Gearing modification thread

[Cwis]

Hi all,

I have a 1997 LWB 4WD petrol with the 5 speed manual transmission. I did a bit of idle research as to whether I could raise the gearing of 5th to make it a bit less frantic on the motorway.

I think I can!

5th gear is 0.775:1 currently if I read the information on the E250F gearbox correctly.

However, if I use the 5th gears from the V6 Camry or any E gearbox Celicas I would end up with a 5 th gear ratio of 0.731:1. 6% higher.

It would probably cost the same for the bits as the 5th gear repair that people perform once they start popping out of gear...

So - is 6% worth it? Can anyone poke a hole in my theory?

[Fixables]

I love the benefits of gearing, it definitely will make the car feel different.
However, the cost involved in swapping gears from one gearbox to another is a bit much, not knowing if you are going to get what you want out of it.

The cheaper option is to change the size of your tires which is basically the same. I am playing with that on my RAV4 but for all out acceleration instead, and I am doing it with tire size.


Just a thought.

Kirk

[AW111]

Will it work? Yes...but there are too many factors to say whether it's worth or not...like how many mile you do per year? How many of those miles do you actually spend in 5th gear? Whether or not you're current 5th gear is bad and needs replacement? How much longer you plan on keeping you Rav4? Price & type of gasoline you use? Are you planning to do this yourself or will you have a mechanic do it for you.
All I can say is...if you 5th gear is bad and needs replacement + you're planning to do this yourself + if you spend a lot of time in 5th gear driving at speeds upward of 75-90mph + plan to own your Rav4 for 4-5yrs THEN it might be worth it. Otherwise leave your gearbox alone, save the money.

[Cwis]

Hi both, thanks for the thoughts.

Can't see how it's cheaper to change tyres - I can get a (complete) Celica gearbox here in the UK for around 100UKP. I would be doing the work myself.

Larger tyres have greater rotational inertia so would cost extra fuel to and power to accellerate at any speed in any gear.

I would end up with the engine about 150-200RPM lower at 70MPH if I did the conversion - I was wondering whether it was worth it.... I'll think again in the summer when I'm more likely to crawl under the car!

Chris