thank you for all the input, it sounds like there is no perfect solution to the problem without spending a ton of money, it feels like maybe the best thing would be scraping out the calmini 6 inch lift and getting a straight axel kit, or selling it and starting over???

the actual problem is lack of power, is it not? why not a motor swap? a sas kit is not a cheap solution especially if you just have to go and re-gear it too?

add more H.P and keep the gearing as-is and still get some decent fuel mileage.? just a thought.....

You will spend lots less improving the power with a turbo setup
than a SAS, which is still not going to address the power issue.

If you have a 16V engine it's a much easier, and cheaper alternative
than a V6 or a SAS.

Wild

Quote from: bentparts on February 26, 2011, 05:11:35 AM

Or you could just stick a 3 speed auto trans in it and keep your 5.125's and run 32's.

Why would this help?  No matter whether he currently has the 4 speed auto or the 5 speed manual, he could just run them either with the OD locked out (3rd in a 4 speed is a 1:1 ratio, just like 3rd in the 3 speed auto), or in 4th gear (4th in the 5 speed is a 1:1 ratio).

If for example he has a 5 speed manual now, he has the 5.125 axles correct? With my 3 speed auto, I swapped in a set of the 5.125 to replace my standard 4.30's and it was plenty of final drive reduction to pull 32's, before the turbo. Still not fast or paticularly powerful, b ut hey , these things stock are more economical than powerful. I think the auto transmission with it's torque converter just pulls better with less stress on other components.

Quote from: Skyhiranger on February 26, 2011, 06:54:30 AM

Quote from: bentparts on February 26, 2011, 05:11:35 AM

Or you could just stick a 3 speed auto trans in it and keep your 5.125's and run 32's.

Why would this help?  No matter whether he currently has the 4 speed auto or the 5 speed manual, he could just run them either with the OD locked out (3rd in a 4 speed is a 1:1 ratio, just like 3rd in the 3 speed auto), or in 4th gear (4th in the 5 speed is a 1:1 ratio).

If for example he has a 5 speed manual now, he has the 5.125 axles correct? With my 3 speed auto, I swapped in a set of the 5.125 to replace my standard 4.30's and it was plenty of final drive reduction to pull 32's, before the turbo. Still not fast or paticularly powerful, b ut hey , these things stock are more economical than powerful. I think the auto transmission with it's torque converter just pulls better with less stress on other components.

Yeah, he has a 95 4 door, so it will have 5.12 gears, no matter what tranny he has.
Again, I can't see how swapping in a 3 speed auto will make it drive/pull any better than with whatever tranny he has now.  Yes, starting out from a dead stop with a manual might be kinda doggy, but once he is rolling, it shouldn't be that big of a deal, and doesn't warrant a 3 speed tranny swap, IMO.
Yes, he could go to 5.38 or 5.62 gears, but that won't be as big of a jump as you when you went from 4.30s to 5.12s (which is what really saved you when you went to 32s with a stock 1.6, IMO....not the auto tranny).

I wasn't aware the 4 doors came with 5.125 and an auto trans. I only suggested this because I thought he had a manual trans. It sure was a big jump going form 4.30 to 5.125, almost TOO much. Sometimes I think I'd be better off, especially on the highway with 4.62's. I still feel overgeared, 4k to run 70mph.

Really, My trucklet stock ran at 4K |removethispart|@70 MPH and the speedo
was off by about 2-3 MPH, after changing to 235 tires the speedo
was 100% correct and the RPM dropped about 200, still a little
much on the revs, but these engines seem to do just fine with it

Wild

I wasn't aware the 4 doors came with 5.125 and an auto trans. I only suggested this because I thought he had a manual trans. It sure was a big jump going form 4.30 to 5.125, almost TOO much. Sometimes I think I'd be better off, especially on the highway with 4.62's. I still feel overgeared, 4k to run 70mph.

I don't actually know what tranny he has, since he hasn't ever said.  But yes, all 4 doors (92-98) had 5.12 gears and either had a 4 speed auto or 5 speed manual tranny.  The only ones that didn't were the 91 4 doors which all had the 1.6 8V engine and either 4.62 gears (3 speed auto tranny), or 5.38 gears (5 speed tranny).
4K isn't bad for RPMs at 70.  Most 4 doors (92-98) run 3600-3800RPM at 70, depending on tire size (stock, or slightly bigger than stock).
One other note....the 5 speeds that came behind 16V engines had a .795 5th gear ratio and the 5 speeds that came behind 8V engines had the .86 5th gear ratio.  That makes for about a 300RPM difference at highway speeds (65ish).  The trannys are 100% interchangable though.

Hey SkyHi, do you happen to know the gear ratios of the 8V and 16V trans
in 1-4 gears? are they the same or is there a hot setup for tall tires with
lower 1-4 as well as 5th gear???

Wild

Hey SkyHi, do you happen to know the gear ratios of the 8V and 16V trans
in 1-4 gears? are they the same or is there a hot setup for tall tires with
lower 1-4 as well as 5th gear???

Wild

They are identical.  I don't know the exact ratios off the top of my head, but I do know they are identical between the two.  Like I said, same exact trannys, just a different 5th gear cluster.

I have a 5 speed manual trans,  the problem lies in I dont have the power to shift into 5th gear and very sluggish up hills if i have to excellerate, you guys think the turbo with work,  is there any kits for it??

Oh yeah, the turbo really works.  Well worth the effort. Wild makes turbo manifolds, and can probably hook you up. No complete kits that I know of, but it's been done enough times and theres enough information here to get the job done. Most of the bugs have been worked out of turbocharging these engines , especially if yours is a 16v.

it is a 16 valve, anyone have any info its much appreciated

I believe the manual tranny ratios 1-4 are  3.65 first, 1.95 second, 1.37 third, 1.0 fourth.  I use this site to find ratios and setup final rpms at certain speeds.  http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html