Date:         Sun, 4 Apr 2004 23:46:23 EDT
Reply-To:     Gamercer@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         George Mercer <Gamercer@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: 5 speed question
Comments: To: kayakwesty@YAHOO.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

A 5-speed can give you closer gear ratios so that when you shift up, you lose
less rpms.  This is an advantage in mountain driving.  I don't know the
gearing for the diesels but for my gas '88 Westy, the 5-speed made a big
difference.

First through 4th are lower geared than the 1st thru 4th in the 4-speed.  I
can more easily maintain speed and find the gear that works best on any segment
of hill.

The final drive is like an overdrive and lets me cruise about 5 mph faster at
the same rpm on the highway.

I like to shift up at 4500 rpm which is the end of the shaded green line
(safe) on my tach.  The following gives an example of less drop in rpm and more
power after shifting up.

At the 4500 rpm shift point with the 4-speed, Westy would do 55 mph and there
was a drop of 1500 rpm to 3000 rpm going into 4th (wider gear ratio, bigger
drop in rpm).  The other gears are similar but not quite as big a drop.

With the 5-speed, 1st through 4th are about 5% lower geared and thus shifting
up at 4500 comes sooner but less drop in rpm with the closer ratio gears.

With the 5-speed, 4th runs out to 68 or 69 mph at 4500 rpm.  Shifting up to
5th gear lowers the rpm to 3600 going into 5th gear.  This is a drop in rpm of
only 900 rpm and keeps the Westy 2.1 in its best performance and I think its
best torque or pulling range.  See table below;

                                                after shift-up
                after shift-up
gear    4-speed 4500 rpm    rpm               5-speed 4500        rpm
1            19                                                           16

2            33                              2500                    28
         2600
3            54                              2700                    44
         2900
4            81                              3000                    61
         2900
5
86                3600

Consult your engineer and attorney regarding the above speeds and rpm as
these are not guaranteed.

Good luck,
George
'88 Westy, 5-speed


In a message dated 4/4/2004 7:12:28 PM Pacific Standard Time,
kayakwesty@YAHOO.COM writes:
Does the 5-speed , have the same trouble as the early 4 speeds with 4 & 3
gears. I am wanting to install a 5 speed , also does the 5-speed need any
re-gearing? I have an 84 with a 2.0 Jetta Digifant II .I travel with a
very heavy loaded Westy for weekend trips, the trips are usually 6 hours
round-trip, in the mountains. I hope as usual the list here can help.