Finding a car’s gear ratio may be done in various ways. The pinion and ring gears’ teeth may be counted to determine this crucial information. Alternatively, you may just look up the gear ratio using the 17-digit VIN number of your car.
Here we explain in great detail how to decode a VIN plate and find out what gear ratio your automobile uses if you want to learn how to do this.
The VDS section of a car’s VIN number contains the gear ratio. The vehicle documentation section (VDS) of the VIN stands for that. The VDS, which can be found in the fourth to eighth characters, contains details regarding an automobile’s make, model, and gear ratio. In cases when the gear ratio is not included in the VIN number, you will need to determine it using other techniques.
What Is a VIN Number?
Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) are assigned to every motor vehicle. The 17-digit VIN is the Vehicle Identification Number. Deciphering a VIN plate might seem like an impossible task if you are not familiar with the process.
Thankfully, there is a straightforward method for deciphering a VIN plate, and with that knowledge, you will have access to a wealth of useful data about your car.
Each number on a VIN has a specific meaning, detailed below.
- The first digit denotes the country of manufacture of the vehicle.
- In this case, the manufacturer is represented by the second digit.
- The initial letter of the VIN indicates the category or kind of car it is.
- The fourth through eighth characters provide specifics regarding the make, model, series, transmission, and more.
- The last number is the manufacturer’s unique security code.
- The year the car was made is represented by the tenth digit.
- The assembly line indicated by the eleventh character is the one where your car was built.
- The remaining digits represent the one-of-a-kind car production number.
You may use one of several free online VIN checkers to decipher your VIN. You may also consult a technician, who, using a VIN decoder, would provide you with a comprehensive breakdown of the data included in your vehicle’s identification number.
How Do I Find My VIN Number?
Various vehicles will have different VIN locations. If you can not locate a VIN plate on your automobile, you are not searching in the appropriate location since it is legally required to have one!
Here are some of the locations where you may often locate a car’s VIN number:
- Usually on the front engine block, under the bonnet.
- Dashboard on the driver’s side. Where the dash meets the windscreen is a common location.
- Inside the door, often on the driver’s side.
- On the title and registration papers for the car.
Once you have identified the VIN sticker, you may start working on deciphering it to determine the gear ratio for your vehicle.
What Does the Gear Ratio on Cars Mean?
Let us first define a gear ratio before we go into precisely how to get your gear ratio by VIN. Simply put, the input gear is linked to a cog on the gearbox’s engine side, and the output gear is attached to a cog on the side with the road wheels.
Every year from 1 to 5, has a distinct gear ratio and uses a different-sized cog. For instance, the first gear is used to start a vehicle. Hence the gear ratio must be adequate to accomplish this function.
The first gear’s input gear is much smaller than the fifth gear’s input gear. The gear ratio increases with decreasing input gear to outer cog size.
In the simplest terms, the highest torque is produced when the input gear spins the engine more than when the output gear turns the wheel. To move a vehicle from a stop to drive, there must be a lot of torque.
As your vehicle shifts through the gears, less torque will be required because of the car’s momentum. The fifth gear has a lower gear ratio because the input gear is larger than the output gear.
The input gear’s tooth count must be divided by the output gear’s tooth count to get the gear ratio of a car.
How to Find Gear Ratio by VIN
There is a far simpler technique to determine your car’s gear ratio if you do not want to count the teeth on the different cogs in the gear system.
The fourth through eighth digits of your vehicle’s VIN number, as we indicated above, hold vital information. The VDS, or vehicle descriptor section, is the name given to these characters.
However, the gear ratio of an automobile may not be included in the VDS by all manufacturers. You must use a free online VIN checker or decoder to determine with certainty if your VIN contains the gear ratio.
The gear ratio of your automobile will be 3:73:1 if the engine revolves 3.73 times for every whole wheel rotation. If the gear ratio is stored in the vehicle identification number (VIN), 3731 will appear in the VDS.
Characters representing the vehicle’s mod brand, series, etc., will appear in the VDS. This is where the gear ratio will be if it is in the VIN.
Other Methods of Calculating Gear Ratio
Where else can you obtain the gear ratio if a car’s VIN does not always provide it? So you will have to open the bonnet and start solving maths problems!
Your car’s gear ratio may be calculated by:
- Counting the rotations of the rear wheel of an RWD vehicle for each complete drivetrain rotation. For instance, the gear ratio will be 4.50:1 if the wheel rotates four and a half times.
- Divide the total number of teeth on the input and output cogs by the total number on the cogs.
- Consult the owner’s handbook for your car.
How Important Is Gear Ratio?
Many drivers can drive their whole driving career without ever understanding their car’s gear ratio. Drivers may learn the top speed for each gear by using gear ratios. Additionally, you may need to adjust the gear ratio while changing the tyres on your car.
Drivers of muscle cars and trucks are more likely to modify a vehicle’s gear ratio, often known as gearing. A car’s gearing may help the engine run more efficiently and enable higher speeds in various ratios.
Additional advantages of altering a car’s gear ratio include the following:
- Better fuel efficiency.
- Reduced deterioration of certain parts.
- Increases towing capacity.
- Increases acceleration and speed.
- Boosts torque in various gears.
By changing the gear ratio, you may give your automobile the additional power it needs in all of the ratios to haul greater weights. Furthermore, your car will accelerate more quickly with greater torque created.
Conclusion
Getting the gear ratio from a car’s VIN number is simple. Finding the VDS portion of the VIN, which is situated between the fourth and eighth letters, is all that is required. You may use an online VIN checker to determine what each number in the VIN of your car indicates if you do not know how to decode a VIN.
If the gear ratio is not included in your car’s VIN, you may calculate it by dividing the number of input gear teeth by the number of output gear teeth. Alternatively, you may count the times a wheel rotates throughout a drivetrain revolution.
Now that you know how to get your gear ratio by VIN, you can learn more about your car’s powertrain. You may want to try adjusting the gear ratio to boost your car’s performance.