Freeway Flyer Questions

[monkeyvanwestybike]

Hi All
Does anyone run a Freeway Flyer with stock 1600 ?
Does it give much improvement to cruising speed?
What is the diference between TES & Rancho or are they the same?
Thanks in advance
MVWB

 

[chippy]

Went the 6 rib route and made a great difference. 3,500 at 60mph. Freeway flyer I think uses similar/same ring gear and pinion ratio which is the important bit. Will need to use gears more. Make sure cooling is good maybe go for full flow oil system. Knackered my engine but that was for several reasons not all to do with box change.

 

[Lordain Volley]

Hello,
I just took delivery of one this Monday, direct from Rancho. They are the same as a 6 rib, both have a taller 4th gear.

I'm not sure if the 1600 would be suitable, as they are best used for bigger engines to reduce RPM, but I could be wrong. I emailed Rancho told them my engine @ wheel size, they advised me accordingly.

There is a 3 week wait before they ship.


LV

 

[Tofufi]

I went the 5 speed route - gives 3500RPM at 60mph in 5th gear, and leaves 4th gear the same as standard (well, within ~100rpm). I have not driven with it much yet, but it seems fairly comfortable at 65mph, whereas with the standard gearbox I'd only be happy doing 55mph.

My slightly tired standard 1600 (except twin DRLA and a beetle exhaust) pulled it along OK on the flat/mild gradients, but larger(steeper) motorway hills needed a downshift to 4th. With the freeway flyer box, you might not have that luxury as the gears are spaced further apart. It's also worth bearing in mind that mine is a microbus, heavier campers might struggle more.

For me the problem with the standard (1600) gearbox was also the large-ish gaps between gears, not so good for hills. I'm rebuilding my 1600 this weekend, so will try to remember to report back how it feels with a fresher engine.

 

[aspro]

Went the 6 rib route and made a great difference. 3,500 at 60mph. Freeway flyer I think uses similar/same ring gear and pinion ratio which is the important bit. Will need to use gears more. Make sure cooling is good maybe go for full flow oil system. Knackered my engine but that was for several reasons not all to do with box change.

I'd argue that my 3 rib does the same at 60mph if not better. Can't really see the benefit.

 

[chippy]

Went the 6 rib route and made a great difference. 3,500 at 60mph. Freeway flyer I think uses similar/same ring gear and pinion ratio which is the important bit. Will need to use gears more. Make sure cooling is good maybe go for full flow oil system. Knackered my engine but that was for several reasons not all to do with box change.

I'd argue that my 3 rib does the same at 60mph if not better. Can't really see the benefit.

:lol:

 

[Tofufi]

Went the 6 rib route and made a great difference. 3,500 at 60mph. Freeway flyer I think uses similar/same ring gear and pinion ratio which is the important bit. Will need to use gears more. Make sure cooling is good maybe go for full flow oil system. Knackered my engine but that was for several reasons not all to do with box change.

I'd argue that my 3 rib does the same at 60mph if not better. Can't really see the benefit.

:lol:

Chippy, are you sure you mean 3500RPM at 60?

The stock 3 rib box does 3425rpm at 60mph (with stock wheels and tyres). The 091 should be 3025RPM at the same speed.

By comparison, my Porsche box is doing 2950RPM at 60.

 

[aspro]

Went the 6 rib route and made a great difference. 3,500 at 60mph. Freeway flyer I think uses similar/same ring gear and pinion ratio which is the important bit. Will need to use gears more. Make sure cooling is good maybe go for full flow oil system. Knackered my engine but that was for several reasons not all to do with box change.

I'd argue that my 3 rib does the same at 60mph if not better. Can't really see the benefit.

:lol:

I wasn't being funny. At 60mph I'm doing less than 3500RPM. Am I missing something?

 

[70-CA-Panel]

I wasn't being funny. At 60mph I'm doing less than 3500RPM. Am I missing something?

Is your tachometer good?

Oh, I was being funny

 

[ozziedog]

One of the big things here is how rubbish is the information we are trying to share and compare here. In the sense that these beasties are forty plus years old, the speedos have never been recalibrated, the tyre sizes have a million variations both front and rear, loads of the boxes and diffs will vary from shagged out to pristine rebuilds with all sorts of dodgy bodges in between. Some peeps have different types of tachos as well and I`m not sure how reliable these are in terms of running off of forty year old wiring. Some are useing old speedo technology and some are using Tom Tom and Garmin technology.

So there`s lots of variables.

I`m also getting fed up with Tofufi spouting off about his ` five speed gearbox ` , I think he is possibly the only one that has got the right idea and he is spreading our little power band a bit wider which is more than sensible. Plus he`s not too far from me and I might be able to talk him into doing mine too It does seem the sensible solution with also the capabilities to handle more ponies if they become available at a different date :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,Makes sense :mrgreen:

 

[70-CA-Panel]

I won't have teh time or money now, but out of interest Tofufi what is your setup?
It does sound sensible to be able to shift to an 'overdrive' for cruising.

Can you keep using the stock shifter and linkage?
What modifications did you have to do and what did you have to buy?

What Porsche and year is your gearbox out of?

Cheers

Andy

 

[chippy]

Thank you ozziedog for saying what I was thinking. The original question was can you put a freeway flyer on a standard engine mine is a little better than standard and the six rib gives a little taller gearing and it has made my van much more drivable. So a bog standard or worn engine may find it hard going. My original box was a early 3 rib with the 5.375 to 1 lots of revs going through the gears and 50mph was about it. Bentley also lists a 4.857 so I can see a six rib would be little or no better than that at 4.57.
Went for a drive this morning

At a steady speed I'm under 3,500rpm (yes tacho is old and uncalibrated)
Mrs sat nav says I'm doing 60mph
But speedo says 56. If I take it up to 60 on the speedo sat nav is then 65 and rpm at 3,500.

 

[Tofufi]

One of the big things here is how rubbish is the information we are trying to share and compare here. In the sense that these beasties are forty plus years old, the speedos have never been recalibrated, the tyre sizes have a million variations both front and rear, loads of the boxes and diffs will vary from shagged out to pristine rebuilds with all sorts of dodgy bodges in between. Some peeps have different types of tachos as well and I`m not sure how reliable these are in terms of running off of forty year old wiring. Some are useing old speedo technology and some are using Tom Tom and Garmin technology.

So there`s lots of variables.

All mine were theoretical figures based on standard tyre sizes. It certainly seems Chippy has smaller front tyres hence his speedo readings are lower than his sat-nav

I`m also getting fed up with Tofufi spouting off about his ` five speed gearbox ` , I think he is possibly the only one that has got the right idea and he is spreading our little power band a bit wider which is more than sensible. Plus he`s not too far from me and I might be able to talk him into doing mine too It does seem the sensible solution with also the capabilities to handle more ponies if they become available at a different date :mrgreen:

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,Makes sense :mrgreen:

Cheers Oz, I think :lol:

You're welcome to have a ride in it once the engine is out of the kitchen after a freshen-up - should be back on the road next weekend if all goes to plan 8)

I won't have teh time or money now, but out of interest Tofufi what is your setup?
It does sound sensible to be able to shift to an 'overdrive' for cruising.

Can you keep using the stock shifter and linkage?
What modifications did you have to do and what did you have to buy?

What Porsche and year is your gearbox out of?

Cheers

Andy

Porsche 901 gearbox, from a '65 car. No modifications to the vehicle other than re-routing the shift linkage, everything else is bolt-on. The conversion needs new inner CV joints, and a few other small bits, nothing too major.
It keeps the stock shifter, which was a must for me.

The only downside is that the Porsche synchros are an older design, and slightly slower/clumsier than the VW ones. So long as you're not in a (very big) hurry to switch gears, it's fine.

See here: http://forum.earlybay.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=60286" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for more info

 

[jonboylaw]

Smaller front wheel rolling diameter will read faster and the wheel needs to rotate more for the same road speed...

I really would like at 5 speed box though

Sent from my GX64 SatCom phone using Tapatalk