axle ratios

["Watry, Andrew (LNG-MBC)" <Andrew.Watry@domain.elided>]

I bet APE has a few of the 4.10 rear axles from Bosch spiders. From my trips
to APE, it appears to me they part out more late Spiders than anything.
Shipping might be another matter.

Beyond the 4.10 axle, non-US 2000s, at least in the 1970s, I believe came
with 4.3 ratio axles (and others by option?).  And maybe 1750s did too. I'd
have to look at Fusi to be sure.  To me this is a nice compromise ratio. On
a car with a good amount of power, this ratio is not hard for the engine to
pull.  John Elrod's German-market 1971 1750 Berlina, which he and I drove
from San Diego to Berkeley, had a Weber 2000 with 10548 cams and a 4.3 rear
axle, and was at once very powerful with good acceleration and a more
relaxed high-speed cruiser than an American spec car with 4.56 ratio.

It's not the most elegant way to do it, and it affects handling, but you can
easily alter your rear axle ratio by going to larger or smaller diameter
rear tires. It's amazing how much better acceleration you get with 185/60-14
compared to 185/70-14 on a 4.56 axle.

Andrew Watry
Berlina Register
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