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So, how to sum up the Speedster gearing dilemma in 25 words or less?
OK, how about 250 words?
The main problem is the gearbox was designed in 1933 for a 25-horsepower economy car. The first three gears are low (first, to a ridiculous degree) and fourth is an overdrive for occasional Sunday jaunts on the autobahn. There is something of a gap between third and fourth.
Another problem is that swapping in custom gear ratios is expensive. About all most of us will do is keep the stock VW gearing (there are a few variants) and lower the final drive (ring and pinion) ratio from 4.12:1 to 3.88:1 (the fabled 'Freeway Flyer' gearbox).
This gives a slightly more usable first and second, and does drop the revs cruising on the freeway, but it also widens the gaps between the gears, so that chasm between third and fourth just gets worse.
A third problem is that VW engines also have their roots in the 1930s, so have a pretty narrow usable torque band. Under 2500 rpm they're weak, and over 4000 they're gasping like, well, like anyone would at ninety years old. The result is that you find yourself in situations where you're either revving the crap out of it in third or lugging it in fourth.
These problems lessen if you have an engine with more beans, but engines with more beans cost more beans. If you have enough beans, you can solve almost any problem.
There's a lot more to be said on this (the membership has been trying for ten years to get it all said and is still trying), but I'll stop here.
Just take from this that if you're planning a new build, gearing should be as important a part of the planning as the engine.
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