Need to make a quick decision on Short Gears

[tpearsall]

My tranny is about to come a part for a clutch and while I'm there taking care of the snap-ring issue. I'm trying to decide about short gears (w/o the R&P) while they in there. LarryB had good recommendation to drive a car with short gears to see what I like, but I won't have time since I want to get it ordered so I can retreive my car from NY sooner (long story).

Any options on short gears for 98% daily driver, 2% track car?

Thanks,
Todd

 

[Jimbo]

Given that you're most interested in street driving I would do it without hesitation.

I made the switch and it's a much nicer car to drive on the street. The big drop from the 1-2 shift is gone.

Highly recommended.

-Jim

 

[MiamieNeSeX]

My tranny is about to come a part for a clutch and while I'm there taking care of the snap-ring issue. I'm trying to decide about short gears (w/o the R&P) while they in there. LarryB had good recommendation to drive a car with short gears to see what I like, but I won't have time since I want to get it ordered so I can retreive my car from NY sooner (long story).

Any options on short gears for 98% daily driver, 2% track car?

Thanks,
Todd

I am curious as to who is doing your Tranny work.

 

[ScienceofSpeed]

I would strongly recommend modifying the ring & pinion if you are going to have the transmission out. For a daily driver, I'd recommend the NSX-R 4.23 set. Adds pep, and feels like the car will have a shot of power.

Cheers,
-- Chris

 

[tpearsall]

After a clutch slave cylinder problem at Watkins Glen on Tuesday I towed it to Crest Acura in Syracuse since another NSXer has been having good experiences with them. When I found that the problem was more involved requiring the trans to come down, that lead to a new clutch and case (for the snap-ring issue). Then I started thinking about the gears since I'm this far in.

I asked and asked again to confirm that the NSX tech has experiece rebuilding NSX trans and was told yes. The service manager there has been very good to work with (and to put up with me calling every few minutes ). At the same time I'm checking the availablity of rebuilts from MB with the close gears already installed.

- Todd

 

[tpearsall]

Chris, you have mail.

 

[NetViper]

my only concern with short gears and 4.23 R&P is that with a 5 speed it might be buzzy on the highway @ 80 mph? is that true? I know the short gears dont effect 5th.. but the R&P will.

 

[nsxbuilder]

A couple years back I had the same situation - new clutch going in, let's see what else we can do while its apart.

I went with the 4.235 R&P with stock gears in my '91 5-speed and find it to be fine at highway cruising speeds. With it, acceleration is vastly better than when completely stock. I also added the featherlight flywheel at the same time, and can't say a bad word about that either.

I'm looking at going with the short gears next time its apart. I like RPM!

-ed
www.nsxbuilder.com

 

[Jimbo]

I too would recommend the 4.23 R&P in addition to the short gears.

Both should have been standard fare from the factory, IMHO.

It's not at all buzzy at freeway speeds.

-Jim

 

[tpearsall]

But what if you can only have one short gears or the 4.23 R/P? I'm hedging to short gears and have my cursor on the checkout button, but I'm still on the fence.

- Todd

 

[nsxbuilder]

Get the R&P, you won't be sorry.

-ed
www.nsxbuilder.com

 

[Jimbo]

I would get both, but if I could have only one, I'd get the short gears.

I found the 1-2 drop during shifting real annoying.

The std R&P wasn't annoying...it's just that with the new 4.23 it felt much peppier in all gears.

-Jim

 

[SilverOne]

can someone elaborate on this buzzy sound?? Is that with the transmission? gear grinding?? I can't imagine having a buzzy sound coming from a mechnical part.

TIA

 

[Jimbo]

There is no buzzy sound. I think NetViper might have been afraid that the higher revs caused by the R&P would have translated into more noise.

It's just not a problem.

-Jim

 

[NetViper]

I meant that I was afraid with short gears and R&P if i was going 80 mph on the highway, the engine noise would be loud ... a constant "buzz" if you will....

Nothing mechanical... just annoying for long trips...

 

[docjohn]

Sorry to hear about your trannie woes,but I've seen plenty of cars worse off being flatbeded out of the glen,so at least your car still looks like an nsx!I second the shorties+4.23 rp.I have the 4.55 rp and I have gotten used to the higher rpm cruise but for a lot of hwy miles I would go to 4.23 instead.

 

[Number9]

I'd skip the short gears. I've owned a 5-speed 95 and a 6-speed 99. Second gear on the 5-speed is a hoot, almost like having an automatic transmission for the entire range of street driving! I miss it

 

[nsx1164]

do both; if only 1 do gears

I would get both, but if I could have only one, I'd get the short gears.
...
The std R&P wasn't annoying...it's just that with the new 4.23 it felt much peppier in all gears.

I agree with the above... if you were planning to do both eventually, do them together -- you will save $$ in labor cost/effort.

My personal liking for the close-ratio JDM gears is not so much the rev drops during 1->2 upshift, but more so the ability to keep it in VTEC across a more useful range of (sometimes street-legal) speeds.

 

[BadCarma]

short and sweet, I rode in a fellow NSXers car tonight , he just got the short gears and R/P so I asked for a ride. all I can say is wow. put a smile on my face. GO FOR IT
Best Regards David

 

[Number9]

For a mostly street car, the stock 5-speed gearing is great. The gearing changes don't materially affect overall performance (refer to Bob Butler's excellent article in the NSXCA magazine), though there can be some nominal optimization at certain speed ranges. Keep the stock gearing and put the leftover money towards a Gerry turbo (hi Brian!) and you won't care about the 1-2 shift, but you will enjoy the fact that you can start from second and blow the doors off anyone up to any US lawful speed limit without shifting.

 

[Viper Driver]

Opinions are like a-holes, and there are a lot of different ones here (opinions, that is.)

I had the same "dilemma" in January when I needed to get a new clutch. I had really disliked the big 2nd gear, and I asked on this forum the same question you were. What I came down to for me was.....am I ever going to want short gears? Am I ever going to want a ring & pinion? Well, if the answer to these questions is yes, then now is the time to do it. If you've got to put the part cost on a credit card and pay it off over time, I'd still say go for it because you are saving $$$ in labor costs over dropping the tranny for each mod.

As for me, I absolutely love the short gears combined with the 4.23 ring & pinion. I went with this setup after Chris at SOS suggested it, and I have never regretted the decision to do so. First of all, for lack of a better term, my NSX seemed a hell of a lot more "angrier" after the work was done. The docile animal I was driving before had turned into a machine that begs me to stomp on the gas pedal. I feel a lot more like I'm driving a sports bike with four wheels than a car sometimes. The acceleration improvement is very apparent, and that huge 2nd gear is a whole heck of a lot more better.

There's not a lot of whine at 80, 90, or even 110 mph out of the motor.......two round trips from Albuquerque to Phoenix confirmed to me that this setup doesn't hurt the highway manners much at all. I can't speak for the 4.55 Comptech r&p, but the NSX-R 4.23 isn't bad at all.

I view the short gears as aligning the shift points to where they SHOULD have been in the first place RPM-wise, and the ring & pinion as the final touch to help with the acceleration. Both of them change the character of the car a lot, and I feel that you should get both of them done at the same time if you're thinking about these mods.

Chuck

 

[ChrisK]

I have the short gears and 4.23 R&P. I love it. I would recomend it to anyone who was thinking about it. The car is not noisy and it doesn't rev extremely high. 80MPH drives in 5th gear doesn't appear to be any noisier. At least to me.

 

[Number9]

Opinions are like a-holes, and there are a lot of different ones here (opinions, that is.)

The fact that the performance improvement is merely nominal is not an opinion, whether you model it or measure it. Whether you care about the nominal difference is the subjective part. I'd rather ACTUALLY go faster, hence my preference for power adders...

 

[Vytas]

RPM differences for R&P

I had the pleasure of driving short geared NSXs with both R&Ps. Compared to stock, your RPM in 5th with the 4.23 will be about 300RPM more. The 4.55 will be close to 500RPM more.

If you're a 0-60 guy, get the 4.55. It will get you there so much faster. I like the 4.55 but dislike the whine at freeway speeds. It goes away only when you lift. I do a lot of freeway driving so this is an annoyance for me. The 4.23 is right in between and I found it to be nearly as quick. I like the fact that it's a genuine Honda part and found it to be quiet, just like the stock R&P. For me, I'd lose a little acceleration time for the sake of quietness. I should note that the Comptech 4.55 costs about twice as much as the 4.23.

My NSX has stock gears and R&P but will go with the shorty gears and 4.23 R&P when it's time for a clutch.

 

[nsxtasy]

I'd rather ACTUALLY go faster

Speaking of actual performance, for those who missed Bob Butler's article, here are 1/4 mile times for the gears under consideration:

'91 with stock gears and stock R&P: 13.67
'91 with short gears and stock R&P: 13.56
'91 with stock gears and 4.235 R&P: 13.57
'91 with short gears and 4.235 R&P: 13.48

You can add to that the differences in perception due to reaching redline faster (even though it's at a lower speed).