Originally Posted by power2weight
[engineer]
As far as gearing is concerned, you may notice that you can half the speed of any shaft, and under the same input conditions double the torque. The HP figure however, will remain unchanged. Another free-body diagram would show this nicely. As an engine revs several times through the power band over its pass down a 1/4 mile, peak acceleration is found when the TQ numbers are highest (without accounting for traction, aero drag).[/engineer]
you were right, until this paragraph (and you are still half-right).
peak acceleration at any given
speed occurs at the POWER PEAK, not the torque peak.
peak acceleration in any
given gear happens at the torque peak.
the way to get the MOST acceleration out of a car with CVT is to hold the engine at the power peak, not the torque peak.
a way i have for years paraphrased something you said in your post:
gearing can compensate for torque. there is no compensation for horsepower, thus horsepower is ultimately the limiting factor of acceleration. not torque.