I finally broke in my gears and decided to have some fun with them. I now cant get traction in 1st gear. I feather the throttle and then floor it around 3000 rpms and the tires just spin til redline. My car has full bolt ons and cams, 245 nitto 555s, j&m lca, tokico hp shocks, vogtland springs. Anyone else have traction issues with 1st gear?
4.10 gears installed... No traction?
- Thread starter sandiegostang
- Start date
-
Sponsors (?)
Night Shifter
Well-Known Member
rear lower control arms and a wider/stickier tire is in your future 
do that and your traction will come back..until then, those 245's are just gonna slide you around like you're on ice
do that and your traction will come back..until then, those 245's are just gonna slide you around like you're on ice
BurningRubber
10 Year Member
- Dec 6, 2004
- 1,865
- 24
- 58
Welcome to owning a geared 2v.
1st and 2nd are useless for me. It can be fun until I'm actaully trying to race on street tires.
1st and 2nd are useless for me. It can be fun until I'm actaully trying to race on street tires.
lighten up on the pedal? That hardly seems like much fun. I may just step down to 3.73 gears. The guy at the shop guaranteed i would like his 4.10s or he would install my 3.73s for free. What would traction be like with the 3.73 gears rather than the 4.10s. Honestly because of all the wheel spin, i dont really notice much difference between the 3.27 gears and the 4.10. When i was stock I would just hook and go. Obviously 3rd, 4th, and 5th feel faster, but 1st and 2nd dont pull much harder and they end sooner.
PULMEOVR
I need a bigger E-Penis.
If you're on stock wheels, you could take this as an opportunity to upgrade to a different wheelset with a wider rear tire. Throw some sticky street tires on it and you should have less of a problem. I'm not trying to be rude, but did you research before you bought the 4.10s? Most people have traction issues in first gear with them.
BurningRubber
10 Year Member
- Dec 6, 2004
- 1,865
- 24
- 58
What are your goals with the car?
4.10's are the general consensus as to what any bolt on, 5 speed 2v car should be running. That is, unless you do all interstate driving, or never hit the track, etc.
I'd stick with the 4.10's. 3.73's may show a SLIGHT increase in traction, but really, anything over a 3.55 gear is far enough away from the stock 3.27 to make traction tougher on stock tires.
I'd invest in a stickier tire and if you're able to, upgrade to a nicer/wider set of wheels as mentioned. It's not NEEDED, but you can kill two birds with one stone. Not sure what the weather is like where you're at, but any time it's cold out, traction gets worse regardless of tire. When it's warm out, a nice summer performance tire will help stick things even with a stock width wheel. Nitto 555's are good tires, too. 555R's (the drag radials) are a nice blend of streetable track tire performance.
Is there a big difference in feeling between 4.10s and 3.73s? Before i got the gears everyone was telling me to get 4.10s so I got them. Now it seems like they are a little too much. Maybe if my car was stock then there wouldnt be an issue with traction, but damn they make the tires spin. They sure are a lot of fun though.
slayerripkdc
15 Year Member
Like everyone stated above. Wider rear wheels and some lower control arms should plant the tires a little better to the road.
Similar threads
