I own a vehicle with a transfer case!

[Alec]

Well, kinda

It seems my 6 speed manual VW has 2 final drive ratios. Gears are as follows:

Drivetrain
GTI 2.8L VR6
Front-wheel drive
Transmission Gear Ratios
Manual
1st 3.36:1
2nd 2.09:1
3rd 1.47:1
4th 1.15:1
5th 1.19:1
6th 0.98:1
Reverse 3.99:1
Final 1 3.94:1
Final 2 3.09:1

Gears 1-4 use Final 1 and Gears 5-6 use Final 2. I dunno what Reverse uses, but I think it's Final 1 (which requires some tricky clutch work when backing uphill).

I haven't been able to find out the machanism, but it seems like the final drive unit is more like a tcase than a traditional differential. It used to be that front wheel drive cars basically had a diff just like a standard rear diff mounted to or part of the tranny, but dunno how this works.

Oh well, just thought I'd make all you 4x4 guys happy who patronized me for not having a tcase all this time.

Too bad I'm still 2wd

Oh, one benefit of this system is acceleration in 5th and 6th. Since gear reduction is via the diff and not the tranny, pickup is great on the highway since it's always easier to turn a gear with close to a 1:1 ratio or above than an overdrive ratio.

And yes I'm still very happy with it. Picks to come after my next round of mods in my Elite registry thread or B&A (is it allowed in B&A?).

 

[Stephen]

I dont see a problem posting them in B&A.

And keep on grasping at the straws LOL Transfer case huh

 

[Nate1]

Transaxle

 

[Robb]

Transfer Case (noun):

This is the device that splits the power between the front and rear axles on a four-wheel-drive car.

I don't know what to call it, but it ain't a t-case.

 

[Alec]

I know I know, but after getting abused for 4 years for having a 2wd X I was kinda excited

I'll go crawl into my 2wd hole again.

If anyone has any insight to how my car switches final drives, I'd appreciate it. No need for post padding here.

 

[410Fortune]

you got the 6 speed manual? Nice.

I can see a use for the 6th gear, in our GTI 5th gear is great but when you get up a little in speed a 6 would help......

I have heard they have problems with the 6 speed, any truth to that?

 

[Alec]

I don't have any problems with it.

The gearing overall has the same range as the 5 speed units, 3000 RPM at 80 mph. The 6 gears just makes it really easy to find the perfect gear. I honestly wouldn't mind a little taller gearing for lower highway RPMs, but 3000 actually gets pretty good mileage, I get about 26 highway cruising at 80 mph.

 

[tdavis]

Sounds kinda like the new ford TorqueShift auto tranny - it's got 6 speeds, but only 5 gears.

They combine overdrive with 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and sometimes 4th to get different ratios. They also put lower gears in for those gears. Depending on load (and if it's in tow/haul mode) it uses certain combos of the gears.

 

[Alec]

From what I've seen, there are 6 true gears in my manual tranny, and the reduction is later down the line. If they were using gear union in the tranny, that wouldn't lead to the low 5th and 6th gears.