S4 vs S5

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SCUMAN

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So just trying to figure out if there is a huge difference in going with an extra gear or not for the dunes? Is the S5 going to be a lot weaker due to the smaller gears? Please let me know what the pros and cons would be as I’m trying to decide which way to go! Thanks 

 
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I have an s5. My normal driving mode is 650 hp and have never hurt the gear teeth. I have replaced many gears due to the dogs getting rounded.I have also taken out lots of rig and pinions. Neither of those are a result of having the narrower gears due to having 5 gears. I only use 5th when above 70 mph or a long cruise on the highway

 
I think this may be in the wrong place :lol:  unless you're paying it forward by giving someone your S4 :dunno:  

 
What I was told is the S4 is stronger than the S5 and for the dunes unless you are one of the drag queens you don't need the 5th gear. 

 
S 5 for many years never had a problem and I use it often.

awesome on long distance runs

 
I like my S4 with wider gears. IIRC they are 1" wide. I am way at the low end of the HP rating (485hp) but tend to break things. My car will do about 97 max in 4th so it is geared low. Use 4th a lot in the medium to bigger dunes. Not really into running sand highway down to duner's diner. So any kind of sand highway cruising 60 mph is fine for me. 

 
5 gears in the dunes isn't necessary. At least not in my 3529lb 629hp at the wheels car with an Albins. Sure, 90mph from Roadrunner to Duners is fun AF, but I definitely don't need that 5th gear when duning. And I'm trying to keep up with several high HP Funco's. 

 
John@Outfront said:
I have an s5. My normal driving mode is 650 hp and have never hurt the gear teeth. I have replaced many gears due to the dogs getting rounded.I have also taken out lots of rig and pinions. Neither of those are a result of having the narrower gears due to having 5 gears. I only use 5th when above 70 mph or a long cruise on the highway
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John, How are you rounding the dogs off? Shifting without the clutch? Or just beating the crap out of it?  I always use the clutch. 

 
just aggressive driving, i always use the clutch, one miss shift at big power is very very bad.  just having fun

 
I personally like the gear spread of the 5 speed. I ran a S5D for 3 seasons. The s5 and s5d have the same gears. I had the trans torn down and every gear was perfect. My motor was 1200hp or so. Also, that’s a constant power. I didn’t run a boost controller I just ran the motor at 14 psi of boost all the time. Also, we drive hard. The whole car needed a freshen but the trans was good. 

 
All I gotta say is I wish I could even find where to have an option to buy an s4 or s5? Is there a secret shop location I don’t know about lol

 
Sean wrote up a great comparison between different boxes.

Search for that and you will get your answer.

 
You will never need 5th gear in the dunes.  The only time I catch myself wanting a 5th gear is on the way to duners diner.  The only other benefit to a 5th hear is if you are really into the drags and trying to run high MPH.  You do lose some strength in the gears in a S5S vs S4S... so you might want to watch that depending on the HP you're putting down.

I hit 110MPH this last weekend with a little more room in it, with an S4S...  That is good enough for me!

 
The 5-speed gears are narrower than the 4-speed gears, but can still handle a good amount of power, usually upwards of 850 HP/TQ at the crank in a typical sand car.

I will typically suggest gearing 5-speeds to use 4th gear as the top speed gear, and 5th gear is just the extra gear when needed or on the longer runs to keep the RPM's down.

5-speeds are better for lower powered engines for closer splits between shifts. Most sand cars will never need a 5th gear, therefor 4-speeds are more common. Most anyone with 600+ HP/TQ will only ever need a 4-speed in a true sand only car.

John@Outfront, you need to look into the new Gen 3 shift mechanism next time you service the trans. Speeds up the shift actuation to prevent rounding the dogs off, and allows for better clutch-less shifting. You should call me sometime about my thoughts why using the clutch can actually cause more wear on the dogs when driving hard.

 
Sean@Weddle said:
The 5-speed gears are narrower than the 4-speed gears, but can still handle a good amount of power, usually upwards of 850 HP/TQ at the crank in a typical sand car.

I will typically suggest gearing 5-speeds to use 4th gear as the top speed gear, and 5th gear is just the extra gear when needed or on the longer runs to keep the RPM's down.

5-speeds are better for lower powered engines for closer splits between shifts. Most sand cars will never need a 5th gear, therefor 4-speeds are more common. Most anyone with 600+ HP/TQ will only ever need a 4-speed in a true sand only car.

John@Outfront, you need to look into the new Gen 3 shift mechanism next time you service the trans. Speeds up the shift actuation to prevent rounding the dogs off, and allows for better clutch-less shifting. You should call me sometime about my thoughts why using the clutch can actually cause more wear on the dogs when driving hard.
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Sean, 

Does the albins 5 and 6 speed sequential (11.5 R&P) use the same gear sizes? 

 
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