GEAR VENDORS RACING APPLICATIONS
ENGINEERING AND RACING
The GEAR VENDORS uses a common vertex (cone) Raybestos clutch system.
This means there is no parasitic loss through dragging and unapplied clutch pack. For this
reason the GEAR VENDORS is the most efficient transmission on the market using less than
1 horsepower per 400. Imagine - we race the Dakar, Quatar, Tunisian, 24hrs of France, and Master
rallies (over 6,000 miles each race) with just 24 ounces of fluid in the unit and no cooler. And,
we have won the Quatar, Tunisian and the Master. You cannot do that if you are converting hp to heat.
The GEAR VENDORS planetary carrier and power flow are ideal for
motorsports. The planet carrier is all steel and carries a double row of narrow caged needles
in each gear instead of a single wide set. It is the most sophisticated planetary we know of. The
18 element roller clutch and drop forged annulus can launch the current world record holder in Super
Eliminator with 1850hp as well as the current record holder of HotRod Drag Week (these are 7 sec
passes in a 3800lb car. Most racing products are no where near the level of engineering found in the
Gear Vendors simply because of their low production volumes. Gear Vendors sells thousands of expensive
overdrives to muscle cars, street rods, trucks, towing trailers, and Rv's every year for
(27 years). It is this production volume that drives the engineering and that would be hard to
justify if your product was only sold in small quantities. For this reason the
UNDER/OVERDRIVE™ is a real bargain for racers in performance, and engineering per dollar.
Read on below about the motorsport you are involved in and call us at the
factory to ensure you are getting the proper products and that our benefits will be appropriate
for your application. Again, since we sell thousands of units and all of them with a money-back
guarantee, we can afford to offer you a product only if it is going to make you faster and more
reliable. Use the Final Drive Ratios found in the 2-wheel drive section for ratio information.
DRAG RACING Powerglide
The GEAR VENDORS in combination with the Powerglide is an affordable, reliable, and
very efficient package. This is a superior alternative for most cars thinking of going to a Th400.
The GEAR VENDORS .78 to 1 ratio allows you to go to a numerically higher rear gear to
improve your 60ft. times and get it all back with the overdrive. The reciprocal of our ratio
is 1.28 so a car that currently runs a 4.56 rear could go to a 5.84 without loss of top end.
You will have these improvements with reduced cost, greater reliability, and lower parasitic
losses when compared to 3-speeds. Using a lower rear end ratio also lets you keep a close ratio
spread on your glide for more power at the 1-2 shift. Many cars with 1200hp or less will also
find benefit in using 1st-over which will net a really nice 4spd spread of 1.76, 1.33, 1.00,
0.78. or 1.82, 1.41, 1.00, .78
The overdrive is switched on with 12-volts and so is easily adapted to
steering wheel buttons or automated through our AutoShift sequencer or rpm switches. The product
is ideally suited in stock form for cars with 1200hp or less and in this case is virtually
indestructible, literally running for seasons of use without maintenance other than fluid. Cars
with more than 1200+ horsepower can be accommodated but you should call the factory so hydraulic
issues dealing with clutch ramp timing can be properly adjusted for your application weight and
hp.
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DRAG RACING 3-SPEED AUTOMATIC
Splitting the ratios (especially 2nd-over) is always valuable to the
3-speed car. 1st-over can be very valuable for hooking up with our AutoLaunch circuit on
cars up to about 800hp but is a big torque multiplier and so cars with higher hp may break
traction depending on their chassis setup. 2nd-over keeps the converter tight and produces
torque multiplication right when the aerodynamics are starting to load the car heavily. We've
never heard of a car that didn't run quicker going 1st, 2nd, 2nd-over then 3rd. A 1.28 deeper
rear gear (the reciprocal of our ratio) can be used and the run 3rd-over for 5 to 6-speeds.
With a 1.28 lower differential these cars can then also keep stock 1-2 ratio (instead of
aftermarket deep gear) in the trans for less r.p.m. drop on shift.
Consistency and E.T. are improved by operating the engine and converter
in a tighter rpm range as well as having more torque multipliers through the run. The
GEAR VENDORS is one of the few products that can improve both. Study the Final Drive
Ratio charts in the 2-wheel drive section appropriate for your tranny make and also read
the powerglide section.
Horsepower = Torque X RPM/5252 The Gear Vendors Under/Overdrive is one
of the few products you can use to boost both sides of this equation. Keeping both the torque
multiplication higher (gears are multipliers of torque) and the rpm tighter with the close
ratios provide by gear-splitting. Your torque converter is also a torque multiplier. One
of the benefits of gear-splitting is that all converters work better with the shortest
steps in gearing. With the close ratios provide by the Gear Vendors there is also less need
for high stall so you can concentrate on the 60ft and the overdrive will handle all the big end
of the track.
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DRAG RACING/ROAD RACING with 4-SPEED MANUALS
GEAR VENDORS makes kits to fit all the popular manual
transmissions - from the muscle car era 4spds to the best Lenco, G-Force, Tex Racing,
and Jerico race units. Two main features make us popular on manuals - overdrive, and
clutchless shifts. If you put overdrive inside the case of a 4 or 5 speed you weaken
the trans because of the changes required in shaft centerlines, shift fork arrangements
and other engineering issues (just too much stuff). Keeping the underdrive gears and direct
in the main case and then adding an indestructible planetary overdrive gear behind it keeps
the entire package stronger. The whole concept of Gear Vendors manual kits.
Add to this that a Gear Vendors can be shifted at any moment without
clutching and has the same 22% ratio spread as most gear changes in the manual and lots
of performance can be gained.
Drag racer - Launch in 1st with the overdrive preselected. Gear
Vendors AutoLaunch circuit lets the engine rev through 1st and then shifts to 1st -over
at the exact speed every time. This is right where the automatic guys use to blow by you
but now you are a lot less busy and are 28% farther down the track before you need to
clutch the car. Flip the 3-4 shift lever upside down and you can then go straight to
3rd in what had been the 4th gear gate and do the entire run with just one clutch
depression. 1st, 1st-over, 3rd, 3rd-over. Multiplier is .78 on top of the gear you
select - which is the same spread as an m21 muncie. Better consistency, always faster.
Road Race and Off Road guys have the same benefit as drag racers
on launch but also imagine: A clutchless full throttle shift when you are trying to
get just another 3ft on a guy at the end of the straight or maybe twice that much as
you get into acceleration off the corner. Today we are still involved in rebuilding
old DeNormanville units for Volvo's, Healey's, MG, and Triumph's that have been
popular in SCCA road racing forever because of their little planetary overdrive
(the predecessor to Gear Vendors).
There is no room on this page to discuss every benefit and every
tranny combination so give us a call at the factory 800-999-9555.
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LAND SPEED RACING
Up to 2,000 hp - GEAR VENDORS (parasitic loss less than 1 hp per 400) lends itself
to success in virtually all LSR classes that use a transmission. Wide ratio transmissions
are able to use the gear-splitting feature to greatly improve engine reliability as it
comes up through the gears in a tighter rpm range so less time is spent at rpm's where
the engine may not run well. We have been involved in Land Speed Racing for decades and our
customers have set many records. Spal Diesel Bonneville 2007, Blowfish Bonneville 2006,
Gear Vendors also set new records in 2007 for the standing mile at both the Nevada Classic
High Noon Shootout and the Maxton Mile.
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OFF ROAD RACING
Because of the variety of terrain and traction it is hard to imagine a
sport more suited for our product than off road racing. Overdrive is rarely used but the
gear-splitting aspect of overdriving 1st and 2nd are huge performance gains. Bryant Hibbs
got us involved in the late '80s when he was with Nissan. Since then, Mike Leslie, Ivan
Stewart, Craig Stewart, Steve Barlow, Rob MacCachren, and others have provided many opportunities.
We are now on the verge of a downright explosion in wins. In 2007 Rob MacCachren in the RedBull
Pro2 Ford was the most dominant truck in CORR with 5 wins in the series and two more in the
Baldwin memorial races. For 2008 Supercross legend Ricky Johnson will pilot the RedBull Steve
Barlow Motorsports entry in Pro2 with Barlow himself running the RedBull Pro4. Mark your
calendars and watch these events on NBC sports on May 25,Jun 15, July 6, July 27, Sept 27,
Oct 5, Oct 26, and Dec 6. Also set your Tivo for Championship off road racing on Speed TV
as all the rebroadcasts will be there. The European ProTrucks also running 850 hp and
competing in the longest events (Bruno Saby with ASM/Ford and Eric Vigiroux with
ProSystem/Chevrolet have each won 7,000 mile events - Tunisian Rally, Master Rally, and ASM
rented the truck then to Nasser Al-Attiyah who won the Baja Quatar). Eric won the 24hrs of
France in 03 and was 2nd in 04. These successes have demonstrated not just the overdrives
performance and reliability but the overdrives positive impact on the transmission
reliability as a whole package. The Gear Vendors allows these trucks to keep the torque converter
hooked up (which reduces heat) because of our narrow steps in gearing and also puts a lot more
shifting duty on the overdrive instead of the main trans (In CORR we use a glide and
in FIA Cross-country we use TH400 (though we think the glide/Gear Vendors combo is the future
in Baja and FIA). In the years since asbestos was eliminated from clutch material the Gear
Vendors has gained reputation as a tranny saver, and as the ultimate performance gearing device.
If you are running in a sandwash and 2nd has the engine screaming
but 3rd is lugging the motor - you can appreciate that 2nd-over is an awesome gear.
Long flat stretches and highway can benefit from overdrives 28.6% faster gear. If you
are racing off-road there is just no logical reason not to run a Gear Vendors in both the
prerunner and the racetruck.
Besides MacCachren's outstanding '07 campaign some other notable wins
include a dominate 2006 season in CORR Sportsman with Ross Hoeks Duraliner Ford and Dan
Vandenheuval has wins in CORR Pro2 and WSORR Pro2.
In 2008/9 we expect to see proliferation of glide/gearvendors and th400Gear Vendors
combinations in CORR and Baja. Know this, we have never paid a team to run
our product - not one sponsorship dollar. We do not believe we will ever have to, we
have no competition - Gear Vendors is the only overdrive you will find used in off road
racing. We are involved in this sport for 2 reasons - we love this form of racing, and
it demonstrates our products durability like no other motorsport can. These 850-900hp
trucks break the axles and rearends out of the truck and the Gear Vendors is still
performing - what better statement could we have.
MacCachren's RedBull Ford sat on pole more than any other CORR truck in
2007 and one of the great benefits to running the Gear Vendors is dealing with changing
track conditions. Typically the start of the race is a little wet because the water trucks
have just been out. Watch any start and notice how the RedBull Ford leaps off the line
as MacCachren short shifts to help traction. This is real important in CORR as the organizers
typically invert the top six so even though we win pole we now end up starting in the 3rd row,
so starts are very important to results. Meanwhile the trucks running TH400s are hauling
around the track a 1st gear that is too low to benefit and wide ratios that have them using the
same gear no matter if the track is wet or blue grooved. Even in a rear engined trophy truck
there is just no downside to the Glide/Gear Vendors combo. Lower parasitic loss, cooler
temps, and you can put the Gear Vendors either directly on the glide or run it remote mount
on the return shaft to shorten the driveline.
Here is a look at the ratios run by these teams carried through
to final drives with 6.20 rear gear.
| |
1st |
over |
2nd |
over |
 |
| PowerGlide with/1.76 1st gear x 6.20 = |
10.91 |
8.51 |
6.20 |
4.83 |
| |
1st |
over |
2nd |
over |
3rd |
over |
| Tf727 with 2.45 1st x 6.20 = |
15.19 |
11.85 |
8.99 |
7.01 |
6.20 |
4.83 |
| Th400 with 2.48 1st x 6.20 = |
15.38 |
11.99 |
9.18 |
7.16 |
6.20 |
4.83 |
| C4/C6 with 2.46 1st x 6.20 = |
15.25 |
11.90 |
9.05 |
7.06 |
6.20 |
4.83 |
As you can see all three of the 6 speed setups have really the same
ratios - not different enough to talk about. Since 1st is basically unusable on a
850 hp truck because it just fry's the tires (you dump it into 1st-over immediately for
the holeshot). On the other hand the powerglide 1st gear is pretty comparable to 1st-over
in the 6 speed setup which is a pretty sweet set of ratios each just 22% apart on upshift
and 28% reciprocal on downshift (same spread as a close ratio muncie has between the gears
but no clutch). Plus Glides make more horsepower and run cooler because of low parasitic
losses (160-180 degrees flat out racing). And nothing is as low in parasitic losses as the
Gear Vendors. So the only real question to answer between running a glide or 3 speed with
a Gear Vendors is whether a gear between your current 1st and 2nd would eliminate your
need of 1st. We know you wish you had a gear between 2nd and 3rd and the Gear Vendors has it.
The best overdrive you can buy and a big advantage on the dirt or pavement. Call us about your truck.
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES RACING
Some people are surprised to learn that we've been involved in Electric Vehicles since the mid
'80s. GEAR VENDORS has designed and built several transmissions for Chryslers TEVan
project (electric version of the Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager), Georgia Power and a number of
universities entered in research and development of hybrids and alternative fuel cars and trucks.
Electric racing interested us because of the high sustained rpm and the
absolute need for efficiency. BGSU's (Bowling Green State University) Electric Falcon was the
winner of the Phoenix Grand Prix at PRI. The Lincoln motor turns the GEAR VENDORS 12000
rpm for sustained runs. A fairly impossible task for most transmissions.
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Racing Applications
See "Application Guide" |
GM HydraMatic Powerglide, Th350, Th400 - all in shorty and long kits
Ford C4, C6, Top Loader 4sp all in - shorty and long kits
Dodge 727 shorty and long, 904 std length automatics and A833 4spd manual
Borg Warner T10 spd, Muncie M21/22, Jerico 4sp, G-Force 5spd, Lenco 3, 4, 5 spd |
GEAR VENDORS, INC. 1717 North Magnolia Avenue, El Cajon, CA 92020
Toll Free 800-999-9555 • Telephone (619) 562-0060 • Fax (619) 562-1186
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