Long ratio 1st Gear Qaife Gearbox

[CaterBram]

On some of the post's i've seen there has been mention of having a long 1st Gear fitted.

 

Scuse my ignorance but what benefit does the long ratio 1st gear give you, my current car's got a long ratio 1st gear and i'm trying to understand.

 

Q469 WET Caterham 1690 Crossflow in Ali except for the red bits.CaterBram on Facebook

[jonboylaw]

It means that you do not have to change out of 1st until a reasonable speed, the rest of the ratios are stacked closer to keep you in the power band when driving.

 

Does that explain it?

 

Jon

 

Edited by - jonboylaw on 1 Nov 2009 01:17:06

[philwaters]

Unless you've driven a 7 with a standard 5sp it's hard to understand just how short 1st is. It is, afterall, designed to allow a Sierra to do a hill climb whilst towing a caravan

😬

 

Phil Waters

[CaterBram]

Is there such a thing as having too long a first, I just need to give her lot's of goose to get moving but then can get upto 40 in first without hitting the limiter.

 

 

 

Q469 WET 1990 Caterham 1690 Crossflow Long Cockpit in Ali except for the red bits.CaterBram on Facebook

[Bilbo]

Well yes the longest is 2.04 as it can be a pain in traffic without looking it up think the standard Sierra box is 3.36 🤔 or similar as Phil said great for a heavy car and a caravan ❗

 

My box is square cut and I have a 2.2 with a 3.96 diff and that works well for my BHP and rev limit in fact should for most plus choosing square cut is a matter of choice but better if you doing sprints and track

 

Still you need to look at the hole rage of the 5 gears play with a gear ratio program and think of the top speeds as a bit of fantasy as they ignore road losses and overcoming air resistance. Arnie has one on his site and Quaife have another one play with both

 

What’s important is limiting the rev drop between gears for an equal speed and you can use those theoretical speed to see that drop

 

Quaife offer 2.04, 2.2 and 2.39 that’s from memory as the Quaife site is not so user friendly these days.

 

If you buy a close ratio set then also buy a quick shift lever its massively better plus have a drain plug fitted and think about either an ally lid on the old case or an ally box

 

The heavy duty 5 speed is the better on

 

---

'Can you hear me running' ......... OH YES and its music to my ears 😬 😬 😬

1988 200 bhp, 146 ft lbs, 1700cc Cosworth BD? engineered by Roger King, on Weber's with Brooklands and Clamshell wings, Freestyle Motorsport suspension.

[7 wonders of the world]

An alternative and greater selection of straight cut gear ratios:

 

Tran X type 9 ratio options

 

Speak to Dan over there

 

And if you want a close 1st to 4th and a long motorway .82 5th they can usually do that too.

 

 

Too young to be old !

 

Edited by - 7 wonders of the world on 5 Nov 2009 08:03:52

 

Edited by - 7 wonders of the world on 5 Nov 2009 08:16:42

[Paul Deslandes]

Strictly speaking, according to the Blue Book (i81), if you're competing in MSA road going classes you have to retain the original gearbox casing material. Changing to an ali box would not comply. If the car was supplied with a 6 speed ally box from new then this would be okay. I'm pretty sure a change of top plate would comply with the spirit of the regs.

 

I doubt very much that anyone would care or notice but you do occasionally get the odd competitor who looks at compliance issues, especially if they're lying second!

 

The longest Quaife 1st can get you up to over 60mph, depending on final drive ratio but, as has been said, it can be tiring in traffic and you end up slipping the clutch quite a lot.

 

Paul

 

 

[guilleracing]

I've seen naughty people spray paint alloy cases black

 

Sorry to hijack the thread, but will you attending St Goueno in June, Monsieur Paul?

 

 

[Paul Deslandes]

Does a bear...............! Mais, certainement mon ami.