I know nothing about drag racing, nor care about drag racing to be honest. All we build here are high hp street cars so they need to work everywhere and on stiff suspensions and r-compound tires with low profiles, have to have huge cornering grip, great braking and be able to do a decent street launch, but be able to hook a maximum amount of power always, but more keyed to normal street driving and higher speed races where a full on drag launch is never used.
Powerband is all that matters, as well as keeping a torque level that can be handled. the cars you are referring to that are "slow" are just making too much midrange power in too low a gear to have traction, then too low a redline so they can't utilize that torque to make any hp. If that car is only making 350whp from 350wtq it is wasting its potential. The only time you need all of that power is while racing, so it means that you only need full power in the last 1000-1500rpm. If a car is making "square" power it means that it has a low redline and power is falling so when you are racing you are accelerating a diminishing powerband. So that car is only accelerating like an average 300whp. The byproduct of a torque curve that is dropping is that acceleration g's are also falling the higher it revs which means the rate of acceleration is slowing.
I have some friends with high hp fwd cars that are very driveable, hook the power decently, and make between 600-1150whp on a few different platforms. The key is 8500-10,000rpm redline, flat torque curves, in some cases boost by gear if the turbo is small enough to make full torque in the lower gears, and tuning to allow the cars to be very responsive so that wheelspin can be managed. As in running a peak of 700+wtq through 225 width tires and being able to out-launch gtr's, r8's, gallardos, etc... So it's all possible, but requires the right decisions, making the right compromises, and having a tuner and builder that fully understands it.
Powerband is all that matters, as well as keeping a torque level that can be handled. the cars you are referring to that are "slow" are just making too much midrange power in too low a gear to have traction, then too low a redline so they can't utilize that torque to make any hp. If that car is only making 350whp from 350wtq it is wasting its potential. The only time you need all of that power is while racing, so it means that you only need full power in the last 1000-1500rpm. If a car is making "square" power it means that it has a low redline and power is falling so when you are racing you are accelerating a diminishing powerband. So that car is only accelerating like an average 300whp. The byproduct of a torque curve that is dropping is that acceleration g's are also falling the higher it revs which means the rate of acceleration is slowing.
I have some friends with high hp fwd cars that are very driveable, hook the power decently, and make between 600-1150whp on a few different platforms. The key is 8500-10,000rpm redline, flat torque curves, in some cases boost by gear if the turbo is small enough to make full torque in the lower gears, and tuning to allow the cars to be very responsive so that wheelspin can be managed. As in running a peak of 700+wtq through 225 width tires and being able to out-launch gtr's, r8's, gallardos, etc... So it's all possible, but requires the right decisions, making the right compromises, and having a tuner and builder that fully understands it.
It just seems pointless to me to have stupid big power (like over 400 to the wheels) in a FWD platform (yes, even all power band 'nannied' by a tuner), unless it is just for dyno queen 'bragging rights', or to try to do the ricer neener neener thing against the RWD V8s they despise with an overwhelming passion.
(Or unless one is insistent on doing the FWD import drag racing thing, which I would not care about EVEN IF they were doing low 5s in the quarter! LOL)
Just get a RWD platform already, and go to an import nameplate if one's a JDM YO-YOer who HATES ON the domestic ones soooo much.
In any case, like was mentioned above, until MUCH stronger gearboxes are made for these cars, it may be a moot point anyway, as much over 400 or so will eat our current transaxles for a snack, regardless of where that power comes on.