The way I always understood it, a higher number
indicates lower gearing, e.g.; 4.30 is lower than
3.42. I guess you'd say "lower" because for a given
engine speed you get fewer wheel rpm with the higher
number.
The numbers I listed above are rear axle ratios for a
'90-'93 Miata and a 6-speed Corvette respectively. I
don't know what the gear ratio for 1st and 2nd in a
'Vette is, but for a Miata, 1st gear is 3.14 and 2nd
is 1.89. You can do the math for the overall gearing
in those gears.
--- "Michael R. Clements" <mrc01@flash.net> wrote:
> Scot Zediker wrote:
>
> > Guess they're geared a
> > lot higher than my car,
>
> Which gave me a major epiphany (thank you Scot).
>
> This touches on a confusion I've always had about
> gearing
> terminology. From an engineer's point of view, the
> total gear
> ratio is measured as the rate of rotation of the
> crankshaft
> divided by the rate of rotation of the wheel of the
> car. That
> means 1st is higher than 2nd, etc.
>
> But often times, the colloquial terminology is the
> opposite. As
> an engineer, one would say that a Vette (for
> example) is geared
> lower than a Miata (for example). However, I've
> heard people
> (Scot, for example) say the opposite while meaning
> the same
> thing. That means the layman's meaning, and the
> engineer's
> meaning, of the same word, may be opposites.
>
> So in layman's terms,
>
> 1. Is 1st gear higher or lower than 2nd gear?
>
> 2. Is 1st gear taller or shorter than 2nd gear?
>
> 3. Is 1st gear "bigger" or "smaller" than 2nd gear?
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