how fast does your car go ,,,,,at an easy rpm...

[brian.b]

hey guys my car is so low geared,,,ive had it up to about 60 but its rough ,,it likes to stay around 40 mph,,,,is there anything i can do to get it at about 55 and low rpms.....maybe change rear end or something i want to drive this car alot this summer.....

[dusty]

4:55-1 @60= 3430 RPM    4:55-1 W-O/D 2401 RPM  40:9 -1 3084 RPM  W/O/D 2160 RPM  3:30-1 2487 RPM     3:30W/O/D 1741 RPM   3:30 W/HYDRO 2450 RPM  3:91:1 2948 RPM 391:1 W/O/D 2460 RPM 

[Barnum]

Is this at 55 mph ?

[joefrazer]

60mph.

My 50K Traveler without overdrive was good for 60 and anything beyond that I could tell the engine was straining. I added OD without changing the rear axle and it instantly improved the top end. Now, 75mph is possible and there's still some left in the engine for more. I also saw a jump from 20 mpg to better than 25 mpg on the highway. Not bad for a 65 year old car - my new Mercedes SUV barely gets 20 miles to the gallon.

[Fid]

KF products were never known for their "performance."  A few years ago I drove a '51 Kaiser to a car rally and about an hour into it a storm came up. We all rapidly dispersed. As I was driving out of town I looked up in my mirror just in time to see a suped up '63 Plymouth go spinning around and then plunge into the ditch. I quickly made a U-turn and went back to render assistance.  The fellow was fine and his car miraculously undamaged but stuck in the mud. When I gave the officer my account of the story he asked "Was he speeding?" and I replied "He had a Kaiser in front of him. He could not have been speeding!" I  thought my friend was going to wet himself he laughed so hard. If you're following a Kaiser, you're not speeding.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

If you try any of the hydra-matic rear axle ratios for a Kaiser (3.51:1 or 3.31:1 on 1953-55 Kaisers) using overdrive instead of automatic, you can push 25-30 mpg but you will keep going in and out of o/d on even flatlands Interstate hills.  That's the trade off, you loose pulling power and if you have 4 or more people in it plus luggage, things can get worse. 

[Gordie]

Floyd Clymer's purchase of a new 1947 Kaiser without overdrive and his road test from Detroit to Los Angeles including a trip up Pikes Peak and breaking the closed car speed record is great reading in Clymer's book "Independent Test Report and Investigation of Kaiser Frazer Cars".  Clymer was a real booster for K-F  and he was driving that car over seventy miles an hour for long stretches at a time.  He even talked about hitting ninty MPH at times but who knows how accurate his speedometer was.  His report was so beneficial for Kaiser Frazer dealers that KF urged dealers to buy the book in quantity to give to prospective buyers and many did and thousands of the books were printed and many surviving copies often have dealer stamps on them.  These books are easily found on eBay today in either a cheap paper version or a better quality printing with stiff covers or a deluxe version with hard covers.  It is 48 pages of interesting reading of how Clymer really put his new Kaiser to the test.  He also received over 3,000 replies to his questionnaire sent to K=F owners and the results received were a good cross section of what the owners thought of their cars.  A couple of hundred of those replies are included in the book and a recap of oil consumption, gas mileage, and opinions of those respondents are included.  Great reading!

[Fid]

I remember seeing a movie showing Clymer driving that Kaiser up Pikes Peak.  Very entertaining as I recall it.

[brian.b]

Ok what did the 3:30_1 come in ...that would be a lot less rpm....

[rialto]

The 3.30 ratio was used in 52-55 Kaisers with Hydramatic except Virginian. It's sometimes called 3.31 or 3.32 . They came with a metal tag bolted to the rear cover to identify the ratio. The tag had two numbers on it. The larger number is the teeth on the ring gear, the smaller one is the teeth on the pinion. Divide the smaller into the larger to get the ratio. I don't know the particular tooth count for this one.

[brian.b]

Lets say you swapped in a 3:31 would the housings be the same and has anyone done this on a 3 speed manual...and if so how did the car do while pulling out....

[brian.b]

Im going to the library in the morning to see if the librarian can find me a copy of clymers book .

[rialto]

You didn't say what car you have but the 3.30 rearend will make the car sluggish around town and on hills. Especially if it is 1950 or older. A more complicated but much better swap is the overdrive transmission. Overdrive works wonders in an underpowered car like a Kaiser.  I don't know if the later rearend is an easy bolt in for 1950 or older.

[boatingbill]

My dad's  '53 Kaiser Manhattan (in 1955) with Hydra would cruise at 65 mph effortlessly while my Carolina 3 speed would scream at that speed. My current car, a '51 Kaiser has 3 speed with OD and with a 4:55 seemed to be over revving at 65 mph. My son had a smart phone with a mph gps app that said we were actually doing 58 mph. Maybe our speedometers (unless I have a incorrect drive gear) have "wishful"thinking. Using Dusty's chart my car should turn less rpms than the '53 automatic, but it doesn't seem so 50 years later.

[dusty]

rear axel numbers listed vis. speed were all determined using standard tire size as per the message. The standard tire size for 710-15 is 27.98 " diameter overall. i was cautioned that a NEW tire was used as a demonstration. I used Palo Alto Speedometer in Ca. They have a web site so as to start figuring how OFF your speedometer is. There are 1 or 2 magnets rotating in a drum that moves the speed needle and that LOOSES magnetism over the years and is very unreliable to indicate your true speed. it also can give you a very gittery speed needle. On their web they have a form to down load and send to them with the instructions as how to fill out the form. the California C>H>P used them to keep their speedos in tune.