My transmission is at CMS now so I can't give any real experience yet. They did say the aftermarket gears tend to be louder than stock vs the aftermarket R&P which tends to be quiet. This is why I chose to change to a lower R&P and then raise the 1st gear so it's not too short. Thinking is I don't spend much time in 1st gear so noise won't really matter.

As far as Albins or Guard, it seems like that decision is more based on what's available.

Hi Josh,
At the time when I decided to re-gear my gearbox I looked for all of the available used gears that were for sale. I could have went with stock gearing but I wanted 2nd gear to be closer to 1st and 3rd gear evenly spaced between 2nd and 4th. I never had stock gearing except the 1st gear. The previous owner changed 2nd, 3rd and 4th gears (Guard). It was noisy especially on the highway. My car now has stock 4th gear so it's much quieter. I have no regrets...although there are times when I wish I retained close 2-4th gearing except when traveling on the highway for hours.

What is your reason to change your gearing if it's stock? I'd leave it stock if your car can handle the big gap between 1st & 2nd. My car (far from stock) does not have max torque at 3000-3500 rpm...it's at higher rpm...so bringing 2nd gear closer to 1st helps.

Thanks David and Mike for the feedback.

The reason I am considering changing 2nd and 3rd is that I really dislike the 1-2 shift, just too stiff and slow for my tastes. I had it rebuilt only about 2,500 miles ago and it’s fine except for that 1-2 shift (and putting it into reverse, but that’s another story). I’ve read and heard that the 1-2 shift could be improved by switching to a different 2nd gear, and once you do that, it makes sense to change 3rd to balance it out. I would most likely go with Albins 1.444 2nd and .963 3rd as the rpm drop would end up fairly close across shifts and I’ve read that Albins are pretty quiet. I’d still have OEM for 1 and 4 so it seems like a nice setup, but as long as 1-2 is better I’ll be happy.

Changing the gear ratio will not have any affect to the way the gearbox shift. There are a number of reasons for stiff/balky shift. I would check for proper position of the shift rod so that it shifts into 1st gear and reverse evenly in the garage with the engine off but with clutch depressed. The other issue could be mis-located shift fork for 1-2 gears.

These gearbox does not shift gears like a more modern gearbox...it's still relatively balky and slow.

I’m pretty confident that it’s set up correctly. The other couple of 930s with stock gearing that I’ve been in feel pretty much the same, so maybe it’s just my pet peeve. Shortening 2nd will reduce the RPM gap between 1-2 so the synchro has less work to do and should make the shift a bit smoother. How much, not sure, but I think it would be noticeable.

I've had a 1987 930 lookalike since 2009, got all the 930 stuff + a G50, all in good condition. Blows 1 bar, shiny black and available. I have tried to sell, but no bites as she is not a real 930, but has all the good stuff.

Hate to part her our, but make me a deal I can't refuse

I've been trying to enhance the shifting characteristics of my 930 transaxle and then I throwed the towel and did a G50 conversion and so glad I did so. It was expensive but when I finished it and drove it for the 1st time it was worth every penny.