Good thread .
Whilst on the subject of gearing, the ginetta i'm building is Omega based and i had the same issues with ratios. I ended up (by luck) changing to a Nissan LSD at 3.91:1 and am now going to drop the profile of the tyres down a tad just to lower the gearing that bit more.
4.22 would have been ideal as i dont need high top speed, but locating a 4.22 LSD is not easy.
Are you running standard gearbox ratios? If so, that sounds rather low geared to me.
I started off with a 3.92 in my Westfield and found that 1st gear was a waste of time yet needed to get you rolling comfortably, and you were in 3rd by the time you hit 60MPH. Changed it to a 3.64 and it's much better. Will pull about 40 in 1st and can just about get all the power down, 60 in 2nd and 3rd will take it into 3 figures. It will cruise at 80MPH all day in 5th at about 3500 RPM.
This is all with a tuned 4 pot on 195/50/15s. With the added low down torque of a V6 I think there's a stronger case for gearing it a little higher.
IIRC, the Omega V6 manual box has a really short 1st and 2nd (3.8 odd first and 2.2 second, IIRC), so it might even be worse than the ratios in my Ford MT75.
It does, of course, depend on what you want to use the car for. If track use is going to be more important than road, it's the placement of the gears at mid-speed that's most important. Motorway cruising and getting off the lights can perhaps be compromised.
I still feel that the best upgrade I could make to my car would be a nice close ratio gearbox more suited to the car.
One day.
As for adding performance without affecting reliability, i have always found in the past that a lightened flywheel makes a signifcant difference to engine pick-up. It doesn't add horsepower, but it doesn't absorb as much as a heavier flywheel either. So more to the rear wheels effectively.
Agreed, although whilst it makes a dramatic difference to a light car that accelerates very quickly through the low gears it mill be much less noticeable in an Omega, I reckon.