FWD gearing question

[goinbroke2]

Keep in mind that while I LOVE drag racing, I like and am very involved in off roading.

On fwd vehicles there is a drive chain between the engine and transmission. Has anyone tried to find or make gears that would lower the ratio??

Kind of unrelated but a buddy with an awd excape was wondering how to lower the ring and pinion to make up for the bigger tires. I'm thinking two options;

1) Search through junkyards or parts books to see the different gear diameters/chain length/tooth count/etc and match up a gear reduction,

or

2) Take a planetary out of an automatic and fab up a high/low range.

This of course got me thinking, all fwd racers complain they can't get low enough gearing...since everybody and their dog has a lathe and milling machine now, has anybody explored this avenue? Has anyone tried to mix and match or fabricated a custom set up?