Tough transmissions

Top options for 4WD and off-road racing

Competition transmissions place huge demands on mechanical components, none more so than the drivetrain.

While some stick with manual shifters, across the ultimate truck classes of offroad racing and in the wilder extremes of 4WD competition, the auto is king.

Manual shifting is preferred in the race car classes of off-road racing, where transaxle units are preferred, but manual-shift builders like Albins in Australia are now expanding into 4WD units like the company’s sequential shift ST6 and STX units. They make model-specific units for the LandCruiser 200 and GU Patrol.

It makes transmissions rated for up to 1100Nm. The STX-P 6-speed sequential is perfect for sand dune racing Nissan Patrols making in excess of 1800hp. This transmission is especially popular with the company’s Middle Eastern customers.

German companies such as ZF and Getrag produce five and six-speed manual transmissions for 4WDs. Getrag is an OEM fitment for a number of Dodge trucks.

For most auto applications, racers go for the well-respected Turbo 400 auto. One American company offers nine different motorsport versions of this transmission. Their prices range from an accessible $2,500US all the way to $10,000 for a custombuild auto modified for manual shift and developed for the torture dished out by the Baja 1000.

The Powerglide two-speed auto also still has its fans – simple, bulletproof and a mainstay of the Kiwi drag racing scene. That means there is a well-established network of transmission companies able to build Powerglides for all applications.

At the higher end are companies like Xtrac. The company has been producing 4WD systems and transmissions for the most extreme uses. Events such as the Dakar Rally Raid and Baja 1,000 offroad race push the demands on transmissions to extremes and with the added torque from modern racing internal combustion, hybrid and electric propulsion units, a transmission has to be designed to the highest level possible.

Using experience gained in endurance events such as the

Dakar has allowed Xtrac to build multiple gearbox ranges which supply top level manufactures in WRC and numerous other championships around the world.

Xtrac supplied the world’s first full EV transmission to complete an FIA Rally event and in doing so secured a podium position. Xtrac is also proud to be the exclusive transmission supplier for the first all-electric FIA World Championship off-road series, the eWRX.