Gearing on a 1973 versus 1974 in later?

[Tdskip]

Good morning, hope everybody’s having a good weekend so far. I have finally been able to get a bunch of driving time in on the newly arrive 1973 and it sure seems to me like it’s geared shorter than my 1974 Carrera.

The 1973 has 205-55-15 tires so it’s not like they’re ultra low profile or anything, So are the gearbox ratios difference between the generations or if I likely had too much/too little caffeine and I’m just imagining it?

Thanks!

[gled49]

1. 11:35 2. 18:33 3. 23:29 (73 4th 26:25) (74 4th 27:25) (73 5th 29:22) (74 5th 29:21). 74 & 73RS the same.

[Arne]

In addition to the somewhat shorter ratios in 4th and 5th that Gordon noted, those 205/55 tires are possibly shorter than you think. They off by 5% from stock.

[HarryD]

205/60-15 will match the stock circumference.

I had a set of 55 profile tires on my 1973 for a while, I hated the speedo error.

[Tdskip]

Thanks for the discussion gentlemen, appreciate the info and thoughts. The tires on this car need to be replaced anyway so it sounds like going back to an equivalent stock height would be a good idea.

[Arne]

FWIW - 205/60 are still shorter than stock, but closer, only 2% off. The 15" sizes that best match the diameter of the original tires are 195/65 and 215/60. And the 215/60 are problematic without rear flares, or on the front.

[Tdskip]

Thanks Arne, very helpful. Think I’ll go 205/60/15 all the way around.