I found out why my gear ratios are so weird.

[anothernord]

As I was getting a wideband O2 bung welded at the local exhaust shop, I wandered around to the rear of the car, and look at the rear diff, and I noticed that the label read "Gear ratio 3.900". I was totally confused so I checked my trans code, TY752VA5AA, and it turns out it comes from a 98' 2.2L Impreza, with a 3.9 final drive. Apparantly, my car had a trans swap somewhere in its 150k life, but now this one is starting to grind in second. :evil:

Stock, I thought the 97' Outback should have a 4.11 final drive, with a 5th gear that is almost the same ratio as 4th. Am I wrong there? I guess this means that a wrx transmission can go in without swapping the rear differential. :grin:

Does anyone have any suggestions for transmissions that have longer 1st and 2nd gears? My current ratios are laborious for daily driving.

[KAG]

Yes, 3.900 gears on an n/a car can be pretty boring in 1st and 2nd, but freeway gearing (5th) to me felt really good, so I stuck with it. Any 4.111 or even 4.444 gears will bring 1st and 2nd back to life.

I'm sure you've seen this chart before, but here is where you can find out which cars have the gears you want: http://spda-online.ca/modules/tinycontent/rewrite/tc_28.html

Also, an 02-05 WRX transmission still won't go in without swapping the rear differential because it has a 3.900 front differential and a 3.454 rear differential, which is made possible by the 1.1 to 1 center divider. An 04-05 STi 6MT with the correct driveshaft will work with it though :smt002

[anothernord]

I haven't seen that chart yet, thanks! I might just look into a rebuild with Legacy GT gears, everywhere I go people talk about how they are the best all around gearset, or at least 1st and second.

[impreza_GC8]

You are a lucky man if your trans and rear end are swapped to 3.90 because my 4.11 Outback 5th gear is killing my fuel mileage on these 16" rims. Seriously, I want a Legacy GT or 2.5RS 5th gear so bad.

[anothernord]

You are a lucky man if your trans and rear end are swapped to 3.90 because my 4.11 Outback 5th gear is killing my fuel mileage on these 16" rims. Seriously, I want a Legacy GT or 2.5RS 5th gear so bad.

Yes, I really do like the 3rd, 4th, and 5th gears; they shift great and are comfortable. It just seems like 1st and 2nd are so short, and accelerating in traffic is sort of a pain when you have to rev to almost 4k in first then shift as fast as possible without grinding to keep up with the rest of traffic. The worn second gear syncro doesn't help either.

[impreza_GC8]

I guess I shouldn't have said you're a lucky man because 3.90 probably isn't that great in an N/A car. My turbo'ed Outback rows through 1-2 very quickly. I just HATE my 5th gear ratio.

[jey]

I am totally confused. The Impreza tranny and final drive are already giving you longer gears than the stock Outback 4.111 and you want even longer gears?? With the big Outback tires you effectively already have the longest 1/2 gears in Subaru land, not sure what else is out there.

There's not that much torque down there either - longer gears may actually hurt your acceleration? Better to get up to the higher rpms quicker if you want to keep up with traffic. My 14-year-old 130-hp Legacy had no problem beating a V6 Mustang off the line with 3.9 FD.

[anothernord]

Sorry, I should make myself more clear, my last post didn't seem to go through; dumb iPod touch. Anyway, I actually have standard size WRX 225/45R16 tires, and for whatever reason, I redline at 30 mph in first gear, and about 50 mph in second. Power and torque in the first two gears are great, so that's not the issue. I recently drove a friend's 02 WRX, which redlined in first at 40 mph, and second at 65, and I really liked the ratios it had (same size tires).

According to the chart that was linked above, my trans should have first and second ratios of 3.545 and 1.947 respectively, with the 3.900 final drive. (I think?). The 02 WRX's ratios according to the chart are 3.454 and 1.947, with 3.900 final drive, but with the 1.1 to 1 divider, and 3.454 rear. I suppose that's what makes it different. I am a fairly big noob when it comes to transmissions.

[rougeben83]

Sorry, I should make myself more clear, my last post didn't seem to go through; dumb iPod touch. Anyway, I actually have standard size WRX 225/45R16 tires, and for whatever reason, I redline at 30 mph in first gear, and about 50 mph in second. Power and torque in the first two gears are great, so that's not the issue. I recently drove a friend's 02 WRX, which redlined in first at 40 mph, and second at 65, and I really liked the ratios it had (same size tires).

According to the chart that was linked above, my trans should have first and second ratios of 3.545 and 1.947 respectively, with the 3.900 final drive. (I think?). The 02 WRX's ratios according to the chart are 3.454 and 1.947, with 3.900 final drive, but with the 1.1 to 1 divider, and 3.454 rear. I suppose that's what makes it different. I am a fairly big noob when it comes to transmissions.

wrx tires are 205/55/16 you're redlining really quickly because your tires are about 1" shorter than any stock subaru 16" tire, effectively shortening the gear ratio.

[anothernord]

Ooohhhh. Ok, my tires are not only shorter than stock WRX, but way shorter than stock Outback. Only problem is that I like my tires a lot and I don't want to have to change them. They are Winterforce 225's. Gonna be fun when the snow returns! :razz:

[jey]

WRX FD is same as yours, 3.9. The 1.1 reduction on the rear shaft paired with 3.545: 1.1*3.545=3.9.

Most of the difference is actually in the redline itself - 7000 rpm at the same gear is faster than 6250 rpm. Also look carefully - wrx 1st gear is 3.454, others are 3.545.