i'm currently using my 87 gl sedan for autox and maybe one day hope to race it in dirt rally or the sort...

 

my question is how fast can you go in 4low? i have a 5 speed and the manual says that the low transfer case is only 1.56 or something of the sort.

i think your suspension will be your short comings before you hurt the trany from running it to fast in 4wd. ive driven mine at 70+ in 4lo....

Concur - I've run the 4 and 5 spd D/R in low at the limit of the speed the engine would allow without damage. 70+ mph will not hurt it.

 

GD

dammit that means i could have used 4low for the autox

 

thanks for the responses guys, i like the ride height of the car but body role is going to get me noxious after a couple of races

You should see my lifted wagon corner... talk about body roll:-\

isnt the tranny going to bind in 4wd while hes turning?

It probably will.

4wd on these older cars is for when "Wheel slip is expected" Like snow, ice, and mud. There isn't a center differential in most of the older trannies. Putting it in 4wd on asphault will cause the wheels to bind up...especially on tight turns. This in turn puts a lot more stress on your axles and you whole drive train. Best case scenario (if anything were to go wrong) you break an axle. One worst case you bust your tranny. Put your car in 4lo and make a tight turn...you will hear wheel chirp and your car might even hop.

 

But hey, if you go fast and this is just a fun car (or if you have backup cars) who cares. HAVE FUN!

with the type of competitive driving i've been doing if i left it in fd i get excessive wheel spin which actual cost me almost 2sec my last time out so i left it in 4wd and with the expectation of lost traction through turns i tried not to think about what it was doing to my car

Don't worry about it. With the stock size tires, the tires should spin before the axel breaks. Yeah, it puts more wear on the differentials and tranny, but I must admit they handle much better in 4wd. The old rally racers used to use lots of gas in the corners to break one wheel free to remove the tension and understeer.

cool, exactly what i wanted to hear:burnout:

my question is how fast can you go in 4low?

 

I'm not sure exactly what the speed is, but whatever redline in 5th gear in 4-Lo is.

 

As said above, it's not the best thing for it to be used on dry pavement, but... honestly, autocross & such involve enough slipping that I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just know that it's not recommended, and I'd really suggest changing the tranny/diff oil with Redline MT or such to help it handle the stress better. And it'll shift better when cold.

 

Now go out there and show them what an "old" car can do! Major bonus points for beating a new gen Subaru (in my experience, a lot of the people who drive a shiny new Subaru at autocross don't push it remotely hard - if they do, you've got no chance of keeping up, but if they're slow, you've got a shot).

 

-=Russ=-

I'm not sure exactly what the speed is, but whatever redline in 5th gear in 4-Lo is.

 

As said above, it's not the best thing for it to be used on dry pavement, but... honestly, autocross & such involve enough slipping that I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just know that it's not recommended, and I'd really suggest changing the tranny/diff oil with Redline MT or such to help it handle the stress better. And it'll shift better when cold.

 

Now go out there and show them what an "old" car can do! Major bonus points for beating a new gen Subaru (in my experience, a lot of the people who drive a shiny new Subaru at autocross don't push it remotely hard - if they do, you've got no chance of keeping up, but if they're slow, you've got a shot).

 

-=Russ=-

 

my driving is the week point, in the last run...an 03 wrx took top time at 48.7sec while i was running a mear 59.09. the laughable part is my buddies street prepared (its a class) 2.5 rs with a track suggested 165hp/atw was only 4 seconds ahead. after only 6 runs i was already faster then a 1.6 miata and a 5.0 mustang, well the miata would have been behind me if i hadn't taken out that damn cone

oh yeah, i forgot to mention i'm running 187/70/13r so its not like i'll be over stressing anything anyways...its snowing outside i think i should get ready for work early so i have time to play while this lasts, damn west coast weather always melting my fun