Quote:
Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr
I'm not so excited about the close-ratio gear ratings which have been prevalent in the manual transmissions. No wonder the automatics, which have been retaining wider ratios, are getting their mileage disadvantage reduced.
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Me neither. The bias is towards maximum acceleration capability. I skip-shift my 5-speed m/ts, usually 1-3-5 or 2-4-5. As a flatlander with a car that has abundant torque, I could do away with the extra two gearsets and save the weight and loss of transmission efficiency by having a nice 3-speed. Perhaps my desire for only three gears would change if I lived in hill country and/or had a less torquey engine.
Back in the '80s the Ford "High MPG" transmission was a 4-speed, not the 5-speed which was also offered.
Also I think overdrive gearsets lose power transmission efficiency- the reason they work is that the loss is smaller than the engine efficiency gain. I'd like a "straight through" top ratio with no gear meshes paired with an appropriately tall non-hypoid final drive gearset.
By the same token I believe gearsets have improved efficiency the closer they are to 1:1 ratio; another plus for a tall final drive.