Newbie to the site with a new project and questions.

[swisherred]

Good afternoon everyone. My name is Jason, but I go by Swisherred. Located near Hartford, CT. Im new to the board today and am designing a project that I need some information for. This site came highly recommended for information on VW transaxles, so here I am.

Im working on a trike design that most likely will call for a VW transaxle, but of course I know almost nothing about them. Id like to know which one I should be looking for to fit my requirements.

I know it will need to be flipped for mid engine use, but im unsure of the direction of input shaft rotation when its flipped. For my application I need the rotation to run CCW looking from nose cone to clutch with wheels moving in forward direction after being flipped. (I know this is opposite of most engines…trust me on this one, I need CCW.)
Does this mean I would NOT need to flip the ring gear?

I need it to handle 200HP/140ftlbs of torque and be able to roll on 32"x18.5"x15" wheels (huge I know) assuming normal input RPM, what gear ratios are needed and are they even available?

also…disc brakes would be best.

oh…and IRS for sure.

total weight would be around 1300 lbs.
I dont need this to burn those tires off, but it does need to be able to do normal road use/speeds.

so who here can help me with these questions?

thanks
swish

[swisherred]

oh yeah....and are the autos any good for me?



Im thinking that I would need to rotate and flip the rear end, but NOT flip the ring gear. If spinning the input shaft in its normal rotation of clockwise when looking at the clutch, I should have 4 gears forward and 1 reverse, no?

[justkenney]

check out the swedish trike garage http://hem.passagen.se/trike/engelsk/ramareng.htm these are all vw transaxles engine forward (midi).

[swisherred]

the swedish trike site is one of my many resources...there is alot of good info in there...I actually have all of the plans for those bikes as well. I found the gear ratios and everything that I needed. I think autos are out for me though.

Im actually considering the corvair transaxle since the rotation would already be in the correct natural rotation..just have to flip it.

does anyone know what the shift rpms are for the type II bus trans for each gear?
this will help in my math...

thanks
swish

[justkenney]

the IRS bus transaxles sold in the U.S. are geared as follows
1968 thru 1974 R&P 5.375 1st 3.8 2nd 2.058 3rd 1.261 4th .821 codes C, CA, CK
1975 4.857 3.78 2.058 1.261 .889 CM
1976 thru 1979 4.571 3.78 2.058 1.261 .93 CP
these will work in a midi configuration if you are using a reverse rotation motor, the ring gear cannot be flipped in the bus tranny, some people do use the whole tranny upside down.

[swisherred]

would reversing the input rotation of the trans shorten its lifespan due to the gear thrust being reversed?

also, would I still have 4 forward gears or would I have 4 reverse?

thanks

[Bruce2]

Yes.
Yes.

[swisherred]

ok...thanks...looks like I should be looking at a corvair trans then instead of the vw....or reverse my engine rotation somehow..

corvair will work just fine...just wanted the type II so i could remove the clutch housing and have a flat square package...I guess I can machine it off of the corvair though.