Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) What would you buy?

Among all the available options, I don't know if there is an opportunity to get a back axle with a higher ratio when you order a PLUS 4, Morgan proposes sport spare parts for the back axle, crown & pinion:

http://www.morgan-motor.co.uk/mmc/shop/index.php/motorsport-parts.html

On my 2005 PLUS 4, the ratio is 3.73:1 with the 5th gear you get 60 mph @ 2400 rpm inducing 57 hp. I found the revs too low and available power @ 130 km/h (80 mph) is relativly poor: 75 hp. If you want to overtake you need the 4th to get more acceleration.

Or whip it back to 3rd and let it really rip

Seriously; I think you have to consider 5th a cruising gear. I would always drop back one or two gears for fast overtaking, besides I like any excuse to hear the throttle bodies and exhaust note

The Mazda gearbox on the current Plus 4 is a pleasure to use so it is no real hardship to drop back a gear when you need and leave the top gear for relaxed cruising.

+1

Quite agree Peter, I have heard similar stuff from Roadster owners, I think that some just don't get that a gearbox is there to be used and allow the driver to get the revs needed for the current driving requirements be it cruising or accelerating.

+1. The gearbox provides the driver with a simple means of selecting the appropriate revs, power, and torque available for any situation they encounter. Why would one complain if one has failed to make the appropriate selection? For me, getting the gearchanges exactly right is one of the biggest rewards of driving a proper car.

Just like cycling, really. I remember having a three speed Sturmey Archer bike & it was a simple job to stop & pedal half a turn back and click it from third to first. When I got a bit more serious & a racing jobbie with lots of those derailleur thingies, it was a practiced art.

But when you mastered it, you could keep the leg cadence at a pace & swap the cogs to suit the load.

Some people seem to have issues with the concept though..

Particularly on a sport car when you are not able to use the maximun rev on the last gear, or the rev at maximun power it means there is a problem on the choice of the ratios. Close ratios provide better accelerations.

People in the South (Italian, French) like high rev and you can find overdrive only on English cars. It is another philosophy. But I don't want to restart the hundred years' war!

Nota: for bicycle you don't use the same cassettes of pinions when you are in plain or mountain. People change the rear set of pinions (cassette) depending on the profile.

From what you are saying, CBY, it appears that you want a back axle with a Lower ratio, if you want to be able to reach peak revs in top gear? This will improve your ability to accelerate in the higher gears at the expense of noise and fuel consumption.

A 4.11:1 differential is available, If the factory don't offer it as an option on the Plus 4 then an aftermarket specialist like Billy Bellinger would be able to provide you with one. I have one in my 170bhp 4/4, and it makes for a very lively drive.

But wouldn't it be easier and a great deal cheaper simply to drive around in 4th gear if you want to hit peak revs?