short vs long gears??

iMa BeASt · 04-03-2008, 01:16 PM

ive been looking into the ppg gears they got for the k series now. and it looks good really good, BUT the gears are super long.. now i got a question. from a racing perspective which are better short gears or long gears?? i always hear ppl saying "long gears cause you can stay in vtec longer or your boosting longer..." is this accurate?? i personally like the shorter gears more but i cant even run my car anymore because i know for sure either 2nd or 4th is gonna get stuck.

or if someone could steer me in the right direction to start searching id appreciate it. i wasnt sure what to search for.

thnks

pinhead · 04-04-2008, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iMa BeASt

i always hear ppl saying "long gears cause you can stay in vtec longer or your boosting longer..." is this accurate??

Well, it's accurate in a wrong sort of way

Sure, you stay in VTEC (and/or on the boost) longer - but it's because the tall gears slow down the acceleration, and thus it takes longer for the engine to get from (for example) 6k to 8k.

I don't know anything about drag racing, but when there are turns involved, generally you want short, very close ratio gears, because you want to be able to keep the engine "on the boil" for corner exit. I think the short gears are one of the greatest features of the Si!

XSRCivic · 04-04-2008, 08:43 AM

Short gears are good for all motor apps. Long gears are good for forced induction apps.

Watch a tachometer shot of a turbo Si and see how fast the rpms climb. If you have longer gearing you will be in boost longer, making power for a longer period of time.

iMa BeASt · 04-04-2008, 10:37 AM

so these longer gears would slow me (na/stock) down??

this sucks. i love the short gears of the si too, but i would've been willing to sacrafice if it would've got rid of this headache for me. ive got 30k miles and i cant even get on it because 2nd or 4th or both will for sure get stuck.

***autumnalfalls*** · 04-04-2008, 12:39 PM

While longer gears may keep you in a certain RPM range longer you have to think about torque multiplication being reduced in the process. If you are making 139 lb/ft of torque from 6000 to 8000 RPM and your are multiplying it with a 3.00:1 and a 4.765 final drive you are putting 1987 lb/ft to the wheels. If you have 3.00:1 and a 3.765 final drive you put 1570 lb/ft to the wheels. That's a hell of a difference.

In short longer gears reduce the amount of torque delivered to the wheels from the engine. It would definitely hurt the ability to accelerate your car from a stock/na standpoint. If it were boosted then longer gears would help with traction due to the engine making more torque and less torque reaching the wheels but making it useable. Either way it's a trade off and finding the best compromise of everything.

The gears in our xmsn are just fine for what they were intended to do.

04-03-2008, 01:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
iMa BeASt Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 3 iTrader: 0 / 0%	short vs long gears?? ive been looking into the ppg gears they got for the k series now. and it looks good really good, BUT the gears are super long.. now i got a question. from a racing perspective which are better short gears or long gears?? i always hear ppl saying "long gears cause you can stay in vtec longer or your boosting longer..." is this accurate?? i personally like the shorter gears more but i cant even run my car anymore because i know for sure either 2nd or 4th is gonna get stuck. or if someone could steer me in the right direction to start searching id appreciate it. i wasnt sure what to search for. thnks

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04-04-2008, 08:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
XSRCivic Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Houma, LA Posts: 500 iTrader: 1 / 100%	Short gears are good for all motor apps. Long gears are good for forced induction apps. Watch a tachometer shot of a turbo Si and see how fast the rpms climb. If you have longer gearing you will be in boost longer, making power for a longer period of time.

04-04-2008, 10:37 AM	#4 (permalink)
iMa BeASt Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 3 iTrader: 0 / 0%	so these longer gears would slow me (na/stock) down?? this sucks. i love the short gears of the si too, but i would've been willing to sacrafice if it would've got rid of this headache for me. ive got 30k miles and i cant even get on it because 2nd or 4th or both will for sure get stuck.

04-04-2008, 12:39 PM	#5 (permalink)
*autumnalfalls* VIP Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 151 Kyle iTrader: 0 / 0%	While longer gears may keep you in a certain RPM range longer you have to think about torque multiplication being reduced in the process. If you are making 139 lb/ft of torque from 6000 to 8000 RPM and your are multiplying it with a 3.00:1 and a 4.765 final drive you are putting 1987 lb/ft to the wheels. If you have 3.00:1 and a 3.765 final drive you put 1570 lb/ft to the wheels. That's a hell of a difference. In short longer gears reduce the amount of torque delivered to the wheels from the engine. It would definitely hurt the ability to accelerate your car from a stock/na standpoint. If it were boosted then longer gears would help with traction due to the engine making more torque and less torque reaching the wheels but making it useable. Either way it's a trade off and finding the best compromise of everything. The gears in our xmsn are just fine for what they were intended to do.