Except Dana/Spicer, right?

One thing about the Chrysler vs Ford debate. As there were many many more Ford trucks built with Dana 60s than any Mopar. or probably all of them added together, it would be equally as (im)proper to call a Dana 60 a Ford rearend.

In theory, the larger the gear ratio in a hypoid gearset, the more power is eaten by friction. So it'd be a better choice to run a 1:1 Top gear and have deeper gears in the transmission. That's what the Doug Nash 5-speed was all about.

Also, in any gearset the larger the gear ratio, the weaker the gearset. Right around the 3.00 mark is when it gets tricky. To get a pinion gear strong enough for a 3+ gear ratio the transmission designer increases the distance between mainshaft and countershaft and the transmission gets bigger and heavier. All of the gears increase in diameter plus there's more case.

It's my opinion that around 10:1 total gear ratio is necessary to start a street car in any street situation. That'd be a 3.09 First and a 3.23 rear gear. My first car had a 3.09 First and a 3.08 rear gear and that was okay but I didn't live in hilly territory. Even so I could have made it work.

R.