George Brown's review of the gear selection article from "THE 911 Performance Handbook" is EXACTLY ON TARGET for the PROPER method to use for either 4 or 5 speed ratio selections (FOR THE STREET) which is many a Spyder owner's interest.
After searching for some direction as to the gear selection process in "OTHER" forums, I was never able to get a response to my questions??
Reading George's article was like a breath of fresh air in a sea of misinformation!
Please, I have no axe to grind other than Spyder ownwers recognizing good information when it comes along. THIS IS IT!
Also, regarding Top gear (OVERALL: ie ring and pionion ratio times top gear ratio). With our cars I again agree with Mr. Brown that a little stretch toward the Taller eg 3.875 times 0.89. is more than ok for our engines to handle.
Berg's literature never addresses the fact that the over heating condition from an air cooled VW engine cruising at highway speeds at too low an rpm. as as much or MORE due to the fact that lowering the rpm of a given cruising speed forces the engine to produce the needed power at higher torque. Higher torque always means the engine will produce more heat which must be rejected, apart from the issue of FAN SPEED.
Best Regards Will Stonich