It varied by country:
North America Balance of the Planet
62-70 4.11 4.11
71 3.89 3.89
72 4.11 3.89
73 3.89 3.89
74-80 3.89 3.63
The lower hp of the North Amercia models from the emissions devices
necessitated a shorter final drive to maintain "acceptable" acceleration
(acceptable being relative). In Britain, the 1500 actually had a better
0-60 time AND better mpg than the 1296 Mk IV thanks to the combo
of more hp and taller final drive. And according to contemporary road tests
in my Brooklands Gold Portfolio, the British version of the 1500 with
OD pulled 4000 rpm at 90 mph - hows THAT for relaxed highway
cruising!
Greg Rowe
78 Spitfire
In a message dated 2/10/00 6:49:50 PM EST, tlt@digex.net writes:
> was looking at the short thread on "Hopped-up Spits" and a couple of
> people had mentioned their differential gear ratio, and I could have SWORN
> that the early Spitfire Four to Mark 3 had the "fast" differential and that
> the later 1500's had the "slow" (more rpms) differential.
> But after looking at my "guide to originality" it looks like I had it
> backwards. Spitfire 4 to Mark III had 4.11:1, the Mark IV had a 3.89:1 and
> the 1500 had 3.69:1
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