I had a quick look around, and what I basically found was that there are two main types of G50 gearbox. There are magnesium case and an aluminium case versions. The magnesium version aparently first appeared on the 2.7 911 SC.
The later aluminium case was used on the 87 and later 911 C2's. Aparently the aluminium case gearbox is good for 800hp, and the magnesium case for around 300-350hp.
Under heavy HP use, it's not the case that is likely to fail though in the magnesium case version of the G50. More likely instead that it would have a diff problem.
The earlier 915 gearboxes are aparently good for 300-350 hp also, but have problems with the 5th gear, but only long after high speed driving. A later version of the 915 fixes this problem by using an oil cooler with a return line to over the 5th gear.
I don't claim to be a porsche gearbox expert... this is just info i found from reading a few websites.
About the ratio's. There were two factory choses 5 speed combinations, and one 6 speed. I did have the info... but can't find the links anymore. Sorry... try the
http://www.germanlook.com forum. I think it was from a link from there I saw the mentioning of this info.
Reub, I think I was thinking of the 915 instead of the G50 when chatting with you about fragility. For sure a worked EJ20 could eat a 915 box for breakfast, but the G50 would likely survive. Even the magnesium one, because the 911 SC weighed about 400KG more than your bug will. This should go a long way to reducing transmission breakages.
Cheers,
[Edited on 4-7-2004 by iswinkels]
