Re: First Time Racer starting build!
Other cars from other series at not super useful comparisons, neither are top speed numbers because you're only ever hitting that top speed in one place on the track. It's far more useful to look at speed per gear for your full setup (trans gearing, diff gearing, tire size) and compare that to average corner and segment speeds for various points along the tracks you want to run. If you have a bunch of places where you're on the hairy edge of needing to change a gear 5 seconds before a breaking zone that is much more important to fix compared to your top speed. We have that a couple places at NH where I really want to be shifting to 4th, but the braking zone is right there, so my choices are shift and get on the gas for 2 seconds, or lift for 3 seconds. Also at NH the turn onto the uphill we're in a weird place where 2nd is almost too low, but 3rd is bit too high and we get smoked going up that hill. I would love to shift something up or down to eliminate those "dead zones", but not going to happen in the saab.
I built out a whole spreadsheet somewhere for the E36 when trying to pick a transmission and diff, and not once did top speed come into play, instead it was looking at speed per gear and trying to minimize the points of awkward shifting like described above.
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice