Feel stupid even asking this but here goes. Anyone ever use a drag transaxle in your speedy? I have a 1600 now (with full cw crank, cam, Webers, etc.) but will probably move up to a bigger engine later. Won't do much highway if at all.
On the fence and wondering if anyone's done it.
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Well I'm not sure. The one in my car is a Rancho ProStreet, and the name sounds like it's a "drag transaxle" - that is, unless you mean it's a transaxle dressed in women's clothing.
Seriously though, the ProStreet has some things done to it to make it pretty bullet-proof. Check out http://ranchotransaxles.com/vw-transaxles.html.
Thanks Lane. I guess it was built for drag racing down in Maryland -not the dimly lit bars.
It won't be bothered by my 1600 but I'm thinking about the 1835+ somewhere in my future. Since the engine hasn't gone in yet I'm wondering if I should go with it instead of my stock transaxle. With all the experience out here I thought I'd ping the group.
Cheers!
Sorry Tom. I did search the threads back to 2005.
Fair enough. 
Different builders have different specs with similar names. For Rancho you have the stock, the pro-street (welded 3rd/4th, spider gears, HD shift shaft, HD side plate) the pro drag (pro-street plus dual HD side plates, HD throwout carrier, etc) and then you can pick additional ala-carte items and custom gearing.
Our "Beck Suby spec" gearbox is a Rhino case, pro-drag specs, plus Phoenix gear sets to match the Suby gearing. We put about $5K into these gearboxes FYI.
My advise is this: 1) unless you plan on breaking 150ish hp and/or flogging the tranny (that's for you Tom and Lane) you'll be fine w/ pro-street. If you think you may go bigger, go bigger with the gearbox now. I tell all my clients to put their money into the heart of the build first...
Just my 2c.
I somehow feel like I'm a long way from 150+ hp and I'm not too much of a flogger, so I should be good with what I have. ~40k miles and not a hiccup with it.
"It's a good thing that it's tax time & Gerd's otherwise occupied."
Shoot! I wondered why it was so sane on here, lately......
The only thing I can add to the conversation- as well as the internal beefing, quite often transaxles set up for drag racing have shorter 3rd and 4th gears, as well as using a shorter ring and pinion (4.37, 4.56 or 4.86). This gives maximum acceleration, which is fantastic on the street. I ran this set up in a street beetle (I was young and foolish, now I'm only...) and with a hot 1750 I had a legitimate mid 14 second car. The issue- 4.37 r&p x1.12 4th gear x 185/70-15 rear tire at 3,000rpm = 48 or 52 (as I said, it was a long time ago; I don't remember which) mph. It took forever to get anywhere. If you never do more than 50mph, it's great. Going anywhere on the highway; not so much...Al
You can have a stronger trans built with stock gearing.
Yes, when we do a "pro-drag" gearbox for the street we still use a streetable 3.88 (sometimes 4.12 or 3.44) R&P with sensible/streetable gears. The only "pro-drag" aspect is the beefed up internals and externals. They also TIG a gusset across the top or bottom (depends on mid or rear engine) which they have found to be the vulnerable spot for cracking on these spec gearboxes.
Our autocross and hillclimb boxes are spec'd out like ALB mentions.
Also, FWIW: About 5-6 years ago we did a Suby conversion to an existing air-cooled Spyder and the client did not want to change the Pro-street to a Pro-drag (suby spec) gearbox, despite my concerns and advise. It DID last 18 months of hard driving, but eventually turned itself into a VW transalxe shaped pile of metal shavings.
As always, thank you all for your input -and saving me from dumb moves (as far as the speedster goes anyway). I truly appreciate it.
Best!
I've read on here before that "My gearbox went South". I always wanted to ask how you knew that. Did it leave a trail behind it pointing South?
