O.K., time for a new thread. Even though Bob Hokanson deserves the all
time 'flushing out the lurkers' award, everyone glorying in their dotage is
getting depressing. Bob gets the credit for this one too, since he provided
the Excel sheet for trans calcs on T.U. which prompts my question.
I'm hoping to do a 5 speed , but without a lot of experience actually
driving a Tiger (as contrasted with years of squirming around on my back
underneath one), I'm not sure what I'm seeing in the numbers I get on Bob's
calculator. Steve Laifman, for one, has been effusive about the advantages of
the wide ratio trans in the 4 speed and the various 5 speeds are roughly
identical in ratio to this in 2nd, 3rd and 4th. And since the .80 5th seems to
be relative unobtainium without greater cash outlay, I'll exclude that for now.
But 1st is more variable. The drop in 1st from 2.32 to 2.78 made a lot of
difference evidently. The drop from 2.78 to 3.35 is even greater. Is it worth
trying to fiind a 2.95 1st gear box? Is dropping below the stock 2.88 rear end
ratio with a 3.35 1st gear box a bad idea? My question is: from a real world
[read 'driving'] point of view, what have the 5 speed people found to be good
'all around' combinations of 1st gear and rear end ratios and tire size. By
'all around' I mean something that can still embarass the occasional Porsche
off stop lights without hitting 6 grand at 10 mph and a reasonable agility in
daily driving, autocross, and the occasional road race (not asking much am I?).
Since 5 speeds are still a relative minority, people are welcome to reply
off-list. Thanks for any input!
Chris Hill
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