Transmission Blues

[Harry/FDK]

I have a Beefed Freeway Flyer S/A with 4.12 Ring and Pinion. Gears are: 3.80, 2.06, 1.31, 0.82.  All this workes great in "normal" life. But when i made my first runs at DDD5 it sucks. Should i just change the ring and pinion to 3.88 ? (i don't have the bucks to just buy another tranny) Also the shop (Stuff Transaxles) does not respond on my mails or calls. Anybody can give me a reliable shop where i could order Tranny parts ?
Thanks.

[richie]

In what way does it suck? too short? or to tall?  a freeway flyer is always going to be a compromise on the strip.You could try Pete@cogbox for parts  PM me if you cant find his number,its in the back of volksworld & ultra VW magazines

cheers richie,uk

[Harry/FDK]

Thanks Richie. It's too tall. (Plus i could do easily 5/600 rpm's more on the motorway whithout affecting oil or head cooling).

[Harry/FDK]

More thoughts please.

[richie]

Thanks Richie. It's too tall. (Plus i could do easily 5/600 rpm's more on the motorway whithout affecting oil or head cooling).

OK so 3.88 R&P will make it worse,4.37 would be better,cheers richie,uk

[Harry/FDK]

Thanks Richie. It's too tall. (Plus i could do easily 5/600 rpm's more on the motorway whithout affecting oil or head cooling).

OK so 3.88 R&P will make it worse,4.37 would be better,cheers richie,uk

Think i'm starting to understand, first i thought the smaller the numbers on the ring/pinion the more rpm's you get. But i have to go bigger number on the the R/P. Correct?

[richie]

Thanks Richie. It's too tall. (Plus i could do easily 5/600 rpm's more on the motorway whithout affecting oil or head cooling).

OK so 3.88 R&P will make it worse,4.37 would be better,cheers richie,uk

Think i'm starting to understand, first i thought the smaller the numbers on the ring/pinion the more rpm's you get. But i have to go bigger number on the the R/P. Correct?

Yep,
ideally you would want something like a 4.12 with a 3.78 1st,2.21 2nd 1.56 3rd and 1.12 4th with a 26inch tall tyre,You could always run a shorter tyre with what you have to help a little,cheers richie,uk

[Harry/FDK]

Looked around for pricing on Ring/Pinions. Might as well save up for a new Transmission.

[louisb]

Thinks I have a 4.37 set up out o a rebuilt tranny I never used. (Disassembled it to see what the insides looked like.) To bad your not closer you could have it.

--louis

[Shubee2 (DSK)]

Thinks I have a 4.37 set up out o a rebuilt tranny I never used. (Disassembled it to see what the insides looked like.) To bad your not closer you could have it.

--louis

can I have It? LOL

[Harry/FDK]

Thanks Louis!

[Harry/FDK]

So what Street/Strip combo's are you running guys? Thanks.

[The Ideaman]

4.12 r/p with 3.80,2.06,1.48,1.04 in the 67.
4.12 r/p with 3.80,2.06,1.32, .89 in the fastback.
3.88 r/p with 3.78,2.21,1.58,1.21 in the Jade Grenade.

[Harry/FDK]

4.12 r/p with 3.80,2.06,1.48,1.04 in the 67.
4.12 r/p with 3.80,2.06,1.32, .89 in the fastback.
3.88 r/p with 3.78,2.21,1.58,1.21 in the Jade Grenade.

Thanks!

I'm gonna stick with the 4.12 R/P but i need something for street/strip gearing. Out of these combo's, what's your favourite ?

[Diederick/DVK]

Hurry, I'd say either Luke's box in the 67, or Richie's suggestion?

[Zach Gomulka]

For a car that sees alot of action on the dragstrip as well as the highway, I like to have it set up where I cross the finish line at the very top of 3rd gear. This way you still have 4th gear to drop into for the cruise home. What is your shift rpm?? What size tires do you have?

[Zach Gomulka]

It all depends on the powerband of the motor. Im not saying stuff a 1.58 third in there with a .89 fourth... that would suck! My friends 1915 runs 13.8's with a 4.12 r+p, 3.80, 2.06, 1.32, .89, only using the first 3 gears in the quarter and shifting at 7k. He can drive that car anywhere, run 13's, and he didnt have to buck up for a big stroker motor and/or a 5 speed.

[nicolas]

good topic!

i may learn a little more here on gearing as well as i had the same problem with the fastback at DDD. i didn't use 4th gear, maybe only the last meters or so. but it was really slow after second gear. i raced a 2l beetle and i was well ahead of the girl in the first 2 gears and than she passed me easily when i shifted to third . i only have a 1641 now, but i will start to built a bigger engine, but maybe i can allready upgrade to a better box. i would like to cruise on the highways as well, but i have read here somewhere about engines running cooler and better in higher rpms. i would like to have a 5 speed, but what would a good 4 speed cost? and where can i get one? i allready have a 4.12 box from the fastback that i can have modified. is there someone who can help. or do i also need to buy a whole gearbox? sorry for jumping in on the topic, but i found it stupid to start the same topic and get the same answers 

[Zach Gomulka]

Transmission comes second. Build the engine first and bolt it up to the stock trans. Learn what you like and dislike about it, then have a trans built to suit your needs.

[BeetleBug]

I had 3.88 r/p,3.75 1st,2.36 2nd,1.65 3rd, and 1.26 4th in my old KCR gearbox and I was really happy with the gearing. Some might say that a 1.26 is not very street friendly but I liked it. Just put in 4th and 85 - 90 km/h - no problemo. And it performed quite well on the strip also.... 11.81 in a heavy car cruising over the line. Smoooooth.... Will stick with Kevin next time around as well.

Best rgs
BB

[Harry/FDK]

For a car that sees alot of action on the dragstrip as well as the highway, I like to have it set up where I cross the finish line at the very top of 3rd gear. This way you still have 4th gear to drop into for the cruise home. What is your shift rpm?? What size tires do you have?

Hey Zach, good point, but that's still a compromise. In order to have a tall enough 3rd gear to get the mph up at end of 1/4, you're going to have a gap between 2nd and 3rd that is going to be more difficult for most engines to close, unless you rev 2nd out to the moon, or you have a super torque motor, and if that was the case, you could shift early, and run 4th out most likely.
I think what it comes down to is that Harry has the wrong gearbox for the application. I like the 4.37 in my car because it literally lunges the car forward when you give it some stick. I've driven cars with 3.88 and they protested...they had that laziness to them.... I guess custom gear stacks would cure that though.

My shift RPM with the 2165  is 6500. I'm running (too huge tyres) 205/70/15.

This is an option for a Pro-Tranny i can buy off the shelve from Custom & Speed:

R/P 4.12

1-  3,78

2-  2.06

3-  1.26

4-  0.89

Plus the car is being driven 99% on the street. I thinks it's a good compromise. Any thoughts please.

Thanks, Harry

[The Ideaman]

That is a big jump from 2nd to 3rd.  If the motor is spinning 6500 in second the mph should be about 60mph, it will drop to 4k after the gear change.  Car should roll through the lights in 3rd about 98 mph at your 6500 limit.  That gear stack is in the fastback, and it makes for a good driver.

[Zach Gomulka]

Those gears are from a stock 4.12 box, except for the stronger 3.78 1st. If crossing the line at 6500 in 3rd is 98mph, that will put you in the low 13's, possibly high 12's in the 1/4. And then you drop it in fourth and cruise home

[Harry/FDK]

THANKS

[Diederick/DVK]

Sounds like a good 'box then? Innit?
As long as you make good revs or what?
(i'm trying to understand the reasoning here)

[Bewitched666]

Yep 67-indeed,thats a good box for alot of applications.

Have that same setup now lying in the garage waiting for my stroker engine.

In my Pro stocker i run a 3.88 r/p with 1st:3.80, 2nd:2.36,3rd:1.65 and 4th:1.26.
Great box for the 2334 engine but broke it when i went to a bigger displacement and NOS

[nicolas]

That is a big jump from 2nd to 3rd.  If the motor is spinning 6500 in second the mph should be about 60mph, it will drop to 4k after the gear change.  Car should roll through the lights in 3rd about 98 mph at your 6500 limit.  That gear stack is in the fastback, and it makes for a good driver.

yes but be sure your car has a lot of torque to come over the fall after the second to third shift. i have that type3 gearbox in the type3 and first and second are fun but when you get in third it gets hard to pull like the first two gears, i stayed in 3th at the drag day and only on the line i shifted to 4th at 5500 rpms, but that is in my fastback with only a 1641 and a 17,56 timeslip...
maybe a bit shorter third and fourth wont hurt in my car... well that is just my opinion

[Harry/FDK]

Those gears are from a stock 4.12 box, except for the stronger 3.78 1st. If crossing the line at 6500 in 3rd is 98mph, that will put you in the low 13's, possibly high 12's in the 1/4. And then you drop it in fourth and cruise home

I think, i'm going for this Tranny set-up and see what happens. I'm running a small cam (Web 218), but this winter IDA's will go in. Plus i think some more work could be done on the 044 heads.

[Zach Gomulka]

Those gears are from a stock 4.12 box, except for the stronger 3.78 1st. If crossing the line at 6500 in 3rd is 98mph, that will put you in the low 13's, possibly high 12's in the 1/4. And then you drop it in fourth and cruise home

I think, i'm going for this Tranny set-up and see what happens. I'm running a small cam (Web 218), but this winter IDA's will go in. Plus i think some more work could be done on the 044 heads.

Cool. People dont give the stock ratios enough credit. They can work very well.

[Harry/FDK]

Thanks, Zach