Hi peoples Here we go. When i take off 1st and second gears are real short cant seem to rev it out much 3rd 4th have longer legs but even 3rd isnt what i would expect.Is that within the box ratio or would it be my diff i have A14 with standard pattern 5 speed Pretty sure i still have the stock 1200 coupe diff. Whats your experience ?

i have A15 and stocko 4 speed and ute diff.... 1st gear is pretty much a waste of time so i usually take off in 2nd.... i think the standard sedan diff has fairly high ratio but not as high as the ute diff.... id look to getting a ratio similar to 3.08..... this way you should get a bit more out of each gear.... this is what im looking for.

Quote:What do you mean? My factory-stock 1200 will rev easily to 6000 rpm in 3rd and easily to 5000 rpm in 4th (an probably higher, since it is still pulling strong).

This is with factory 3.90 diff gears and stock tire height. If you have tall tires and 3.08 gears, I wouldn't expect it to pull well in 4th gear.

Maybe i should have put a full stop after much. So are you saying that my A14 with 5 speed should rev harder and longer ?

I'm saying it depends on your gearing -- mainly:
- diff ratio
- tire height

If the gearing is too high, you won't be able to get to redline in 4th, and maybe not even in 3rd.

But with a stock A12 (or A15) with stock gearing, you can hit redline in gears 1-4.

Using the words "gearing too high" & "Datsun 1200" in the same sentence is all but a contradiction.
At least in those 1200's that have the longer stroke A14 & A15 engines.

As soon as we start to get a little pep into our lightweight cars we often find that they sit on way too many revs at a very light throttle & driving everywhere at 4,000rpm & more is not my idea of motoring.

The stock Datsun H145 diff ratio is 3.9 to 1 & that's as good as it gets.
You can use the 3.7 to 1 diff from an Aussie Sunny wagon that was originally equiped with the A15 & this will help a little. These are the H150 diff & will need the 2mm spacer to make it work properly.
I also use tall tyres on my stock 1200 with auto & still find it to be short geared.
Hopefully I can get the A15 & overdrive auto installed before too long & along with the 3.7 diff, easy cruisin will be a reality.
At least there is a 3.54 to 1 ratio available [USA] if it should become necessary to go even higher.

"short" gearing is actually too low gearing not too high.
What wheels/tyres are u running? using a 14" with a high profile or a 15" with a low profile should fit ok and be acceptble rpm@kmh final drive witha 5 speed.
If u had to drive a 4 speed with 12" tyres u would know about it,
try 4000rpm@110kmh haha.

The problem is we don't know what DatsAndy's question is. Something about revving and gears.

O.k Lets put it this way Keep in mind im not very good with words and explaining things in a forum. Also i have 15 inch TRX Rims with 195/50/15 tyres on them. My problem seems to be that i have to change gears from 1 -3 way to quickly The car just doesnt want to Wind out threw the gears until i hit say 3rd then its a bit better.

The 195/50/15 tyre measures a nominal 577mm in diameter. This is 3mm larger than the stock original 600x12 tyre so it's all good there.
I use 205/60/13's which measure out at 576mm.

Are you saying that the engine revs out too fast or too quickly in gears 1-2- & 3 without any real pace but it seems to come good by the time you hit 4th & 5th?

This is a common problem with our small Datsuns. Forever looking for another gear.

The gearing was originally designed around small low powered engines & when you increase the power output, particularly with the longer stroke A14 & A15 engines, the gearing seems too short, particularly in the lower gears because the engine now has the power to handle the load without any real effort at all.
Like I said, taller tyres [which you seem to already have] & higher diff ratios help out a bit & the overdrive gearbox helps in cruise mode.

Even in stock trim the A14 & A15's were used in the heavier Sunny Wagons in Australia & they moved these barges along adequately. Reduce the weight by installing one of these engines in a 1200 & you get this problem.

The option 1 five speeds that were available for the 1200's & 120Y models used a first gear that was almost equal to second gear in a regular four speed & all the ratios up to fourth gear were raised, but top gear was still 1 to 1, so while the intermediate gears were better, top gear wasn't & these boxes are not really suited to the longer stroke A14 & A15 engines.

Untill somebody comes up with a replacement gearset for the 60 series five speeds the problem you have will remain.