K&N induction kit makes the world of difference!!!!

[888v]

  there was a ram air induction kit on my mk2 8 valve when i bought it and it makes a hell of a difference, its actually quite a bit quicker than my jetta 16v, would definitely recommend one and they aint that expensive from what ive seen

[carrie]

Just to add to the gearing argument ?
It is possible to get a faster top speed in each gear, it isn't completely governed by the gearbox.
For example if you turbo charged an 8v gti you would probably put a few mph on the lower (shorter) gears, on the higher (longer) gears there would be a more noticeable difference, ie. top speed.
The only way to increase speed in gear is for either to change the gears or tune the engine to produce a lot more torque top end. As the gear is only a multiplier of the torque the engine produces.
Just to add also an air filter won't really do enough to increase top speed in gear ?
So in general, a huge increase in torque will increase top speed in each gear, more the higher the gear. As mentioned earlier, rather than being that noticeable the car will reach the top speed much quicker.

would only increase top speed as 5th gear is generally a bit tall for most engines (they are more often overdive gears), in any gear upto 3rd all cars can be burried into the red line with or without tuning (revlimited cars aside), if you want to go faster in each gear without changing gear or diff ratios (wheels too) you can only do this by adressing the reasons why you have a red line.

maximum revs are governed by factors such as

mechanical stress of components ie how fast they can be spun before they disintegrate (a 1" square area of clutch basket on a motorcycle which is alloy has an effective weight of ?around a ton @ 1400 rpm due to centrifugal force).
the strength of the con rod to hold the piston (very high rpm but another reason for short skirt and alloy pistons).
the length of stroke of the engine (the longer the stroke the faster the piston has to move hence the greater the stress), (this also governs power to torque to a degree depending on tuning, generally a short stroke=high power but lower torque, and vice versa)

keeping pistons and valves seperate, so....
the strength of valve springs and valve bounce.
the duration of valve opening.
the valve timing (hence vernier cam gear)
(ducati use a system to overcome this called desmodue which basically consists of a lever both opening and closing the valve)

[AudiA8Quattro]

Thats what i was saying sort of ?
Even if you heavily tuned an engine the difference to the top speed in lower gears would be virtually unnoticeable.
Maximum revs have nothing to do with it.
The gear ratios are just that, a multiplier of the torque the engine produces.

[carrie]

Thats what i was saying sort of ?
Even if you heavily tuned an engine the difference to the top speed in lower gears would be virtually unnoticeable.
Maximum revs have nothing to do with it.
The gear ratios are just that, a multiplier of the torque the engine produces.

top speed in lower gear would definatly be unnoticeable, max revs would increase the speed you could get in each gear as you can spin the engine faster, and as the speed to the wheels is a function of rpm, through the same gears higher rpm will give an increase in top speed of lower gears, increasing power would only give you a faster top end if your 5th gear is overdriven i.e. you cannot obtain redline in top.

[AudiA8Quattro]

Very technical and interesting but still not 100% correct.

Answer one question.
How come you can increase the top speed of a car by tuning it?
note.. this is with still using a standard gearbox.

[AudiA8Quattro]

Also by increasing the speed of engine ie. redline, the top speed in lower gears would only increase marginally.
Infact by just increasing the top level rpm, the effect would be quite minimal.
Unless you are talking about the Honda Civic Type R, which is a very high revving engine.

[carrie]

Also by increasing the speed of engine ie. redline, the top speed in lower gears would only increase marginally.
Infact by just increasing the top level rpm, the effect would be quite minimal.
Unless you are talking about the Honda Civic Type R, which is a very high revving engine.

i totally agree, just saying if you wanted to increase rpm with a standard box/diif it would be the only way.
my bike has a redline at 14000 igagine if it went at that 
some drag bikes have armour on the top/on the rider cause if their engine brake up the parts are like missiles 
the civic type r looks like fun it would be like driving a toy 

[T1 VDUB]

Thanks 888v    - is it ST??? 

[ydkSinisteR]

yeh and thats what i was trying to get at b4 coz i had the car moded (put full exhaust on, K&N, Denso sparks etc and higher gear ratio) i was now able to reach 70mph in 2nd, like my m8s Supra RZ he put the HKS turbo onit and his 3rd goes 120mph i asked him yesterday its not 110mph, But thats y i was sayin K&N induction kit makes the world of difference coz it did 4 me. P.S has anyone like me put in the Iridium Denso sparks? if so tell me what differences u felt in the cold weather.

[carrie]

Very technical and interesting but still not 100% correct.

Answer one question.
How come you can increase the top speed of a car by tuning it?
note.. this is with still using a standard gearbox.

if the 5th gear is tall, a lot of cars have 5th as an overdriven gear and as such cannot reach top speed in 5th as the power of the engine is insufficient.
if the car is capable of reaching top speed in 5th i.e. a true 5th gear not overdriven then no, you coudlnt