Flying Spanners - the 5.1's

[ranicotra]

does anybody have any feedback on the Flying Spanners high speed gears ? They've been offering the 5.99's for awhile, but have come out with a 5.1. Right now I have a completely stock C303.

[dokatd]

I have a brand new set of their gears sitting in my office waiting for me to have a moment to install them. Service from them was great and the gears look to be decent enough quality. I can't tell the origin of manufacture from the machine markings. I will let you know once I can spare a moment to install them.

[tmoney]

Is there any way to get a set of these for a 6x6 application? Or does anyone have a CAD of these or can get that info since flying spanners seems to have gone MIA

[THE 109]

I run them in a Jeep with Volvo axles, they are great for highway cruising, Kamo Oko Vidi are now making gear sets very similar. It might pay to visit their website.

[one2many]

KAMO OKO VIDI have both 5.11:1 and 5.99:1 and they have them with the extra "drive" on the pinion for the centre axle on 6x6

[dokatd]

So...I can’t give a totally fair review since I also changed engines. But I can say the gears from flying spanners are great. Too bad they appear to have closed their doors. But I think the Croatian companies are made at the same shop. The gears are quiet and build into the diff nicely. The increase in speed or decrease in rpms is very noticeable. But your B30 better be in good condition to drive the extra gearing.

[VinceAtReal4x4s]

And would definitely be a problem for those who seem obsessed with running 37"+ tires.

[dokatd]

37” tires would achieve the same results without changing gears. But anything over 35” is to big for the C303’s cosmetics in my opinion.

[VinceAtReal4x4s]

Well yes but it should be pointed out that while on paper it's the same, the torque loss is very noticeable when you start going over 35" which is why I wonder how so many of the Euro/Swedish guys I see with 38" or even 40's even drive at all. Top gear would only be effective downhill! You also lose your crawling ability quite a bit over 35". Putting in more power to help with bigger tires just stresses axles, bearings, gears etc.. People need to learn to live with the 35-36" max or get a Unimog.

[dokatd]

Or have both a Volvo and a Unimog. I have three mog’s to keep my Volvo company and to keep me from doing something stupid with the Volvo.

[brandonium]

I'm ok with 37's if people want to upsize and they have no issues mechanically then I don't see the harm. Not everyone that owns a TGB is looking for off-road adventure and on the opposite end many of us are also not seeking out 80MPH freeway runs. Many of us (I fit this category) simply put around town, go to car shows and other local areas. I know opinions run rampant when it comes to vehicles every type has that crowd. I see it with my Scout and my 142. In the end if the vehicle is mechanically sound and maintained I don't see the big fuss over one extra 1" when there are guys in Europe who have been running TGB's for quite some time with larger than 37" tires and no one is dying from it.

[VinceAtReal4x4s]

Wearing out rare drivelines, getting worse mpg, wearing out brakes, bearings much faster and increasing braking distance (how dangerous is that to you??) with massive tires is accurate though. It's not an opinion if it's bad or not, it's just math. You might be "ok" with it, but that doesn't mean it's consequence free. The guys in Europe/UK rarely drive them due to fuel costs and those that do have plenty of repairs to do when they mod them. Dying of it? Maybe not, but the truck is certainly dying of it. It's analogous to an obese human.

Think about the finite amount of parts. So if someone wants to wear out their rig for the sake of a little temporary coolness, can you see how that would annoy those down the line, or even people who have dedicated all their adult life to these things and see the parts supply being reduced due to someone's ego? These aren't throw-away autos like most 4x4 rigs are so saying something about mods that degrade them, and the future buyers ability to enjoy them, seems important to me.

If rolling around to car shows and looking the part is what someone is into, great, you own it and it's a mostly free country, but implying massive tires don't hurt is definitely untrue and irresponsible to the longevity of the entire rare 4x4 world. I also think it's important to point out for newcomers who might have overall false ideas about these 4x4's, which happens pretty much daily.

I'll skip the longer story but in short, I was in a 710M once and a guy suddenly stopped dead in front of me and starting backing into a parking space on a 35mph small town road. I tried like hell to stop in time but I hit his trunk and caused a small dent. If I had even a one inch larger tire than the 255/85 I was running, the dent would have been much bigger. Scale that example up to a 55mph zone, running 37" or more on a 303, and you have a much more serious distance issue to deal with.

[rmel]

Not intended as a criticism -- but -- the other consideration for any 4x4
going to significantly larger tires is on the Trail performance. You have
to consider that the Tire is your last gear in the drive line. Case in point,
33" to 37" will be a rather significant reduction in applied ground Torque
by approximately 12% or conversely, a higher crawling speed to maintain
the same engine Torque at RPM. May not seem like a lot but it's huge,
close to moving your LL range up a 1/2 gear. Your also moving your CG
up considerably increasing the risk of roll-over, both HWY and trail.

Jeep guys make this trade-off all the time, but for good reason -- ground
clearance. But the learned Jeepster knows Axles need to be changed for
lower gearing, strength, and disk brakes. The guys who don't change out
the drive line with large tires are the ones on the side of the trail with
broken Diff's or Tie rod ends, or are blocking the trail rolled over.