ive been looking around for gearboxes to replace my IRS box from a 1600 superbug.
when ringing around i hav been asked do i want the L Bug or the superbug?
the L bug is always more exspensive.
1. does this mean the L is a better box?
2. will the L fit my car even if my gearbox was from a superbug?
3. if they r both as good as each other and both fit my car, which would you recommend for me? I cruise around town mostly, not alot of hwy driving. i am having a motor rebuilt, not too powerful but with a bit more guts than my stock 1600. any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated
thanks
sam
vwfool@hotmail.com

As for a single side plate they are suspost to be stronger.

I removed my twin sideplate superbug gearbox and replaced it with an L bug single side plate box in my '72 super. there was no modification, its a direct swap.

apparently the single side plate box is stronger, all I noticed was that 3rd/4th had taller ratios which suited the freeway use the car was getting at the time

how was the single side plate around town, as nice as the superbug one?
does this mean on highways my car wont feel like the revs r too high wen cruising at 90-100 in fourth. sometimes wen in fourth at high-ish speeds i feel like i need to change to 5th coz the revs sound a little high, do u knoiw wat i mean? by having taller gears does that mean this will be reduced?
thanks again
sam

Yep thats what it means

thanks dave for that

Sam, here's what I know about gearboxes.

Superbug has taller 4th (0.89 compared to 0.93) but lower R&P than Lbug (4.125 compared to 3.875), so final drive 4th is slightly LOWER overall in the super compared to the L.

Lbug boxes are supposed to be stronger, and their 3.875 R&P is also stronger than the 4.125 of the super.

The later Lbug boxes have more ribs than the earlier Lbug boxes, making them extra stronger! A mate of mine bought one and has it in his split screen kombi. It was sold to him as a "Rhino" box but that it not the correct term.

I have an Lbug box for my Oval (light car) with a 0.82 4th which gives about 2600 rpm at 100-105 kmh. I could have put a 0.77 Albins 4th in but I reckon that would have been too tall.

I would like to be able to afford one of those 3.44 R&P from custom & speed parts which would have made all the cogs taller.

Hope that sheds some light

:thumb

L bug boxes rock and they fit straight into the superbugs.
They are worth a fair bit more too.
If you are highway driving get it.
Also if you are intending to go decent horsepower its a good idea.
Ive given mine hell for years and its still running great.

with grunty motor it will be good.
If only used around town with standard engine - not so great.
Chances are they are newer boxes as well.
Probably stronger.

to be perfectly honest, the difference was slightly noticable. it's still screaming for a 5th gear.

Hi

The L box has a .93 top gear which drops it down a bit, almost to the 4.125 superbug final drive. The L boxes have fine teeth gears so they will not take a lot of HP. The L bug also has different mouts but these can be swapped over from your S box. Be careful if just buying a single side plate box, late Type 3 had single side plate boxes but used the 4.125 diff. Im not sure how to tell the difference but a Type 3 didnt use mountings under the bell housing so the holes should have alloy slugs in them. The only way to be certain about the final drive ratio is to turn the mainshaft and count the turns at the drive flange. The later 75 & 76 bug boxes seem to have more external webs on them, so they may be stronger.

The gearbox in my bug is 3.88 ratio from a 1976 Beetle with Albins ratio gears, 3.55 1st (taller), 2.00 2nd (taller), 1.30 3rd (lower) and 4th is also an Albins gear but is the standard .93 ratio.


25.315 inch 235/45x17 metric


RPM 1st gear 2nd gear 3rd gear 4th gear
1800 15.84 28.12 43.27 60.48
2000 17.61 31.25 48.08 67.20
2200 19.37 34.37 52.88 73.92
2400 21.13 37.50 57.69 80.64
2600 22.89 40.62 62.50 87.36
2800 24.65 43.75 67.31 94.08
3000 26.41 46.87 72.11 100.80
3200 28.17 50.00 76.92 107.52
3400 29.93 53.12 81.73 114.24
3600 31.69 56.25 86.54 120.96
3800 33.45 59.37 91.34 127.68
4000 35.21 62.50 96.15 134.40
4200 36.97 65.62 100.96 141.12
4400 38.73 68.75 105.77 147.84
4600 40.49 71.87 110.57 154.57
4800 42.25 75.00 115.38 161.29
5000 44.01 78.12 120.19 168.01
5200 45.77 81.25 125.00 174.73
5400 47.53 84.37 129.80 181.45
5600 49.29 87.50 134.61 188.17
5800 51.05 90.62 139.42 194.89
6000 52.82 93.75 144.23 201.61

1302Steve

thanks for the all the info guys, but was that some conflicting stories about teh L bug's strength with greater HP? or do u mean ALOT more horsepower steve?
also, all those numbers are great but ive never been sure wat 3.55 1st (taller), 2.00 2nd (taller), 1.30 3rd, that kind of stuff means, can anyone explain.
so i should look out for a later L bug box, like 75-76? can i only work out the year by looking at it, no part numbers anything like that?
im not much of a hwy cruiser, only every now and then to syd for the shows etc. does this mean the L's not for me, not a very good around town cruiser? its in an Oval too if that helps...
wats the weight diffeerence anyway does anyone know, ive often heard ovals r lighter?
thanks again everyone
sam

Sam

I'll print some graphs for you to compare.

They will be from a GEAR CALCULATOR program I downloaded from a fella called Stephen Foster (I can't locate his site again though, bummer!)

I'll try and get them up this arvo.

Sam

I can't post the bloody graphs from the gear calculator so I'll try and e-mail them to ya.

If / when you get the graphs you'll see that there is not a big difference in overall gearing between the S & L bugs, but the L bug has TALLER gears.

I always understood that the 3.875 ring & pinion was the stronger of all T1 gearboxes?
:thumb

This is a comparison between the L bug and S bug ratios ..

Here's the graph using my ratios, showing the tyre size ..

And this one shows the speeds for Steve Carters ratios and tyre size ..