Too much power?

[Shdwdrgn]

I usually drive fairly light on the throttle, so I haven't really hammered on it since I installed the new gears. On my way to work this morning, it had been raining earlier so the road was still damp. I have a place where there's a merge lane when getting onto the highway, and after I pulled out, I saw a good spot coming up fast... I forgot myself and floored the gas, it dropped back down into 1st gear, and...

WHOA

The back end started squirreling as if I were on solid ice! I've driven in all kinds of conditions, but never had a vehicle break the tires loose so easily before. I can see I'm going to have to be extremely cautious when driving on the snow and ice this Winter.

On the other hand... Man that's a lot of power!

[Wahugg]

I bet that wheel spin felt nice!

However your not really gaining any 'power' in the strictest sense. You're simply trading off HP for Torque when year gear lower, which does indeed make spinning your wheels easier.

With lower gears you'll want to watch out for breaking you CV joints more easily and possibly blowing up your rear diff more easily if it's not the 8.6in.

-Wahugg

[Shdwdrgn]

"More effective power to the wheels" then. Yeah I understand its not really more HP overall, but it is certainly more power in a useable range.

An upgrade to an 8.6 rear was part of the deal in changing my gears. I'm sitting pretty good now.

[The Roadie]

WOT G80 engagement with heavier than stock tires/wheels is a very, very high energy event to be avoided.

[v7guy]

You'll just want to be easier on the throttle, plain and simple. If, with the self tuning, you removed the torque management, then you'll have a lot more dramatic results when you get on it.

You'll eventually get used to it and learn to handle it or you'll wreck it.

[Shdwdrgn]

So I take it this isn't like the old days of muscle cars where you could build a 500HP engine on a stock chassis and never have to worry about the drivetrain self-destructing? Considering the difference in cost between vehicles, I feel somewhat cheated. Still, it seems to me that having the lower gear ratio would mean there was *less* stress on the drivetrain under WOT, when compared to doing the same thing with the 3.42 gears?

[v7guy]

There's a big difference between launching on the street with 500 horses and bouncing and spinning up rocks/hills and then suddenly gaining some traction.

Bigger gears means you increase leverage/torque on components. Depending on how heavy you are with the throttle while going up obstacles, you can create a massively higher amount of force on the drivetrain than launching 500 horses on street tires.


I've seen plenty of older cars with 4:10s rip apart u joints, break driveshafts, twist axles, sheer lug nuts, etc

[Shdwdrgn]

You'll eventually get used to it and learn to handle it or you'll wreck it.

Wreck it? What is this madness??? You should have seen how I drove my old car on snow & ice. Of course I know about the failings with the power steering when sliding with our platform, so I'm nowhere near as crazy with my driving as I used to be, but yeah, I think I'll be able to figure out how to handle the new gears. Bad road conditions don't concern me, but I have little experience with the strains from off-roading. I'm hoping that will start changing soon.

[v7guy]

hahaha, it's hard to say where someone's experience level is online and age doesn't necessarily mean the required experience is there...hell, being young doesn't necessarily mean the skill isn't there... but yeah, if you know how to handle a vehicle with power and have a good feel for what's happening then you know exactly what I'm saying.

[Trail X]

You're simply trading off HP for Torque when year gear lower, which does indeed make spinning your wheels easier.

Your power doesn't change when you change gear ratios. Only your torque does. So there's no real trade off.

[Wahugg]

Your power doesn't change when you change gear ratios. Only your torque does. So there's no real trade off.

After doing some more research, your right James. I always imagined gearing as hp vs torque; lose some to gain some. I just wrongly associated HP to only speed and torque to only pulling force.

Sorry about that!

-Wahugg

[JorDaneeKey]

[ErikSS]

I'm not an engineer. There are plenty of technical things I don't understand. However, I do have a little experience with going fast. haha The gear changes the power to the wheel. I'm not sure how, but it does. Changing the gear can increase gas milage, or decrease a 1/4 mile time depending on direction.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS HAVING TOO MUCH POWER! But, you could use it wrong and break or wreck stuff. haha

[navigator]

the easiest way I think of it is kind of like a mountain bike.
You have the gearing at the transmission (sproket at the pedal) and you have the gearing at the rear end (sprocket at the wheel).
The same guy(engine) is riding it but changing the gear affects the bike greatly.
If you are in a high gear and trying to go up a hill that makes it really hard, if you shift to a low gear, you have to pedal a lot more (more RPM) but it is much easier to climb the hill.
To go fast on level ground you shift into a higher gear and at the same pedal rate (RPM) you can go much faster than when in the lower gear rate.

[fishsticks]

Layman's answer:

You trade top speed (at redline) for increased wheel torque at a given RPM.

Deeper gears are harder on the internals of your differential but nicer to everything in front of them. Did you use a G80 8.6? I hope not.

[Shdwdrgn]

Did you use a G80 8.6? I hope not.

Er... yes? What's wrong with a G80? The old one has been treating me right.

[fishsticks]

Did you use a G80 8.6? I hope not.

Er... yes? What's wrong with a G80? The old one has been treating me right.

Several of us have turned G80 diffs into large piles of metal chunks... Without much effort.

Hopefully yours doesn't suffer a similar fate.