Transmission Selection Help 4or5sp?

[R.O.R-2.0]

I'm on board with the guys above me: running one of these "3+E" trans on an n/a is like going through life with an amputated leg. EVEN an earlier normally ratioed 4 speed would be an improvement over one of these. Honestly, I know, as I had one of these in my old Rabbit years ago and ran it 75,000 short tempered/angry miles. Ants and stink bugs would create a vortex as they passed me up!

yea, i totally agree.. i like the GC trans more than my 4A..

the GC might scream a little at high speeds, but my car still goes 115 mph, and doesnt get TOO HORRIBLE of mileage..

[theman53]

AGS with the 3.67 FTW...

I wish it had a taller 2nd gear, but the only way for me to do it would be build a complete trans again. The 2nd I want is in the worst 5speed ever 2H and then I would have to pack all the gears from the AGS to it. Then if I do all that I would try to get the .71 fifth instead of the .75 at that point its really not worth it. It would probably be less work to go to an 02a,02j style at that point.

[8v-of-fury]

Closer than the F series

Like a 4K gasser trans with a .75 5th thrown in place of the .89 5th... behind a TD with the gov mod.. 50-5500rpm would be no big feat.. and way more fun in town than the FF/FN/7A trannies.. or the even more lethargic 4A/ACN.. Highway would be higher rpms, (not necessarily a bad thing, just less mpg) but if you were mostly in town (ME) then who cares.. These engine can sustain 5000rpm allll day long.

Ultimately I would love an AVX chhyeaaa 4.25fd and and swap the 5th to .71. 100kmh(61mph) at 2580-2600.. with huuuge acceleration too.

[R.O.R-2.0]

Closer than the F series

Like a 4K gasser trans with a .75 5th thrown in place of the .89 5th... behind a TD with the gov mod.. 50-5500rpm would be no big feat.. and way more fun in town than the FF/FN/7A trannies.. or the even more lethargic 4A/ACN.. Highway would be higher rpms, (not necessarily a bad thing, just less mpg) but if you were mostly in town (ME) then who cares.. These engine can sustain 5000rpm allll day long.

Ultimately I would love an AVX chhyeaaa 4.25fd and and swap the 5th to .71. 100kmh(61mph) at 2580-2600.. with huuuge acceleration too.

have you ever driven an ACN? they are far from lethargic.. even with an 85 horsepower gasser in front of it, i still love both of my ACN trannies.. they are superior trannies to the later mk2 units.. ive ran lots of mk1, 2, and 3 trannies, and my favorites are the ACN/ACH trannies.. they are best suited to diesels, and my driving styles.. (least thats how i feel about it)

the 4A on the other hand, ive never disliked a tranny more..

the ACN rocks because gears 1-4 are still rather close, but fifth is nice and tall for cruising..

and jeremy, im pretty sure the AVX has a .71 fifth already to make up for that retarded low geared final drive..

[8v-of-fury]

never driven an ACN.. just going by ratios. However it would appear i was comparing the 4K to the one below the ACN.. so my ratios were all mixed up.

ACN does seem a decent tranny, dunno if i would want the 3.67 behind a n/a though is all.

the AVX has a .75 5th.. the diff between the ACN and AVX at cruising speeds is a mere 350rpms. hardly noticeable really.

[theman53]

So...
TD AGS with 3.67 FTW
N/A AGS with normal 3.94 FTW

[8v-of-fury]

lmao. Yup Lucas you got the mother of all TRANS.

[belchfire]

I am currently running a CHE behind my 1.6TD.  It's a '94 big shaft trans which made me do a lot of changes to make it work. The bigger input shaft (28mm vs 24mm) uses the 215mm disc which won't work on the 200mm flywheel. I could have had the centers swapped but $$$$.  I opted instead to use the entire flywheel and pressure plate. The flywheel is 11# vs 13# so it might rev quicker and the vibration isn't any worse than it ever was. I ran an ACN for awhile but .75 was too tall for the one hill I had to climb. I ran a CHB next but .85 but the engine in the buzzy zone at cruising speed. Bad linkage did a cross shift and it blew. I came across the CHE in a '94 jetta with a 2.0 gasser. Acceleration was a little more snappy in the CHB  but this trans shifts very smooth and the bigger disc grabs better.  Two notes: 1, use Red Line MT fluid. This works the best in these guys. 2, For anyone buying clutch parts, tell 'em it's a '93. There's like $100 difference but the parts work the same.

[fatmobile]

Belchfire:
 What did you put the CHE in?
 Does it have the stud holes for the MK1?

[Dakotakid]

Perhaps, on paper, a 4.25 final sounds plausible or usable or survivable....on paper or staring back at you on the screen.
But, in reality, it really bites. My Eco (who spends all his time in storage) has one of these. And, let me assure you, whenever I start using this car, THAT transmission will come OUT first.

Or, maybe it would appeal to you if you like to ride 125 motocrossers.....but, no thanks.

[trav1856]

I'm thinking I want to go with:

FN, FF, FH, FJ (most from '81)   3.89   3.45   1.94   1.29   0.91   0.71

That'll give me same final drive ratio, and most of my driving will be commuting  120mi a day on the highway (with 10 of that being city driving in the middle). Currently it's a N/A (seems to be running healthy and strong, slight oil in the coolant, but that could be from a headgasket change before I bought it....or the reason for the headgasket change)....I don't know about the history prior to when I bought it.

My thoughts are to put the bolt-on turbo thing from www.hansautoparts.com for $450. I'm not sure why you guys suggested a different transmission for a turbo application, would like some input on that.

[R.O.R-2.0]

Perhaps, on paper, a 4.25 final sounds plausible or usable or survivable....on paper or staring back at you on the screen.
But, in reality, it really bites. My Eco (who spends all his time in storage) has one of these. And, let me assure you, whenever I start using this car, THAT transmission will come OUT first.

Or, maybe it would appeal to you if you like to ride 125 motocrossers.....but, no thanks.

if i had a 1.5 gasser that spun a million RPMS, the AVX would be my trans of choice.. but in a diesel limited to about 5500 rpms, NO WAY IN HELL!!

and i really dont think a ACN wouldnt be that bad behind a n/a.. they came factory with a 4A, GL trannies, and those ones only make the engine turn 35 more rpms @ 60..

i owned a 4A-n/a rabbit, and it wasnt THAT HORRIBLE.. but it really had lots of power for a stock diesel.

i also own 2 cars equipped with ACN trannies, and i really enjoy them. i really feel the only way to get any better is to make your own tranny like Lucas did..

[belchfire]

With regards to fatmobile:  I put the CHE in my '81 caddy. I have found that the 020 case seems to be the same throughout. The brackets & mounts change but you just swap them over. I think that I had to swap some studs for the rear mount. Smaller axle flanges were swapped too with no problem. (note that new end seals should be used otherwise you'll fill the CV joint w/trans juice)
As for why I chose the 3.67 R&P, it was because all first gears are 3.45. Heavy, underpowered cars need gutter gears to get off the line and still have a clutch left. The bad part is that the engine is red lined and you're doing 10 MPH. Meanwhile, Billy Bob has just climbed his 4X4 into your back seat. Running a higher R&P  gives you a bit higher speed before you bang second. The NA doesn't have the poop to pull the higher gears too well but the turbo kicks in the boost and off you go. If most of your driving is flat land at cruising speed then the 4 spd would do adequate providing that the last overall ratio was appropriate. More gears give you versatility. If you have a pipsqueek engine or a race engine with a narrow power band, then you want to keep it in the sweet spot as much as possible. Does anyone remember the 125 Hodaka w/ the 10 speed trans? The NA diesel will get your butt from A to B if that's all you want, but here in the big city, every looser cruiser thinks it's death race 2011. I enjoy closing the door on them when they think that they can cut off some slug V-Dub and I can usually leave them when it starts pulling hard going up a hill at 70 mph.

[maxfax]

My thoughts are to put the bolt-on turbo thing from www.hansautoparts.com for $450.

Before you buy, do a search here or at Vortex for "Prothe"

[8v-of-fury]

I'm thinking I want to go with:

FN, FF, FH, FJ (most from '81)   3.89   3.45   1.94   1.29   0.91   0.71

I'm not sure why you guys suggested a different transmission for a turbo application, would like some input on that.

The FN, FF, FH, FJ or even the 7A will be a good match for a turbo application. The reason they are good is because they have taller gears, meaning your engine will be in its torque range more often.. instead of screaming around above 2500rpms, the shorter geared trans are for gas engine that make their torque and power up higher. Each to take advantage of a different thing.