Date:         Fri, 20 Jan 95 17:29:30 PST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Dave Kautz <dkautz@hpsidms1.sid.hp.com>
Subject:      Re: [Q] Decreasing gear ratio

> 
> I don't remember seeing this discussed anywhere, so does anyone know
> if replacement gears are available for my tranny to lower the revs at 
> 60 mph?  It seems criminal to make that poor engine turn 4000 rpm at 60 
> when the torque at 3000 rpm is probably sufficient for the job.  It's 
> nice to have the real low first gear for jeep roads in the mountains, 
> but in the flats I wind through the gears pretty fast.  The ultimate 
> solution would be a five-speed tranny.  Are there any possibilities 
> here?  Or were the German engineers pretty smart when they designed the
> factory gearing?
> 
> ..Dave Phillips  '69 bus     |  Internet:  phillips@aries.tucson.saic.com
> 
> 
  The calculations we did for the now infamous "wear index" indicate that with
  stock gearing and stock size tires, the engine in a '69 should be turning 
  3484 rpm at 60 mph. If your bus has ended up with a gearbox built in 1973
  with a numerically higher 4 th gear, the result could be 3781 rpm at 60 mph.
  The Haynes manual for 1600 buses also talks about something called "mountain 
  gears" which has a numerically higher final drive.
  

  Dave Kautz