2.73 Gears Suck!!!!

HISSIN50 said:

i know a guy who ran 4.56's in his (blown) cobra - that is about as high as i have heard of, on a daily driven stang.

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Why the hell?

squall9393 said:

Why the hell?

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Because he was smart.

I know a guy that runs on 4.88 gears in a pretty much stock 99 Cobra. He said he still gets 22 MPG on the highway @ 70 MPH.

5.30's? Now that is someone after my heart. If you were a woman, it would be even cooler.

Joe

Well here are my thoughts. If you were to shift at say 2k rpm for every shift with 2.73s and then did the same for 3.73s you would get better gas mileage with the 3.73s. Sure, you are going to shift more but the engine's efficiency will increase with the change of force applied with the lower(higher number) gears. Also, overall top speed is reduced. THE PROBLEM IS nobody I know can get their foot out of the gas with the new gears

Okay, do they make your car quicker. In my personal experience no. I tested this at the track. No better before or after. HORSEPOWER&TORQUE is what makes a car faster in the 1/4. Power to weight ratio is the main concern here. So buy the engine parts if you want to go faster. Or, you can reduce the cars weight.

Am I saying don't get gears. Absolutely NOT. I enjoy driving the car much more with the new gears and don't mind shifting more often than I used to with 2.73s.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert. I have had my Mustang for only 3 years and drag raced for only 2 years.

Just gotta look at your tranny ratios and torque curve. In some cases you would be better staying in the lower gear for more time. Like if you went with a KB and you own a 5spd, you probably wouldnt want 3.73's maybe 3.55's or 3.27's. With a high-rev application, you would probably want the higher gear.

squall9393 said:

Why the hell?

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I am with Joe - it would be a kick. he roasted 3 trannies in the meanwhile - he said he could barely shift fast enough (he had other mods like bolt ons and pulley swap, etc).

it would be fun.

HAHA, i was kidding about the 5.30's it would be crazy but ford racing makes em for the 8.8

HISSIN50 said:

I am with Joe - it would be a kick. he roasted 3 trannies in the meanwhile - he said he could barely shift fast enough (he had other mods like bolt ons and pulley swap, etc).

it would be fun.

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I love my tranny and my shifter too much and my tires. A street driven Stang? Wow! To each his own.

matthiasj said:

HAHA, i was kidding about the 5.30's it would be crazy but ford racing makes em for the 8.8

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FRPP makes 5.13's for the 8.8. Part # M4209G513, lol.

I disagree completely with jj95 saying gears wont make you faster in the 1/4 mile. I have an auto so shifting consistantly is not a problem. I went from 15.2 to 14.4's with exhaust pullies and 3.73's. No way the HP mods (exhaust and pullies) cut 8/10's on my et. Gears do help IMO.

5.30's matthiasj ! for god sakes why dont you throw on a marlin crawler twin stick transfer case and go rock crawlin while your at it.LOL!

squall9393 said:

I love my tranny and my shifter too much and my tires. A street driven Stang? Wow! To each his own.

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hmmm, I did not say i would do it myself - I only commented upon how much fun it would be.

I'm going to have to say gears do make you faster. Most drag races are to 100 or so. A mustangs theoretical top speed is rediculous, like 200 or something, maybe a bit more. With 3.73's my top speed is approx. 150 @ 5000 give or take. Never taken it that fast but with observing the rpms at 65 thats what I guess. If you take two cars with sufficient horsepower to reach 200mph and gear one for exactly 200 and one for exactly 100, which car do you think will excellerate to 100 quicker? If you say they'll excellerate at the same rate you need to buy a civic and get some stickers... I'm not counting traction issues here, thats a whole 'nother ball game. Mathematically the higher numerically geared car has to excellerate to top speed quicker given equal horsepower and drag coefficient. A 3.73 geared car has an advantage over another car with 2.73's

grrrrrrr said:

I'm going to have to say gears do make you faster. Most drag races are to 100 or so. A mustangs theoretical top speed is rediculous, like 200 or something, maybe a bit more.

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maybe in a vacuum. otherwise, the drag coefficient is insane. aerodynamics play a huge (read exponential) role in top speed.

I liked my 2.73's

HISSIN50 said:

hmmm, I did not say i would do it myself - I only commented upon how much fun it would be.

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yeah, 2.73's arent bad at all if you got the power for it. those make your cars go 200mph if you have the HP. LOL

oh and gears can make you quicker in the 1/4 and can make you slower too if you got too much gear.

generally they wont make you FASTER, meaning you wont change your trap speed. you just accelerate better of the line which makes lower et's