^^ Bloody GVR4 boxes. There were a few different kinds and they are not rebuild or upgrade friendly unless you pull them down and see exactly what kind of internals are in them before you start buying rebuild parts.
The DSM boys use the GVR4 first gear because its slightly taller than a DSM 3.08 first gear, but they end up breaking the GVR4 first gear if they like to launch with some decent power behind them.
The reason why your car felt more heavier and needed to be driven more aggressively is because you had come from a very short gear ratio setup and the change of first gear and diff ratios to slightly taller gears spread the gears out a bit more. This requires more rpm at launch to counteract bogging down, less wheelspin at launch and gives you more kmh in each gear. It gives the sense that the car feels less powerful too.
In a simple explanation (and anyone else can jump in here), the problem with really short ratios is that unless you can get the traction to the ground, as soon as you launch you need to smash into 2nd gear immediately and 3rd gear very quickly. This loses traction and time. It also gives the impression that the car is powerful and much more fun to drive, even if the engine is stock.
e.g. If you had a stock 4G63 engine with stock EVO drivetrain it will feel like a quick car with the short ratio transmission and gearing. It's quite deceptive because a stock engine doesn't have as much grunt behind to really warrant a change of transmission. Although many swear words can be heard from drivers who need to drive on a freeway at 110kmh as their rpm is high and fuel economy suffers as a result.
But bolt in a GSR transmission and rear diff into the EVO whilst still keeping the same 4G63 stock evo engine, and suddenly you will be excused for thinking that the car has instantly lost power as launches bog down and the time it takes to shift between each gear is spaced out further. At 110kmh, the GSR drivetrain will be operating at a lower rpm than the Evo drivetrain. The GSR drivetrain will do higher speeds more comfortably, but it wont be as responsive as the EVO drivetrain was.
BUT now modify that same engine and double or triple the horsepower output of it. Now that evo drivetrain is just going to spin its tyres and feel useless at launch (unless you can get traction to ground) and you will be lighting up 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear so quickly and easily that you will lose valuable traction and time going nowhere. This is why cars making more than twice or more power than stock might prefer to use taller gear ratios because even though inherently taller gears make the car seem slower, when you have more power and torque behind the gears it is much better for traction and speed in each gear. You also can cross a 1/4 mile line in lesser gear changes.
Its a bit of a balancing act choosing the right gear ratios for your intended purpose. Many people seriously into competition might swap and change ratios a few times til they find something that best suits a 1/4 mile run or a particular tight or open circuit racing track, hillclimb twisties, motorkhana or daily driver.
