Surface topography measurements from spur gears produced using four different manufacturing methods were used as input to a contact analysis programme. All test gears were case-hardened, two gears were machined in the hardened state using honing and grinding respectively, and two gears were machined in the non-hardened state using hobbing and hobbing followed by green-shaving respectively. The results show that the surface topography caused by the manufacturing methods has a large influence on the real contact area in the early life of the gear. The green-shaved gear surfaces and the honed gear surfaces have the highest contact area ratio after manufacturing (as-manufactured), which could be advantageous for future gear life with respect to e.g. the running-in process. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.