Which Atlas would you buy?

Spence

Spence

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Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Salisbury
I am about to purchase an Atlas Tcase for my buggy project. I am on the fence about spending the extra grand on the 4 speed, just wondering what some other people thoughts on this are...

This ride will be used for general trailriding 50% of the time, and ECORS C class the rest of the time. It will be a mostly stock LQ4 6.0, TH400, hp60 and 14 bolt on 40s. they are geared 4.10, and will be staying that way temporarily to save some cash.

I am leaning towards a 2 speed in 3.0 or 3.8 gear, but feel like this may be a sacrifice for the trailriding side of things? Will i really regret not going for 4 speed?
 
More gears = more potential...
more potential to crawl and more potential to fail...
 
I have the 4 speed. At no time have I looked back. I use all the gears, and combinations. I run 44's, with 4.56 gears, trail riding only. I don't race
 
You need to pony up the extra cash for the 4 speed. It just wouldn't make sense to me to spend that much on a t-case to only end up with a single gearing option.
 
I'll chime in here as a proponent for the 2 speed. If you have a manual transmission and can up shift, it won't make a difference. I trail ride in 4 high or 4 low, 3rd or 4th gear, depending on the severity of the trail. If you are wanting to run an auto, go with the 4 speed though. It also depends on your axle/ trans gears and tire size, and whether or not the rig will have enough ass to go anywhere in 4 high.
 
Slept on this a little bit, and come up with another thught that you will need to consider.
The 4 speed is ~ 8" longer, so you need to make sure your drive train set up can deal with it.
 
Another vote for the 4sp.

I've had several Atlas 2sp's in different rigs over the years, both 3.8's, one behind a 4l60e and the other behind a 400. I currently have 3sp stak (total Pos btw, but that's another story). I didn't realize how lacking the gearing was in the 2sp till I got the 3sp. I currently have a 4sp on order to replace the pos, it should be here late this month.

Also we are an Advanced adaptor dealer, if you need a quote shoot me a PM.

Thx!
 
I've got the Atlas 4spd in my cab truck. I haven't wheeled the truck that much since installing the Atlas, but I really like the options. The 2.72:1 ratio is a good trail riding gear ratio, then the 5.44:1 is great when you come up to a techincal crawling section. I've got 4.88's in the axles with 42" tires, and an auto tranny.

I don't use the 2:1 ratio much, but I think I read where someone out West ran the KOH race with an Atlas 4spd in 2:1 through the fast desert sections, then used the 5.44:1 in the technical crawling spots. I think they specifically geared the axles so the rig would run fast enough in 2:1 through the open sections with the motor wound up.
 
OK, so lets say i cough up the extra $$ for the 4-speed, I still have a hard time with ratios.

1.0, 2.0, 2.72, 5.44 Seems like a good choice. Right now i race in 2.72 low for the most part, not sure that I would really use the 2.0 gear since I've never felt that? Also, if I am going to have an ultra low, 5.44 just doesn't seem like it would cut it? I have 10.7(4.7x2.28) in my yota, and I like that for an ultra low-low.

I definitely dont want the 8.16 case, because the 2.72 and 3.0 are so close together, it may as well be a 3 speed.

So this leaves me the 10.34. I think I would definitely use the 2.72, and it gives me the superlow that i would never touch in a race, but I like using on the trail. I'm just not sure if i would miss that 2.0 gear in ECORS? I admit, 2.0 does sound like a good balance for racing.

Anyway, enough rambling, but I just want to buy this thing once. Probably leaning slightly toward the 5.44.........
 
With a V8 and an auto, I never felt the need for lower than 5.44:1. With less motor, and a non-granny gear manual, I guess lower TC gears could be beneficial.

I think the 2:1 would be ideal for some of the ECORS tracks. I imagine that running in 2.72:1 low range, you would be top speed limited on some of the more open tracks.
 
Off topic but isnt the 4 speed in low to low for an auto? I was always under the impression that 4.1 was about perfect with an auto and anything lower made it difficult for the brakes to stop the vehicle. Educate me!
 
I'm not sure either, that's why i made the thread, but that makes sense..... I guess i like those ultra low gears in the yota because it is terribly underpowered and has a manual, and shouldnt be comparing it to what I'm trying to do here. I have never had low t-case gearing behind an auto.

Sounds like the 5.44 would be the way to go for my needs.
 
If you had an auto you would hardly ever use the low low in the 4 sp. In my experience the brakes do start to have trouble holding an auto with 4.3 gears or lower. I vote 2 speed Atlas, 3.8 for trail riding or higher if you really plan on racing.
 
I've got a 3.8:1 2 speed Atlas in my buggy with a 700r4, 4.56s, and 37s. IMO it's just about perfect for general trailriding. It's just on the edge of overpowering the brakes though, i have to stand on them pretty hard to keep it from driving through them in first gear.

If I was racing I could see the need for little higher ratio like a 2:1 for the high speed stuff, but for me anything lower than 4:1 is just too low. Out west where you wheel on sandpaper I could see needing that low of a ratio, but here on the right coast most trails require a good bit of throttle and wheelspin. It's all a matter of personal preference though.
 
Correct in that lower than 4:1 the brakes are not gonna stop it too easily. But I do have an auto, and I do use it quite often. I use it pretty much the same way I did when I had it behind my 176 manual. Brakes? When going that slow who needs them? and, when I do, I just bump it up into Nuetral.
When crawling stuff, where ever, and you need to place tires just so, it works great. Where as more speed might cause you to slip off to the left or right and loose your line.
Also, keeps auto tranny from doing so much slipping.
 
Cool.. I will be running a reverse manual valve body, so bumping from first to neutral to stop while crawling wont be any problem when crawling in low. I think 1.0, 2.0, and 2.72 are the best combination of ratios for ECORS. I'm sure i will actually be using it for racing a good bit more than just normal trailriding, anyway.
 
I'm getting ready to get a atlas for my buggy also and have been thinking on ratios too I'm going 2 speed 3.8 with 400th and ls 383 turbo so ill have power to over come any gear issue
 
4 speed for sure. Here's why I say that...
My old YJ was 360 powered with an auto mated to a Klune/205 combo on 40's with 1 tons. The Klune/205 combo gave me 1:1, 2:1, 2.7:1 and 5.4:1. I literally had a range for any terrain I was on. Double low for control. Single low for normal crawlin and 2:1 for running the connector trails. That is one reason my MJ has a doubler (not a 4 speed Atlas, but the same general idea). Spend the $$$ once and be done IMO.
 
yeah, i have pretty well decided on a 5.44 4 speed. I liked DW's price on it too, so I may just go ahead and pull the trigger on that before i second guess the $$$$ side of this build :driver:
 
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