I could be totally wrong here, but i think the 1:1 rule was started for a few reasons.
First, cars have all sorts of gear ratios, but what we are after is engine output. It's not feasible to put an engine on an engine dyno so we go after the reading that is closest to that, and that would be a 1:1 ratio output from the engine to the gearbox. Final drive is mostly irrelevant, as it won't necessarily affect peak power, but where you make peak power.
Second, disregarding overdrive, the 1:1 gear is usually towards the top of the gearseat without being in overdrive, so it takes a lot longer to go through that gear, which equals a longer amount of time for the dyno to take readings. Imagine trying to count a stack of money thats being put down bill by bill every second, then imagine trying to count a stack of money that someone just throws down all at once.
|