Any of you guys switch from stock 3.23 to 3.73. I was wondering the cruising rpm difference

 

About 3.73/2.73 times the old RPM

 

I was considering gears but I figure the smaller the gears the longer the car will last. Cuz with bigger gears the engine has to run faster and harder (the tranny also) just to keep moving, compared to smaller gears. But to your question, its usually about a 1000rpm difference or more. BTW I was thinkin with 3.73s, which I personally think are too big, you definately need that upshift kit, so it wont downshift into 3rd. Cuz with those gears you're gonna need another gear to make use of the power.

 

I never had any 323s in my bird, but I do have 373s in it now. It turns 2300 rpm at 70 on the state. I'm thinking on going with 410 gears, but I don't do much driving on the state. This is just my fun car, and fun it is.

 

2300rpm at 70mph?? Mine makes 2000rpm at 70mph (in fourth gear), and I have 2.77s, something must be incorrect.

 

Well it certainly isn't MY tach. it's right on. I've got a scanner hooked up while tunning and it's the same. But of coarse tpi s aren't suppose to make any power at 6000+ rpm either. That's a bunch of bull. It all depends what cam and how much porting has been done.

 

I turn about 2300 rpms @ 70 too. Just go to the calculator section of this website and plug in your figures. Don't forget ChevyLuva your tire height plays a big role in the actual gearing that shows on your rpms. I have 25.5 inch tires.

 

You're right, but when people refer to them stop making power at 4500 rpms, they're referring to stock ones. And that is true.

 

"smaller the gears the longer the car will last." Virtually no effect on longevity. Deeper gears rev the engine more, but the engine makes power easier at more rpm. It may run smoother and take less throttle to accelerate and pull hills.

 

You sure? Because the smaller the gears the less the engine works, also the less hot it gets. So a smaller gear will keep the engine work down. While gettin bigger gears would constantly keep the engine working harder, making it hotter.

Its kinda like ephedrin. I hope you know about metabolism and weight lifting drugs, cuz thats what my analogy involves. The purpose of ephedrin is to speed up your heart rate to speed up metabolism. However taking them is not good, why? Because it causes your heart to work harder and longer, which in general terms, you are burning your heart out, which is a bad thing. So getting bigger gears, will cause your engine to work harder and longer, which in general terms, you are burning your engine out, which is a bad thing.

 

Not necessarily. Like when I use to go up to college over the summer in the mountains, w/ 2:73s and doing 70 up the mt, let's say I was @ 1800 rpms in OD. Now that's a strain on the motor and trans (especially the trans). Now w/ 3:73s I can cruise up the mt at 2300 rpms which is a lot easier on the motor and trans. Oh, and don't get me started on supplements. So I guess I should just lay around on a couch all day so my heart can have a nice low HR and not put stress on it.

 

If I wanted my engine to work better up hill, I would just downshift. I'm not talking about getting up hill, I'm talking about normal cruising, lower gears would need less engine use. I can tell you must take supplements, sit on your ***? no, go run for a mile or two? YES. But whatever if you like to have an overrunning heart all the time, thats fine with me.

 

I'm not going to argue about supplements in here, cause I could talk for hours, this is a car site and I'm sure most people would just skip over it. But like said earlier, cars make power at certain rpms. So if you car makes most of its power around 3k rpms and you're running at 2k cause you have a high gear ratio then yes you're putting more strain on the motor than if you say had 3:73s.