I know this has been debated many times, I do not see why a 3.73 would not work well in my car tho. I mean they did put them in the HO 305 cars such as the 84-85 camaro i think something like that and in the monte carlo super sport out of the 80's came stock with 3.73 rearend. So how could that not be a good ratio for my car?

 

who said it wasn't?? Is this supposed to be a reply to something, I'm guessing?

 

3.73's are perfect.
I Like Mine.
-Rich-

 

Because the LO3 doesn't have a huge powerband, the 3.73 gears might be a little large for it. If you rev it higher (i.e. LT1 Cam, new heads, intake, 670 TBI) then you want a higher gear. Many people believe that the 3.42 is a better choice if you don't rev it as much. It's all up to you, I went with 3.42's.

 

it is a great gear ratio. the revs that your engine makes in general is nto the entire poitn of how gears are taken advantage of. even a stock LO3 can benefit more at teh track from a 4.10 gear than a 3.73. teh idea when going for a real performance gear ratio is to look for a gearing that allows you to use the entire power band through every transmission gear that you use at teh track. so if your motor has an intake, exhaust adn free mods, it si prolly makign good power to 4500 rpm or so, you woudl prolly be shifting aroudn 5000rpm, that means the optimal gear ratio will have the car go through the finish line at least at 4600 rpm and preferably slightly above your shift point of 5000rpm.
if you look at the cars taht came with the 3.73 gears they were usually L69 cars and a handful of LG4(in soem monte carlos), these are motors have similar power badn rpms to an LO3 and they benefit greatly from teh gears.

later
tim

 

They worked great in my car. going from 2.73's to 3.73's with full exhuast I gained a full second...and pluss they are more fun...I love it when it goes sideways when I hit second gear.

 

3.73's let's me cross the 1/4 mile mark at 5000rpm with stock size tires. Definatly a great ratio when using an auto with 1:1 3rd gear. You'de want 4.10's if the car doesn't see highway much, you don't have overdrive, and/or you run a taller tire (~28") at the track. Personally I'd go with 3.73's because 4.10's even with overdrive is a bit much to swallow on a daily driver auto. A T56 tranny is a WHOLE nother story. Given it's 6th gear is .5 compared to an auto's .7 , you get a LOT more with the 4.10's so then it would be worth it.

 

You should definitely get 3.73's, a posi, and a 2800 stall torque converter to wake the sluggish 305 TBI up...

 

im having my Richmond 3.73s and SLP take off posi installed this friday, ill keep you guys updated, MY 90 BETTER HAVE 28 SPLINE AXLES!!!!!