2004 Maxima Gear ratios:

5AT:

1st = 4.657
2nd = 3.032
3rd = 1.982
4th = 1.341
5th = 1.018
Reverse = 5.114
Final Drive = 2.440

4AT (same as '03):

1st thru 4th = 2.785, 1.545, 1.000, 0.694
Reverse = 2.272
Final Drive = 3.789

Can someone please explain to me the meaning of "final drive ratio" and what the significance is in terms of why the ratios of the 5AT are very different from the 4AT .. yet they will pull pretty much the same to 1/4-mile (theoretically)

Also .. why is there NO true overdrive in the 5AT .. isn't overdrive supposed to be less than 1.000:1 ?? 5th gear is 1.018 ..

Thanks in advance

 

Look at the final drive, it's soooooooo tall. This is why they had to put the shorter ratios in the gearbox itself. They wanted to preserve teh acceleration. But, they wanted to improve gas mileage on the highway and at cruise. So the compromise is shorter gearbox ratios and a taller final drive (which may or may not yeild a higher top speed, but that is a whole different ballgame). There isnt an overdrive to improve "responsiveness" in top gear acceleration. IE, you can pass a car w/o a downshift (saving gas, wear, etc...) PM me if you want more info....

 

The final drive ratio is the ratio of the differential. Multiply that by the individual gear ratio to get the overall ratio - 1.018 x 2.440 = 2.484, 0.694 x 3.789 = 2.630, so the 5 speed top gear is a little taller than the 4 speed top gear.

 

Looks like Third might pull alot and Forth will pull and be short!!