The Transaxle Thread

What’s the scoop on the Sadev (sp?) trans? Looks pretty trick, saw one on a new alumicraft.
 
EmpirE231 said:
What’s the scoop on the Sadev (sp?) trans? Looks pretty trick, saw one on a new alumicraft.
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SL923 TRANSAXLE -

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I think this one.
 
EmpirE231 said:
What’s the scoop on the Sadev (sp?) trans? Looks pretty trick, saw one on a new alumicraft.
Click to expand...
Starting at $50k. It's a very nice trans, Sadev know's how to make a good gearbox, and I have no doubts that they will work well, but they don't know the market. I am not sold on the Sadev units for the long term.

Albins and Fortin already have a very nice gearbox in the $40k-$50k range for the high end market. The Albins has proven it's strength until some of these cars started pushing 2000 HP, which is why they redesigned and came out with the AGB R4. The Weddle S4D units have been proving their strength in cars up to 1500 HP over the past 5 years, and at $20k, they are bargain in my opinion. I just don't see a market for a 3rd high end unit.

It is very odd to me that they (Sadev) looked at this market and decided to get in on it, when there are already 3 other manufactures (Albins, Fortin, Weddle) making strong, high end transaxles for a very niche market. The three established manufactures are only selling a handful of units per year, they are definitely not selling 100's of units per year that would allow room for another manufacture to squeeze in and take over some market share.

Most manufactures have to make parts in runs of 50-100 pcs of each part to keep the cost of production low. That is 50-100 gearboxes worth of housings, gears, R&P, diff parts, etc. That is a very large investement (ask me how I know with the Weddle HV-2 program) Even if they manage to sell 10 units per year, that is 5-10 years worth of parts sitting on the shelf that waiting to sell. That seems like a rather big risk for a small market.

It is also very strange to me that Fortin signed a deal with Sadev to distribute and service them, when they already have their own competing transaxle at a similar price point. What is their incentive to sell the Sadev against their own? It doesn't make much sense to me.

Time will tell how the service-ability and parts availability will be for these in the next 5-10 years as they get used and worn out. If you think Albins and Fortin parts are expensive to replace...
 
Website says they make their own gears in house. Seems like a bonus, no need to rely on a supplier when you are the supplier.
Maybe they make gears for Fortin also, got a deal to be a dealer/service center ?
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SLIM said:
Website says they make their own gears in house. Seems like a bonus, no need to rely on a supplier when you are the supplier.
Maybe they make gears for Fortin also, got a deal to be a dealer/service center ?
View attachment 160197
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Sadev makes everything in house other than bearings, seals, and some other common goods. They recently went on a buying spree in Europe and bought up a bunch of their suppliers so they own everything they need to produce their product.

Fortin has typically used Hewland to make their gears, but that may change with the Sadev partnership?

Albins has always made their own gears (widely known secret that they have made Weddle gears since '93)

Producing parts in house does not necessarily mean parts can be made "at will" at any given time. These manufactures don't typically set up a machine to make one part, they will make a run of parts to make the setup time worth it.
 
SeanRitchie said:
Starting at $50k. It's a very nice trans, Sadev know's how to make a good gearbox, and I have no doubts that they will work well, but they don't know the market. I am not sold on the Sadev units for the long term.

Albins and Fortin already have a very nice gearbox in the $40k-$50k range for the high end market. The Albins has proven it's strength until some of these cars started pushing 2000 HP, which is why they redesigned and came out with the AGB R4. The Weddle S4D units have been proving their strength in cars up to 1500 HP over the past 5 years, and at $20k, they are bargain in my opinion. I just don't see a market for a 3rd high end unit.

It is very odd to me that they (Sadev) looked at this market and decided to get in on it, when there are already 3 other manufactures (Albins, Fortin, Weddle) making strong, high end transaxles for a very niche market. The three established manufactures are only selling a handful of units per year, they are definitely not selling 100's of units per year that would allow room for another manufacture to squeeze in and take over some market share.

Most manufactures have to make parts in runs of 50-100 pcs of each part to keep the cost of production low. That is 50-100 gearboxes worth of housings, gears, R&P, diff parts, etc. That is a very large investement (ask me how I know with the Weddle HV-2 program) Even if they manage to sell 10 units per year, that is 5-10 years worth of parts sitting on the shelf that waiting to sell. That seems like a rather big risk for a small market.

It is also very strange to me that Fortin signed a deal with Sadev to distribute and service them, when they already have their own competing transaxle at a similar price point. What is their incentive to sell the Sadev against their own? It doesn't make much sense to me.

Time will tell how the service-ability and parts availability will be for these in the next 5-10 years as they get used and worn out. If you think Albins and Fortin parts are expensive to replace...
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One thing I thought was cool about the Sandev is that you can inspect the dogs without tearing the transmission apart. Also, it looks much smaller than the Albins. I’m curious to see how it holds up.
 
Reece Pettersen said:
One thing I thought was cool about the Sandev is that you can inspect the dogs without tearing the transmission apart. Also, it looks much smaller than the Albins. I’m curious to see how it holds up.
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The smaller footprint is also supposed to be a benefit according to some builders as you (in theory), might be able to drop the trans out the bottom without removing your motor.
 
EmpirE231 said:
The smaller footprint is also supposed to be a benefit according to some builders as you (in theory), might be able to drop the trans out the bottom without removing your motor.
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You can this with an Albins and VW bell housing. That's how Jimco used to build all of their Class 1 cars. But then you're limited to small diameter clutch packages.
 
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