me and my bro were on our way back from target and he said to me why do you want to get gears in your car?? i pondered the thought and i told him i would have so much more acceleration. he is no stranger to fast cars. he had a 410 horse lt1 with 3:73's. he told me to open it up. with the new 145 mph tach installed i nalled it and the car reached 130 withno trouble and i began to slow down. the car was still pulling when i let off(ran out of road)
so i said to myself,"self?!" why do i need to change my gears. right now i have 3:08 posi and it seems to be working just fine. he says it can be to much of a hassle if they are installed wrong. he said they are a lot of fun but can cause some major probs. what stinks is i just ordered a set of 3:73's with the install kit and i really don't want to send it back. what do ya'll think??? should i just do some other stuff that is better for acceleration or install those gears?? thanks

 

Top speed? Stick with the 3.08's.

Acceleration? Go with the 3.73's (I made that change in the '57 mid-season last year).

Of course, 3.08->3.73 = muy traction problems.

 

Did you really say, "130 mph on the way home from Target"?

 

yes i did i am not usually a speed demon but there is this road that runs along my neighborhood that has no houses or roads. i couldn't believe how fast i was going. i came into the house and the first thing my mom said was," i heard you"

anyways, how much will that hurt my top end. is it really going to help acceleration that much??? what if i got traction bars and some lowering springs?? that is what my mechanic suggested
thanks

 

What kind of transmission do you have?
T-5s have a lower OD than 700r4s so the top speed would be much less effected by the gears. IMO your top speed will not be effected in any way that you would care about.

Also - Traction problems = Bigger slicks

 

Looks like his sig says TH700R4.

Boxed or tube lower control arms, poly bushings (LCA, torque arm, tranny mount), LCA relocation brackets, subframe connectors.

The gears will make a significant difference in acceleration. If you aren't that "usual speed demon", then the top end reduction won't bother you (it'll still do 130, most likely).

 

BTW with a 3.08 gear my car is mathmatically capapbel of 220mph.

 

and were do does anybody have a place to reah or have the ***** to even do 200mph. good bye stock driveshaft at 165. but anyway what i'm sayin is, u don't need to be able 220mph, with a 3.73 it brings it down to 180. now u prob can really do 150 w/ 3.73 gears.

 

It would be well worth the effort to install 3.73's. They are great for accelration but traction is another issue.

 

In my opinion... 3.73s... unless yer on your road or a track... (have fun ever hitting those high speeds)

And assuming gas consumption isn't an issue... go for acceleration cause the top end doesn't matter if you can never go that fast due to driving conditions... but you can certainly kick the crap outa whatever you are racing (or 1/4 mile at the track) better with the 3.73s... (course might need a few other mods) than with the 3.08s....

 

who needs traction!!! thats how you make a MEAN patch when rippin it up!! my car is really fast and i have no traction, but if i race i can still accelerate very well.. u just gotta know how to drive. unless you have crazy gears and when you touch the gas a little it doesnt stick..

 

me i like traction , it gives you wonderful 60' times hehe

 

I love my 3.73s... actually, i REALLY want a set of 4.10 gears, but my 3.73s are just fine. They give more than enough top end speed with an OD like a T5 or a 700R4 would have, and with if you have a motor with some really ***** (if you hit 130mph, i bet you do) umm.... lets say you could make a chiropractor rich beyond his wildest dreams

 

why not go for a happy medium like 3.23 or 3.42, those are decent street gears, and wont kill you on the highway.

 

i did that, i'm getting about 20mpg highway when i'm doin 70mph.
i was getting 24mpg when i had a 2.73 limited slip rear. my current 3.43 posi is much nicer, It also has a sweet getup and go with out killing the top end and/or gas milage.

 

Why are yall all yellin about 130 mph. No joke but i do that all the time to and from school. Ive done 140 im my friends iroc easily. Do yall just not have roads to do it or are you just afraid of messing sumthin up? I know im stupid for doing it but it sure is fun. hehehe

 

i live on a long island, the longest stretch that i know of s old montauk highway and its like 9 miles perfectly flat and perfectly sraght expect for a 5 degrre turn that you can take at 130. the speed limit is 55mph. i had a camaro cop car pass me and i was doin 95. he had to be 130 at least. but other than that there no where for 60miles that you can do it saly with ot getting caught.

 

Make the swap. you can always gain more topend with heads and a cam or someting. The acceleration will definitly be worth the sacrifice of top speed. I went from 2.73 gears to 3.90 gears and I cant even express how much that changed the car for the better. Definitly go for it!