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Four Speed or Five Speed

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:40 pm
by Buddyboy
Hi Guys,
I have been reading that many of you Brumby Owners have swapped your Four Speed Gearboxes over for Five Speed Gearboxes. What are the advantages of this changeover?
Regards
Buddyboy

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:44 pm
by thunder039
Buddyboy wrote:Hi Guys,
I have been reading that many of you Brumby Owners have swapped your Four Speed Gearboxes over for Five Speed Gearboxes. What are the advantages of this changeover?
Regards
Buddyboy
although i personally have not done the conversion, i spose the closer ratio of the 5sp would allow quicker acceleration hus making the car more responsive

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:18 pm
by steptoe
There is, or were more decent 5 speeds available than decent four speeds at the time. The youngest 4 speed is now 20 years old ! No gear shifter slop like th 4 speeds, bragging rights :D

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:36 pm
by thunder039
steptoe wrote:There is, or were more decent 5 speeds available than decent four speeds at the time. The youngest 4 speed is now 20 years old ! No gear shifter slop like th 4 speeds, bragging rights :D
yep gotta love the slop!

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2012 9:47 pm
by El_Freddo
Driving a stock 5spd L series and a stock 4spd Brumby, both boxes are pretty much the same up to 3rd.

With the 4spd there's a huge gap between 3rd and 4th. While you don't really notice it daily driving, you do notice it when loaded up especially when towing up a hill.

With the 5spd you've got 4th inbetween 3rd and top gear. I'm sure 5th is about the same as 4th in the 4spd. The dual range 5 speed I believe has a better low range too. The 5 speed is generally the same layout as what the EJ's use in their 5spds, it's a bit more refined over the 4spd in my book.

The conversion isn't hard, there are many thread about the conversion, not just on ausubi either!

Cheers

Bennie

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 9:54 am
by thunder039
yes there is a massive gap between 3rd and 4th on the 4 speeds, but i like it makes it more lazy to drive to the lack of changing gears from 60km onwards :p

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:51 am
by steptoe
El_Freddo wrote:Driving a stock 5spd L series and a stock 4spd Brumby, both boxes are pretty much the same up to 3rd.
I found 2nd of 4 speed was good for torque delivery and third of five speed is now that gear, with 3.7:1 diff - disagree with Bennie

Thanks

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 7:12 pm
by Buddyboy
Thanks Guys, can I assume then that the 5 speed would be more appropriate to use with an increase of HP in the EA81, or is there a better option?
Regards Buddyboy

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 7:34 pm
by thunder039
Buddyboy wrote:Thanks Guys, can I assume then that the 5 speed would be more appropriate to use with an increase of HP in the EA81, or is there a better option?
Regards Buddyboy
what sort of horse power increase are we talking about?
there is only so much the ea81 will pump out even with a webber on it, but even then the 4sp will be fine

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 8:55 pm
by Silverbullet
All this talk of 4sp and 5sp ratios being nearly the same, I can't believe it! With my old 4 speed basically if the wheels are turning you're going to fast to be in 1st, and in 4th at 100 it's revving uncomfortably high...or maybe there is something wrong with mine :o Can't wait to compare with the 5 speed.

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 11:07 pm
by El_Freddo
I've found that the 4spd and 5spd boxes are about the same revs at 100km/h. Both boxes are 3.7 diff ratio.

Fair enough steptoe, remember that two cars of the same make, model, specs and age can drive like two different vehicles!

The 4 spd will hold up to some power increases though. I find the 4spd is really agricultural compared to the 5spd. I reckon this is mainly due to the gear selector mechanism... Go the 5spd, you won't look back ;)

Cheers

Bennie

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 5:55 pm
by Buddyboy
Thanks Guys again, think I will go for the 5 Speed and get rid of the gear lever slop as well. I am not going for a lot of horses, just enough to compensate for the Air Con and have a little in reserve when the need arises. Regards Buddyboy.