3.27 Gear Worth It?

jcgafford · Feb 6, 2016

1992 mustang aod, stock 2.73 gear. Have the possibility of grabbing a oem 3.27 axle off another 1992 for 150 bucks. Was planning on a 3.55 but really don't have a source to do gears that is proficient at it. This would save me the trouble and cost of paying to have the 3.55 installed in my axle and the possibility of gear whine and such thereafter. Will I really be missing that much going to the 3.27 instead of the 3.55? 3.55 is the most I wanted to upgrade to so the go 2.73 or 4.10 argument is invalid. Thoughts?

Stangbanger95 · Feb 6, 2016

I would at least go with 355. The your time and stall CL. By me there is fox rears for sale all the time with gears for cheap.

A5literMan · Feb 6, 2016

What are your car details? N/A,blower,manual,auto?? Not really a huge difference either way.

LILCBRA · Feb 6, 2016

For $150, I'd do it. We ran a 3.27 axle in the wife's 84 convertible with an AOD. It wasn't the quickest nor the fastest, but we didn't have a problem with it. I would also suggest grabbing the speedo gear from the same car if at all possible. It might save you a little $ for the time being. Then, if you decide to upgrade to 3.55 or higher down the road, you have an axle available for the gear swap out of the car. If you run into problems with the gear install (if you try to tackle it yourself), your car is still operational.

jcgafford · Feb 6, 2016

Good plan on keeping a spare for fun down the road. My car is stock. 100% stock to the point of me taking out everything the previous owner did to it and replacing it with 20 plus year old parts to make it oem stock. The only things that were questionable were the original color convertible top which was white and the gears. Keeping it 3.27 with another axle on the side to play with sounds perfect. Game on!

mikestang63 · Feb 6, 2016

if you have an AOD, then you need either a 3.55 or my choice a 3.73. I would go 3.55 with any Fox body at a minimum unless you are running a turbo.

Boosted92LX · Feb 6, 2016

jcgafford said:
Good plan on keeping a spare for fun down the road. My car is stock. 100% stock to the point of me taking out everything the previous owner did to it and replacing it with 20 plus year old parts to make it oem stock. The only things that were questionable were the original color convertible top which was white and the gears. Keeping it 3.27 with another axle on the side to play with sounds perfect. Game on!

Put the 3.27 in and buy a 3.73 gear for the other rear. I think if i had to drive a stock car with that high a gear in it, I'd get depressed. Stock i had 3.08 and stepped up to 3.73 and it was the best move ever. I think you'll enjoy it. I'd still be running that gear if I hadn't gone turbo and needed to gear up. The guy i traded my 3.73s off to to get the 3.27 i now run with boost- says it's the best move he's done to that car... Something to think about.

Mustang5L5 · Feb 8, 2016

I have the opposite opinion. I have 3.73's in my car with a T-5 and hate it. One of these days, i'll change it out to 3.27's.

Mintsick · Feb 8, 2016

Mustang5L5 said:
I have the opposite opinion. I have 3.73's in my car with a T-5 and hate it. One of these days, i'll change it out to 3.27's.

This, I swapped 2.73 rear to 3.55 in my car and honestly I plan on going backwards to a 3.08 or 3.27.

OP, I'd probably still do the 3.73 - 3.27 swap with AOD for what it's going to cost you.

jcgafford · Feb 8, 2016

Mintsick said:
This, I swapped 2.73 rear to 3.55 in my car and honestly I plan on going backwards to a 3.08 or 3.27.

OP, I'd probably still do the 3.73 - 3.27 swap with AOD for what it's going to cost you.

This swap will be a whole axle swap. $150 total then decide if i keep my old axle or sell it. So besides my labor it is less than buying a set of gears.

A5literMan · Feb 8, 2016

I say do it. Then if you want a lower gear set later...it's only 150$. But I would want the lower gears.

jcgafford · Feb 8, 2016

Mintsick said:
This, I swapped 2.73 rear to 3.55 in my car and honestly I plan on going backwards to a 3.08 or 3.27.

OP, I'd probably still do the 3.73 - 3.27 swap with AOD for what it's going to cost you.

What is the build info on yours? Besides i believe it having a manual trans.

stykthyn · Feb 8, 2016

Unless the clutches are shot or it needs other work I would say it's worth it. If it needs a complete overhaul then pass.

Boosted92LX · Feb 8, 2016

Mustang5L5 said:
I have the opposite opinion. I have 3.73's in my car with a T-5 and hate it. One of these days, i'll change it out to 3.27's.

What do you hate about it?

CarMichael Angelo · Feb 8, 2016

It's a crap shoot.

On the lazy side, 3.27's are so close to 3.55's (the perfect street gear) why are we even talking about this? a 3.27 is so close in ratio on any given tire, what are we talkin' about? 200-300 RPM at 65 MPH?

Really?

3.73.'s aren't evn in consideration,...the original indecision was between 3.55-3.27.

Go 3.27 . Save money, Drive car, never miss the 200 RPM.

Mustang5L5 · Feb 9, 2016

Boosted92LX said:
What do you hate about it?

I just feel like highway RPM is too high. I cruise on the highway a LOT more than drag race.

Typically highway speed here in 80-85MPH, and in order to cruise at that RPM, you can only use 5th gear...and even that is 2500 RPM. Kick it down to 4th gear to pass a car and that's nearly 4000RPM in 4th gear. Just seems excessive.

I just loved the 3.27's in my 03 GT. If I were to swap to 3.27's on the 5.0 that's 2300 RPM in 5th and 3400 RPM in 4th at 80MPH. Just seems a little more bearable.

Mintsick · Feb 9, 2016

madmike1157 said:
It's a crap shoot.

On the lazy side, 3.27's are so close to 3.55's (the perfect street gear) why are we even talking about this? a 3.27 is so close in ratio on any given tire, what are we talkin' about? 200-300 RPM at 65 MPH?

Really?

3.73.'s aren't evn in consideration,...the original indecision was between 3.55-3.27.

Go 3.27 . Save money, Drive car, never miss the 200 RPM.

While I'd agree that wanting to swap from 3.27 to 3.55 is a pointless discussion, this also is not what the OP is really asking about. Never having driven an AOD car though, I can't comment on whether or not 3.27 vs 3.55 is a noticeable difference acceleration wise.

jcgafford said:
What is the build info on yours? Besides i believe it having a manual trans.

Essentially a stock 5.0, T5, 3.55's. I feel like 1st gear can sometimes be useless and I'd prefer the lower highway cruising RPM like Mustang5L5 mentioned.

jcgafford · Feb 9, 2016

Mintsick said:
While I'd agree that wanting to swap from 3.27 to 3.55 is a pointless discussion, this also is not what the OP is really asking about. Never having driven an AOD car though, I can't comment on whether or not 3.27 vs 3.55 is a noticeable difference acceleration wise.

Essentially a stock 5.0, T5, 3.55's. I feel like 1st gear can sometimes be useless and I'd prefer the lower highway cruising RPM like Mustang5L5 mentioned.

Seems most suggest the 3.55 for the manual or even 3.73. For the aod they say to go 3.73 minimum or even 4.10. Your experience with the 3.55 makes me feel my initial thought of 3.55 as the biggest gear to go to in my aod is correct. Also after looking at the rpm difference and the added bonus of the 3.27 being a stock option my mind is made up. 3.27 will be just fine.

Mustang5L5 · Feb 10, 2016

With an AOD, I'd go 3.73 if driven on the highway a lot and 4.10's if at the track. The only issue is that when you are drag racing at the track, you are crossing the line right at redline with 4.10's. As your trap speed goes higher and higher you pretty much run out of gear, so at some point you need to gear down to 3.73 or even 3.55.

So if you intend to keep the AOD stock, go 4.10's. But if this car will be modded to be quicker and quicker than you might want to start off with 3.73's.

LILCBRA · Feb 10, 2016

You're right, 3.27 will be fine. We swapped the entire driveline from a Lincoln Mark VII into our 84 vert. That is where the 3.27 come from that we had. Given the widespread understanding that the Mark VII is a good cruiser and considered to be an upscale sporty car, a sort of affluent man's Mustang, that drivetrain in the lighter Mustang was respectable. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the 3.27's. It'll give you a little better acceleration off the line and still be streetable and tolerable at cruising/highway speeds. I don't think it's a bad choice and probably why Ford engineers chose it for the Lincoln. I run a 3.55 rear in my Cobra II with a T5, and I think that's a good trade off between acceleration and highway cruising too. I can't say whether they performed close to the same or not as they were both built entirely different, but I don't think there would be a highly noticeable difference between the 2 if they were identical in every other way. So, I stand by my first post in this thread, and it looks like it's the choice you've made. Buy it, install it, drive it, and keep the other axle around IF you decide to go to a steeper gear. In the very least, if you do decide to try a steeper gear, you will have an option lying around in case you don't like it. AND, your car will still be driveable while you decide on what gear to install, who will do it, etc etc. Good luck!!

3.27 Gear Worth It?

jcgafford

Stangbanger95

Member

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

LILCBRA

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

jcgafford

mikestang63

Boosted92LX

It's only an inch or two. What's the big deal?

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Mintsick

jcgafford

A5literMan

At least it is lumpy...

jcgafford

stykthyn

I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

Boosted92LX

It's only an inch or two. What's the big deal?

CarMichael Angelo

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

Mintsick

jcgafford

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

LILCBRA

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

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3.27 Gear Worth It?

Member

At least it is lumpy...

I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

It's only an inch or two. What's the big deal?

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

At least it is lumpy...

I want to measure mine. It doesn't look that tall.

It's only an inch or two. What's the big deal?

my rearend will smell so minty fresh,

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

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I wish I didn't have all of these balls in the air

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