Regular 4 speed vs 8 speed unidrive

[Dakota 70]

Hello everyone, I have a 8hp 4 speed that I just put a 8 speed unidrive into because I liked that it had the hi-lo range option and it had larger hubs so I could put on bigger tires. I was wondering if I made a good choice and wanted everyone’s input on which one if more durable and can take the most abuse. Thanks!

[roadapples 6,983]

            

[pfrederi 17,887]

8 is better than 4 but not sure what you mean by larger hubs and larger wheels.  The hub bolt pattern is the same for 1 inch or 1-1/8" axles...

[953 nut 55,839]

There is no big difference between the two for general chores with the exception of rototiller and snow blowing where the low range can allow an eight HP engine to get the job done. I also like the low range for loading and unloading on a trailer.

[Dakota 70]

@pfrederi the center circle on the hub on the 4 speed was about 1/2in smaller than the circle on the 8 speed hub. The larger tires had a larger center hub circle so there was a gap between the center circle on the tire and the center circle on the 4 speed hub. I tried removeing the hub from the 4 speed and replacing it with the hub on the 8 speed but ended up chipping part of the 4 speed hub. Sorry I’m not good at explaining but all in all the the larger tires had a larger hole in the middle than the hub from the 4 speed. 

[Dakota 70]

Thanks for the info @953 nut!