2110 with lightened flywheel

is the motor tuned properly? the biger motor will rpm faster than a 1600 even with the heavy flywheel, but yes it does not hold the enertia as the heavy flywheel does, but it shouldnt cause it to lug.might try a short throw shifter or short throw shifter kit(so you can keep the shifter you have if you like it)it,s just a spacer that bolts between the shifter & floor&changes the raito by raisu=ing the shifter povit, less than $10. or go for a nice new shifter for $40.-$500.there are many to choose from, most expensive for the look at what I got guy. but they do make driving nicer when you dont have to shift from one end of the car to the other. and remember it's a porsche, it a performance car, it deserves a performance shifter for performance driving.(any driving) if it extra slopy you may need a shift shaft bushing and or a shaft joint that conects the shift shaft to the transmission so you can get to the store&buy some cookies for us.

I would expect RPMs to fall more rapidly with the lighter flywheel, and your driving style will likely need to change a bit.

"Seems I have to shift quickly at a high RPM from 3rd to 4th or the RPM's fade quickly causing the motor to lug"

Really?  I've re-read your post several times and can't make sense of it.

 

At what RPM point are you shifting?

 

As an example, I, too, have a 2,110 with a lightened flywheel and have gearing that is more-or-less the same as an original 356 Cabriolet (not close-ratio like in a Speedster) so the shift points are kinda close to a VW sedan (I drop 800 to 1,000 rpm between gears, depending on the gear) and I typically shift between 4,000 and 4,500 rpm, occasionally drifting up to 5 grand before shifting.  No big deal.

 

But, if you're driving it like a 2010 Subaru and shifting at 3,000 or so to "save gas", each shift will drop you down out of the power band below 2,000 rpm and cause it to lug.  Not good.

 

As a rule of thumb, I NEVER run the engine below 2,000 rpm and usually try to keep it above a minimum of 2,500.

 

So..........give us a little more detail.

I took the car out today for the third run. Running third up to near 4000 RPM's then shifting into fourth drops the motor revs below 2500+/- , just right at the lower limit that I am used to.  The lag I refered to is bringing up the RPM's from that point. It just doesn't have anywhere near the quick rev that I experienced  from 2nd to 3rd. This is probably due to the overdrive nature of the stock gearing. I just might have to start learning what others are using with gear ratios. I left it stock to have a baseline for modifications later.

What transaxle did you get with the car?  That sounds like a seriously large gap between 3rd and 4th.  Also, what is your final drive ratio?

Sounds like the tranny I had in the Spyder.....   3.88R&P with a .82 4th....  Waaaaay overdrive.....    Great gas milage on the flat lands, but 3rd max in town.

Lane, the paper work that I got with the car states a 3.88 R&P from Wright Gearbox. Using the speed/RPM/gear calculator that I found on line it seems to match a 4.12 R&P with a .89 4th gear that a stock VW uses. The car was a Beck roller finished by Auto Haus Classics in Virginia. This whole thing just might be me having to get used to the difference in the 2110 vs. the 1600 as it relates to the existing transmission gearing.  

vw used many stock raitos, 437,412,388.& a few diferent 1st&4ths.for the most part, some other 3rds were to be had in some stuff..93,.89 were comon 4th gear vw raitos and then the .82 wasent very common.& some list it as a karmangiha only 4th and some list it as a thing only(181) 4th gear. there is aftermarket raitos for just about any thing you want to do, even a 3.44:1 r&p. depending on the distribuator in your car that may be part of the issue and not having an addvance that is advancing fast enough,causing a lag/flat spot. or it could just be your motor is low on tq down there.usualy from too low of compression raito&too much deck clearance(piston to head clearance) witch robs power,torque&mpg& also carbons up the chambers badly) you can check the addvance in the dist to see if it's all in by 2000-2500.if it not that should help, other than that& genural tuning it is what it is.every gear change has a different torque mulitiplakashun or division .(thats special spelling for the un employed spelling teachers to keep them sharp as a spoon) it also could be leaning out a bit too.

I believe Beck has been installing 3.88R&P freeway flyer boxes for some time now....

If you know the year of manufacture or chasis number, Carey Hines can tell you what was supposed to be there....

FWIW, I have 2010 Beck with a 2054 and a freeway flyer.  I don't shift into 4th until I hit 45.

Whenever the Spyder dropped to 40mph in fourth, it was time to drop to third if you were not in a traffic jam....   Beautiful for Florida back roads and expressways, but not a Sunday cruise in the mountains....   I went thru The Tail of the Dragon in third most of the time, with my fellow cohorts in the SOC....

Sounds like your camshaft and engine combo does NOT match your tranny gear ratio.  4th gear is dumping the RPM below the camshaft and engine combo powerband.  What cam is in your new engine?  And what are the engine specs??  Valve size, heads, etc?

 

Mike

Engle 110 cam, 44 Webers, 40x35.5mm valves, Magna Spark II dist/coil and A-1 exhaust with a Setrab cooler.

I wonder if your setup could be a 4.12 R&P, with a .82 4th?  A number of years ago I had this setup, with a 2110 engine, and I hated it.  To get the car to 'GO' I had to rev the crap out of it in third gear, or the engine would fall on its face when I shifted into 4th.  Later on I had the tranny gears changed to a 3.88 R&P and .89 4th.  This was much better, but the engine revved too high (for me) at freeway speeds.  I'm having the gears changed again, while my engine is out.  This time I'm going with a 3.44 R&P and .89 4th.  3.44 is really tall, but my 2276, with 150+ hp should be able to handle it.

Ron- Even with a big motor, with a .82 4th and stock 3rd the gap gets pretty wide, and is exactly as you describe. That gear ratio works best as high gear in a 5 speed, where the 3rd-4th gap can be shortened up somewhat.

 

With stock gears (1.31 3rd, .89 4th), shifting at a little below 3700rpm from 3rd will give 2500 at the same speed in 4th. Change to the .82 and now it takes 4000 rpm in 3rd to achieve the same engine speed in top gear.

 

Since the r&p change doesn't affect the gear spacing, I think you're going to like it...

 

Jim- Your motor is big enough (as it is) to develop enough low down power that it shouldn't have any problem with stock 3rd-4th gear spacing (if that's what you have). And remember, acceleration in 4th isn't going to feel nearly like it in 3rd; you'll need to shift a bit higher to keep it up in the powerband to play...

 

 I once ran a lightened flywheel on a 1300 (don't ask why; it was my first car and I was very young...) and don't remember it being problematic. As has been suggested, make sure that the shift rod bushing in the tunnel is in good shape/properly greased and the trans/shift rod connector is also tiptop. What do you have for a shifter in the car? And I like Mark's idea of checking out how the distributor's advancing in that rpm area. Al    

I dunno, I kinda like shifting into 4th at redline in 3rd, that is 6500 and 95 mph! And it just keeps on pulling! Stock gears, 3.44 final, 180 hp in 1450 pound Spyder.

 

I do leave it in third a lot, especially around 45. 55, 4th is ok. 65 and up leave it in 4th. If you want to move, downshift to 3rd.

Ron--I have that exact set up---in order for that combo to work you muat have gobs od torque othrerwise you will hate it.  The.82 is a nice overdrive ---almost like having a 5th gear.

Certiainly lowers the revs at highway speed---and boosts gas mileage..

I was hesitant about going with the 3.44 R&P, until I talked to Henry at Intermeccanica.  He recommended the 3.44/.89 4th.  My 2276 should have enough hp/torque.

Jack:  I forget.....Are you running a 901 Porsche transmission in your VS along with the T-4 engine?  Your gearing sounds too Porsche to be a VW tranny.

Gordon.....  I believe Jake coustomized the gear set used....

I beleave there is some old ritchmond gear 3.44 ring&pinions floating around.I hade thought about getting one, but Ill see how tall of a tire I can get under my std body as I already have a new $2000 rancho super street pluss trans sitting there awaiting to be usedwith 3.88 gear, Im not sure what 4th it has,I asked for a .93 but now would rather have a .82, a 5 speed was going to be in that case(rinocase) but ran out of time, then trans too too long&I had to stick something else in so now Im stuck with a 4 speed....for now(it was to go into my bug,but probably speedster now)

After putting about 300 miles on the new engine I discovered that I have had to change my driving habits. That along with the motor smoothing out as it breaks in I have found the sweet spots for each gear. Love the way it pulls from 3000-4000 rpms. Not as civilized in traffic as the 1600 but what the hell. Thanks for walking me through this with all your comments. I think it will be good how. 

Hey Mark, when I did the calculations on rpm decrease with larger tires I was surprised to find out how little larger tires affected the cruising rpm.

for instance:  (using 3.88 R&P, 0.89 4th)

 

70 mph   24.5" diameter wheel   rpm= 3316

70 mph   25.5" diameter wheel   rpm= 3186

70 mph   26.5" diameter wheel   rpm= 3066

 

So, going from a 24.5" diameter wheels to a 26.5 diameter only lowered the rpm by 250. 

24.5"  = 185/65-15

26.5"  = 205/65-15