[alfa] Re: gear lightening / 2nd synchro

[George Graves <gmgraves@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This wasn't a rant, and I think that you are right. These transmissions 
were NOT made for Stop Light Grands Prix, and its not just an Alfa 
transmission "problem," It's a characteristic of many older European 
car transmissions and virtually ALL Italian ones. Ferraris up till the 
early 'nineties had the so-called "weak second gear synchronizer" as 
did Maseratis, Fiats, and Lancias along with Alfa Romeos.  Contemporary 
road tests of the De Tomaso Pantera all mentioned weak second gear 
synchros in the Getrag box that DeTomaso fitted to these cars (as does 
a recent "buyers' guide" section on Pantera in the British "Classic and 
Sports Car" Magazine).  Porsches had the same characteristic well into 
the 911 era, but they fixed it earlier than the Italians. In fact, 
almost any car which sports "Porsche-style transmission synchronizers" 
will exhibit this characteristic. They are good, but the most strain on 
synchros is on the first-second shift. American cars had strong second 
gear syncros because early American designed four speeds were aimed at 
drag racers. So it's not that the European synchros are weak -they are 
perfectly adequate when driven properly. It's just that US 
transmissions had super robust shynchros due to the type of driving 
that American "performance cars" are subjected to. Nowadays, most 
European and Japanese car builders, realizing that American driving 
needs are quite different from those of the average European driver, 
build their transmissions more along the lines of American designed 
Borg-Warners and Muncie boxes with regard to synchronizers.

My GTV-6 has, apparently, NEVER been abused in the manner which lunches 
synchros -at least since it was replaced for some unknown reason in 
1994,  With close to a hundred thousands miles on it, all the synchros 
are perfect. This was revealed recently when my tranny was disassembeld 
to change a suspected loose bushing (it wasn't loose).  I always 
double-clutch to down shift and pause between gears to upshift 
(especially when the tranny is cold - being in the rear of the car, an 
Alfetta transmission cannot rely on conducted engine heat to warm the 
transmission, it must generate it's own heat through friction), so my 
synchros should last a long time.

George Graves
'86 GTV-6 3.0 'S'

On Saturday, August 30, 2003, at 09:36 AM, alfa-digest wrote:


> Date: Fri, 29 Aug 2003 12:17:13 -0700
> From: "Peter Kemos" <pskemos@domain.elided>
> Subject: gear lightening / 2nd synchro
>
> The frequently heard complaint of weak second gear synchros is a MYTH.
>
> The fact of the matter is that the transmissions were not built for US 
> style
> "stop-light-grand-prix-racing", where one launches off in first gear 
> and
> then slams the transmission into second, using force, not finesse.
> The reason that the vast majority of US Alfa transmissions have faulty 
> 2nd
> gear synchros is because they were abused by hack drivers, whether the
> previous or current owner or both.
>
> I bought my current 73 GTV about 10 years ago.  The PO had had the car 
> about
> 6 years at that point and had done zero transmission work, so the 
> tranny is
> now at least 16 years old, and may well be an original unrebuilt unit
> alltogether.
>
> This car has since undergone a gradual transformation from beater to 
> decent
> street ride to competitive club racer.  The one thing i have to date 
> never
> worked on is the transmission.  It shifts perfectly well into second,
> whether up or down, and i neither heel and toe, nor baby it.
>
> Sorry about the rant but the "why did Alfa make such a weak 2nd
> synchro......" sets me off a little.
> There is nothing wrong with wanting to get the gears lightened, as it 
> does
> allow for quicker shifts, but at the same time there is nothing wrong 
> or
> weak about the stock design either.
> There, i feel better now.
>
> Peter Kemos
>
> _________________________________________________________________
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