Anyone else not liking short gears with their 5.0??

Mustang5L5 · Aug 29, 2009

Since my T-5 swap, i've been trying to learn to love the 3.73's my car has. But honestly, i can't stand them.

Driving around city streets requires 3rd gear most of the time unless i want to cruise at 3000RPM in 2nd. If i go, my fuel economy goes down the tubes (not that I car on a car i drive maybe 10 miles/week). Get on the highway and it's 3000+RPM in 5th just to keep up with traffic at 80MPH

1st gear is way too short.

When i'm in a gear and punch it, the gear is over way too quick and I need to shift. I'm getting sick of shifting and losing way too much time between shifts.

When i had my '03 GT, i LOVED my 3.27's. I could cruise around town in 2nd gear, when i floored it the gears pulled hard because I stayed in them and highway driving was at 1800RPM.

I'm really thinking about tossing 3.27's or 3.55's in. I think 3.55's won't be worth is since it's not a huge jump....so part of me is thinking 3.27's will be ideal for me.

Anyone else hate tall gears?

tannerc91gt · Aug 29, 2009

I have 2.73s and they are horse ****, if it's a DD then they are fine but I'd your trying to have any fun, they suck ass

NIKwoaC · Aug 29, 2009

Don't you mean short gears?

But I do know what you mean. You'll get used to the 3.73s, but at first, I hated them too. Something I want to do is get a T5 or TKO of some sort with a better OD ratio. Part to blame is the stock T5's short OD gear.

LarsD · Aug 29, 2009

The 91 has 3.55's in it, if I wasn't planning a power adder down the road I would switch to 4.10's. My old 89 had 4.10's in it and I loved them, the T5-Z though had a .64 5th and that made them easy on the highway. 45mph zones sucked though cause it spun to high in 4th and lugged in 5th, so I didn't care for that.

Darkwriter77 · Aug 29, 2009

If you think 3.73's with a T-5 are bad and 1st gear is "useless" in YOUR car, you should try driving my notch with 4.10's and a T-5. The only thing 1st is really good for is taking off from a stop on really steep inclines or putting the car up on ramps, otherwise I honestly think taking off from 1st cuts into my 60-foot time because I probably spend longer trying to find traction and then shifting than I do actually staying in the gear.

The 3.73's in Lynn's Capri are MUCH nicer. The only thing that'd be better would be 3.55's, especially if you've got a lot of bolt-ons or any kind of power-adders, but for a stock long-block with nothing more than a full exhaust and a CAI, I'd say 3.73's are the way to go. The 4.10's in my notch are kinda fun, but the highway RPM's are ridiculous and I hate not being able to get a speedo gear to make my speedometer read 100% correct. (You can get pretty close with 3.73's and a 23-tooth gear, but with 4.10's, even with the 7-tooth tailshaft gear, it's still off.) I would really like to take teh Notch on a long cross-country drive or some kind of out-of-state road trip, but the high RPM's would just drive me nuts after awhile; driving from Phoenix to Jerome and Sedona and then back was a serious test of my sanity, not just from the noise but also the driveline vibrations (even with an aluminum driveshaft, I get mild vibes above 70 MPH, and the speed limit on I-17 is 75 MPH in some areas).

I'd say stick with what ya' got, but if you MUST switch, don't go lower than 3.55's, otherwise it pretty much defeats the purpose of even having aftermarket gears.

silverone 1 · Aug 29, 2009

Had the 3.73s like you, couldnt stand them for the same reasons , went to 3.55 and love em! imo great all around gear.

aar0s · Aug 29, 2009

ive got 2.73's and love going down the highway 75@1900 or so. does suck in town and the rare times that its on the track. Im thinking of going to 3.55's.

1991notchbackLX · Aug 29, 2009

I like my 3:73s, but you're right about first (and second, pretty much) being useless. The majority of the time when I leave from a dead stop I leave from second and feather the clutch out. I regret doing 3:73s because I'm going turbo now, and those stock 3.08 gears would be very nice to have right about now, haha.

I cruise at about 2400-2600m RPM at 70 mph on the highway, but yeah, it's irritating. My car wasn't designed for highway commuter comfort though. It's a trade off for me that seems worth it at this point. A T5 with a better 5th gear ratio for cruising would be awesome to have.

LaserSVT · Aug 29, 2009

Damn youz Mike! I just bought a set of 3.73s 17 minutes ago. I have 3.27s, we could have just traded.

MadDAWG · Aug 29, 2009

I think the new 05s come with a 3.31 gear if you can't decide between 3.55s and 3.27s

rbonella · Aug 29, 2009

Got 3:73's and they are ok. I find myself taking 1st a little higher than normal and doing the ol' 1-3rd gear thing. Since my car spends more time on the street as opposed to the track, I should have done 3:55's or 3:27's. Yea it gets old shifting and such, but 3rd gear is a ripper!!!

skunk21 · Aug 29, 2009

I kinda thought the same thing when I had my original T5. 1st gear was pretty much useless but it was fun on the street and these car should never have had 2:73's . Since then my original T5 blew up and I got a Astro T5 with the the 2:95 1st and .63 5th and it is much better 1st gear wise and tons better on the highway. I'm pretty sure now I wouldn't even say I have 3:73's with the gear change in the tranny, although not sure what it would be. I would think by reading your post you would be real happy with 3.27's .. 3:55's would be a waste of time at this point and I'm pretty sure you don't want to change gear ratio's in your tranny .

92GreenGT · Aug 29, 2009

MadDAWG said:
I think the new 05s come with a 3.31 gear if you can't decide between 3.55s and 3.27s

You bastard, I was going to recommend that. (You know what they say about great minds....)

I've got 3.55's in mine and was thinking about the 3.31 swap if I ever found some for real cheap.

MAC'n89Blckstng · Aug 29, 2009

My buddy had 4.56's and a four banger trans, that was pretty ridiculous

Mustang5L5 · Aug 29, 2009

If i was serious about drag racing the car i wouldn't mind the 3.73's....but the fact is the car is more of a cruiser. When it's a nice sunny afternoon, i take if for a spin after work. I prob get on it maybe once or twice in a 1 hour cruise, so i think a lower gear ratio is right up my alley.

I've been trying to give it a chance but more and more i'm leaning to not liking the 3.73's. Just too short between shifts. I plan on adding HP soon, so more reason to step down a bit.

QUestion is 3.55's or 3.27's.....i'm leaning 3.27's.

strtrcr50 · Aug 29, 2009

The 3:73's aren't that bad as a commuter gear. When just politely rolling around, I start in 2nd, skip to 4th, and go to 5th.

Makdaddymac · Aug 29, 2009

see i agree, i have 3.73's but to me the car seems slower than fast. i guess the gear time is too short to feel like a real speed demon??it doesn't make since,i swear my mustang is slow.......im pretty sure i have some other issues or maybe i grown more immune to speed but i stock 91 seemed faster. maybe the butt dyno's like the 3;27's

skunk21 · Aug 29, 2009

Mustang5L5 said:
If i was serious about drag racing the car i wouldn't mind the 3.73's....but the fact is the car is more of a cruiser. When it's a nice sunny afternoon, i take if for a spin after work. I prob get on it maybe once or twice in a 1 hour cruise, so i think a lower gear ratio is right up my alley.

I've been trying to give it a chance but more and more i'm leaning to not liking the 3.73's. Just too short between shifts. I plan on adding HP soon, so more reason to step down a bit.

QUestion is 3.55's or 3.27's.....i'm leaning 3.27's.

3.27's.

1987LXragtop · Aug 29, 2009

left my a four cyl t5 with the rear from a 4 cyl when I did the 5.0 swap...not sure what gears are in a 4 cyl rear but I cant even use 1st gear and need 2 start from 2nd ..but from 2nd it rips

Vatchy · Aug 29, 2009

With the redline set at 5800 (stock) I think 3.73 and lower gears are too much. Lower gears go better with higher RPMs. If you have built your engine to run up to 7000 before shifting then that is where the lower gears will pay off.

My '85 GT had 2.73 and the torque peak was around 3200 rpm when I bought it. In first gear, run to redline and shift into second - the drop was to about 3000 rpm. Run to redline and shift into third - 3000 again. Seems perfect to me.

Anyone else not liking short gears with their 5.0??

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