The following table should shed some light on the what was done to the Gen 5 gearing. After putting some miles on the car my personal opinion is that the G5 has perfect gearing for road racing and autox. To go one step further the gearing is close to perfect for a daily driver - SRT hit a home run. When you compare the Gen 2 and Gen 5 transmission ratio's you wonder who the hell developed the old scheme and why it was not changed earlier.
With all that said, there is one minor problem, the combination of:
A. A lower numerical 1st gear.
B. A shift of the torque curve upward.
C. A light flywheel.
These all make it difficult to launch the car at the dragstrip, not impossible, but, difficult. The car should perform better with the 26" hoosier, versus, the 27.5 Mickey Thompson.
The table that follows uses normalized numbers and compares the changes in the transmission and overall gear ratios:
With all that said, there is one minor problem, the combination of:
A. A lower numerical 1st gear.
B. A shift of the torque curve upward.
C. A light flywheel.
These all make it difficult to launch the car at the dragstrip, not impossible, but, difficult. The car should perform better with the 26" hoosier, versus, the 27.5 Mickey Thompson.
The table that follows uses normalized numbers and compares the changes in the transmission and overall gear ratios:
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Gen 2 - 3.07 Rear/26" Tire | Gen 5 - 3.55 Rear Gear/**27.4 Tire | |||||||
Trans Gear | Gen 2 Trans Ratio | Ratio w/Rear Gear Multiplier (3.07) | Normalized Overall Ratio w/26" dia | Gen 5 Trans Ratio | Ratio w/Rear Gear Multiplier (3.55) | Adjusted Ratio w/27.4" dia | *Gen 5 %-Higher/Lower gear ratio | |
1st | 2.66 | 8.17 | 8.17 | 2.26 | 8.02 | 7.61 | 6.8% | |
2nd | 1.78 | 5.46 | 5.46 | 1.58 | 5.61 | 5.32 | 2.6% | |
3rd | 1.30 | 3.99 | 3.99 | 1.19 | 4.22 | 4.01 | -0.4% | |
4th | 1.00 | 3.07 | 3.07 | 1.00 | 3.55 | 3.37 | -9.7% | |
5th | 0.74 | 2.27 | 2.27 | 0.77 | 2.73 | 2.59 | -14.2% | |
6th | 0.50 | 1.54 | 1.54 | 0.63 | 2.24 | 2.12 | -38.3% | |
* A higher ratio is numerically lower | ||||||||
** I measured the Corsa and it seems to have a smaller than advertised diameter - I need to measure the tire again to confirm. | ||||||||
RPM Drop | ||||||||
Gen 2 - 3.07 Rear/26" Tire | Gen 5 - 3.55 Rear Gear/27.4 Tire | |||||||
Trans Gear | Adjusted Ratio 3.07 & 26" dia | Gen 2 % RPM Drop @ shift | Comment | Adjusted Ratio 3.55 & 27.4" dia | Gen 5 % RPM Drop @ shift | MPH at 6000 RPM | ||
1st | 8.17 | 7.61 | 61 | |||||
2nd | 5.46 | 33% | 5.32 | 30% | 87 | |||
3rd | 3.99 | 27% | 4.01 | 25% | 116 | |||
4th | 3.07 | 23% | < Input & Output shaft coupled > | 3.37 | 16% | 138 | ||
5th | 2.27 | 26% | 2.59 | 23% | 178 | |||
6th | 1.54 | 32% | 2.12 | 18% | 218 |