wow, i didnt realize this would stir up the z gods...it seems as though there is no real answer although i would go w/4th gear if needed..i went to the dyno and could only do 4 pulls and i did 2 pulls in 3rd and 2 in 4th and the 4th gear pulls were higher.i was not able to hit above 5000rpm cause the boost controller was all f***ed up because i did not know what perimeters to set it at-i heard they can set it at the dyno but there were to many cars there to do a tweak session... i called z1 motorsports and they gave me some #'s to set the boost controller at and they were right on the money.unfortunately, it was after the dyno.....they were awesome ..it has been able to push 18# and 6500-7000 rpm consistently from an over-the-phone talk w/z1 w/my particular options..so kudos to z1 and thanks for all your input..the only way is to go back to the dyno and spend some$ and find out for sure in both gears again w/my boost controller setup properly..i cant believe how many different answers i got on this one..and hear i thought i would be getting tt.net members all telling me the same thing....THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP . ITS GREATLY APPRECIATED...NOW THE QUESTION IS.....who's right?