It's just such an incredible statement, I had to quote it.
Who's talking about gearing up? If you think I am, you clearly didn't understand the concept.
It is an incredible statement and I wholeheartedly appreciate your quoting it for posterity. How long has the LT230 been around with all of its gear combinations? 30 years? I cannot fathom how you think that someone has not thought about putting the 1:1 gearset into their anemic and heavy 175hp to 240hp V8 transfer case until 2010. If it were a good idea, it would already have been done. That is a safe statement to make.
I am echoing your comment about the "sweet" setup in your head. You want a 1:1 gearset in the transfer case AND 4.5, or higher, in the axles. That is the dumbest "sweet" setup I have ever heard of and here is my evidence as support. In order to gain the gearing that you are looking for, you are looking to increase the number of teeth on the ring and pinion. A jump from 3.54 to 4.5x or higher, will lead to a larger number of teeth and those teeth will then have to be made more narrow (smaller). By making teeth more narrow, you decrease the contact area and actually weaken the gearset. If, as everyone here acknowledges, the weakest point of the Rover differential is the ring and pinion set, why would you want to further weaken it by adding more teeth leading resulting in a greater chance of a shock load being transferred from a pinion, which will always have larger teeth, to the ring gear, which will now have more teeth that will have to have been made smaller and thinner to fit in the same diameter? Your gearing up in the transfer case (lower numbers (1.1 vs. 1.4) makes for higher gearing, or gearing up but Im sure you already knew that) and a substantial gearing down in the ring and pinion will actually result in a WEAKER set up. True strength comes from a ring and pinion size and housing that can suitably support a higher ratio, not just upping the tooth count. Once you go above something like 4.10, you are actually weakening the gearset.
Why do Cruiser guys run with super low gears? TLC FJ80 9.5" diameter and 1.57" pinion. Strongest axle in the Rover is a Salisbury, or D60. That has a 9.75" diameter and 1.62" pinion. Land Rover Discovery is 8.6." The tooth count might be the same but youre jamming more teeth onto a now smaller area with the Rover set up. Now, newer gearsets will benefit from better design and metallurgy Im sure but that above fact remains. Im not saying that you will automatically break something but before spending that kind of money on the gearset/ transfer case AND the gearset in the diffs, why not do one of Rover Tracks FJ80 set ups in the front and Toyota V6 (might be smaller in diameter but a much better third member design) set up in the rear? Keep better hi range and gain a better low.
But then again, there is no "progress" without "new" ideas so go ahead and do it and let us know how it works out. "Progress" is something like what Rover Tracks is offering with solutions, regardless of original manufacturer, that address inherent weaknesses. Anything involving stock parts has been tried before and if it worked, wouldve been publicized and done many times over. If you think that putting in a 1:1 transfer case is breaking new ground and signals "progress" within the Rover world, you should think again. Ill look for your "progress" and development in the tech section of the latest issue of LRO as the latest big thing... Probably not.
