well that answers that question, thanks people

 

5th gear puts more load in the engine to accelerate. the gears multiply the TQ of the engine making it easier (like pulleys) to do work. the taller the gear the more the engine itself is working = more heat

 

I don't have a problem boosting in 5th gear. its pretty low geared with the awd wagon, plus everthing in it is larger than the normal d-series trans. I think its all more the size of the b trans. anyone got a 5th gear from an ls trans they wanna part with?

 

thats a nice lookin wagon... how much power are you makn and how is the diferential holdin up. thats the type thats fwd till it looses traction then the rear tires work too?

 

it allows for 3% slippage before the viscous joint locks up. I like it. still working out some small bugs though. its currently sitting in the back yard with mud all over it cause I had it in 2wd and got it stuck. just got time today to get it in 4wd and out of the mud again. . no problems out of the diff yet. not sure how much power it has, running 5psi right now.
Just scored a 97 cr-v trans with a crappy second gear. i'm thinking of adapting that and a b18 into a wagon or crx with awd sometime.

 

hmmm sounds interesting