory, and use of a quality return style fuel pressure regulator and an # 6-8 lines and a fuel cell is a huge help, and road racing is mostly about power to weight,a stiff roll cage,the correct tires, a low centrally located center of mass, big brakes, effective cooling and properly set up suspension, not max peak power
a really light weight car, with huge effective brakes, and a stiff roll cage, the good tires etc can do well against cars without those factors that have far more horsepower
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=773
viewtopic.php?f=63&t=1755&p=4431&hilit=+suspension#p4431
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=1961
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=733&p=6470&hilit=fuel+cell#p6470
http://www.jegs.com/p/Barry-Grant/Demon ... 0/10002/-1
an engine that made 550-650hp would push the car fast enough as your not concerned with brute acceleration, but high speed durability and low drag, and good directional control and excellent braking
keep in mind, for any engine combo you build for that application, that,your valve train stability and durability will be critical, and stress, is cumulative, you won,t need extreme hp,but concentrating on durability and cooling and your lube system will be mandatory, if I was building an engine for that application Id think about building a 4.5" bore/3.75" stroke 477 BBC, with all forged parts, and use a DART BLOCK, probably the AFR OVAL PORT HEADS with a 5 speed manual trans,with a top overdrive ratio, gear and large oval port heads and Id gear the car so ID pull no more than 5700rpm at top speed and cam it, with a roller cam having about a .630-.640 max lift, steel roller rockers and a stud girdle to keep valve control stress low, and to produce peak hp in the 4500rpm-6500rpm range , and Id use a 10.5:1 cpr so I could use less than ideal octane fuel and Id have a HUGE radiator, oil cooler and 8 qt oil pan, ID pay a good deal of attention to the tires, suspension, shocks and weight distribution,a sturdy roll cage, low weight, and building a very efficient exhaust scavenging set of headers and decent mufflers, and Id insist on heat barriers and a comfortable race car seat,with some padding and with a rubber mount to keep vibrations low and lots of well lit gauges
Id add that knowing how to read plugs and tune is mandatory, and use of a quality return style fuel pressure regulator and an # 6-8 lines and a fuel cell is a huge help, and road racing is mostly about power to weight,a stiff roll cage,the correct tires, a low centrally located center of mass, big brakes, effective cooling and properly set up suspension, not max peak power
a really light weight car, with huge effective brakes, and a stiff roll cage, the good tires etc can do well against cars without those factors that have far more horsepower
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=773
viewtopic.php?f=63&t=1755&p=4431&hilit=+suspension#p4431
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=1961
viewtopic.php?f=55&t=733&p=6470&hilit=fuel+cell#p6470
http://www.jegs.com/p/Barry-Grant/Demon ... 0/10002/-1