Wow,
You guys are pretty good with the technical part. Thanks for all your help
just so you know, I smoked a 2004 or 2005 corvette the other day. Knowing he wanted to play, I dropped into third gear. RPM read about 4800 to 5200 going about 80-95 MPH. The torque in third gear is just awsome, I then shifted into 4th at this point and just pulled away nicely. I think the Corvette was an automatic because it was not around much longer after that.
I can't even imagine what a big block engine could do in these cars. My 351W with 385 horse is just amazing to me. Its such a nice mix as far as having performance or just a relaxing smooth ride.
Note: these numbers are approximate as I needed to pay attention to the road of course.