Need More Top Speed

[KLinardo]

I'm building a completely unrealistic car that has one purpose which is to go as fast as possible. I then plan on tuning it down into a marketable version. A "win on Sunday, buy it on Monday" scheme from stock car racing, if you will. I've built a 495.5 CI DOHC DI 40V V8 Flatplane that makes 2457 HP @ 7300 RPM and 1963 ft-lbs of torque @ 6600 RPM. The problem is that the "Top Speed" slider will not budge past 361 MPH. I've built cars with much higher top speeds before and have moved the slider into the 400 MPH range on other engines, which I think may all be smaller displacements. Is there a known displacement limit where high speed achieving ratios are locked out? Regardless, could someone clue me in on why the most powerful engines could not be mated to high gear ratios where the power could be utilized?

I read the rules.
I used the search bar.
I looked through other topics.
I couldn't find my issue anywhere. If it exists please feel free to redirect me to that thread.
Thanks for the help!

[strop]

This is something that has been clarified in the past, but probably could do with a more obvious indication somewhere because you're right, simple searches with the search function will not uncover the answer.

The top speed of the final ratio in the drivetrain is ultimately limited by the redline of the engine. That is to say, the higher your car revs, the higher the top speed your final ratio will yield. Your car's engine has a lower redline than the smaller displacements presumably because the reliability of larger engines (esp. larger stroke) suffers at high rpm.

There's been arguments before about this: if larger engines yield higher power, then why can't we raise the possible top speed? The answer to that would be that the range of speeds available on this simple slider already cover the practical ranges of speeds for all feasible production cars, including cars geared tall for economy. The only way cars with ridiculously high theoretical top speeds can even get close to them is if the engine venting was all shut off to minimise drag, and that's an academic exploration of the game's limits not particularly relevant to the main focus, since the reliability of such engines would be zero.

[KLinardo]

This is something that has been clarified in the past, but probably could do with a more obvious indication somewhere because you're right, simple searches with the search function will not uncover the answer.

The top speed of the final ratio in the drivetrain is ultimately limited by the redline of the engine. That is to say, the higher your car revs, the higher the top speed your final ratio will yield. Your car's engine has a lower redline than the smaller displacements presumably because the reliability of larger engines (esp. larger stroke) suffers at high rpm.

There's been arguments before about this: if larger engines yield higher power, then why can't we raise the possible top speed? The answer to that would be that the range of speeds available on this simple slider already cover the practical ranges of speeds for all feasible production cars, including cars geared tall for economy. The only way cars with ridiculously high theoretical top speeds can even get close to them is if the engine venting was all shut off to minimise drag, and that's an academic exploration of the game's limits not particularly relevant to the main focus, since the reliability of such engines would be zero.

Thanks. That makes sense as far as how the game is designed and I understand the fact that this game is designed for production cars. What annoys me with this car I've built is that even with the cooling above the engine requirements, I'm still capable of topping out at 361 MPH without much effort.

I guess it's back to the drawing board in the engine department. I hope one of the developers comes and explains the specific parameters for the final gearing of the transmission. Until then I'll just keep building. Tuning engines has always been my favorite part of the game anyway.