come talk me out of getting 4.30 gears(or in)

[mustanglouie]

I am seriously considering buying a set of 4.30's and swaping out my 3.73's. I don't care if I lose top in and use more gas I love the way they feel down low. Am I stupid for wanting to swap? I just got 3.73's put in not even 4 months ago. What do yall think?

 

[Grn92LX]

They might help you at the track with your current set up assuming you can hook. You don't "lose top end" with a steeper gear swap.

I swapped from 3.73's to 4.30's with my set up b/c thats what I needed.

I think the swap will be worthwhile and will allow you to step up to a more aggressive cam (b/c now you'll have the gearing for it)

I also think theres better ways to spend the money but with a heavy car like yours with hci it may be worthwhile.

Also, my gas milage was NOT effected by the gear swap (REAL world experience, NOT hear say)

 

[SuperDust22]

What are your plans for down the road? How much do you really drive the car. If I were to swap the gears, I would go with some 4.10s. 4.30s might be alittle much.

Dustin

 

[mo_dingo]

If you are gonna stay NA, GO FOR IT!!!!!! If not, stick with the 3.73's
Scott

 

[mustanglouie]

well I do plan on staying NA for awhile. And this is my daily driver. Will I be able to tell a big difference between these two gears?

 

[SuperDust22]

I would say yes, I think 4.10 would be the prefect gear since it will be your DD.

Dustin

 

[final5-0]

Several things to think about in your case.

I usually say, when in doubt go the the next step with gear choice

Mike has already talked about you moving up to a hotter cam and I can see where he has a point.

To add to that I say your current combo has not shifted the power band up all that much. I could be going down the wrong road here as your sig does not define what kind of TFS intake.

anyway ......

A stouter cam, shorter runner intake, and lastly, heads that will move more air up on the big end to complement the cam & intake would make the 430's seem much milder than they really are.

Here is where I'm kinda 50 50 about which way you should go

If you are using a street upper intake and are going to stay with the iron heads/e cam AND especially since this car is your dd

430's may be a bit much and 410's might be a better choice.

One last thing .........

Moving from 373's to 430's is over 1/2 a turn

Don't let anyone kid you ... that is gonna be very noticable

You'll need to step your highway cruising speed down a bit.

See for yourself
http://www.allfordmustangs.com/Detailed/608.shtml

Grady

 

[Pokageek]

"430's may be a bit much and 410's might be a better choice."

Yep, what he said.

 

[94-302-vert]

Yeah, I do a lot of driving.. 40 miles of highway a day plus 60 miles of backroads / rural roads... so for me 4:10's or 4:30's are too much since I like to cruise at 85MPH on the highway...

Just be arealistic when you choose your gears... I told myself I wanted to be under 3 grand on the highway...

Now don't get me wrong I would love to run 4.10's or 4.30's on the street... Just not on the highway for a 20 mile run each way...

 

[BlackVert]

if you have a manual tranny, 4.10s are even a little too much for a daily driver, because 1st and 2nd gear are practically useless. but stepping on it in 3rd and 4th:

i had 4.10s and, after a while, i found it especially annoying just cruising thru the neighborhood (think about all the stopping and starting at stop signs) because i ended up shifting into 3rd every the time or revving higher than i wanted to in 2nd.

4.30s would just be worse, unless you just skip 1st all together and launch in 2nd.

if you have an automatic, then it doesn't really matter because you aren't doing the shifting anyway.

 

[mustanglouie]

Okay everyone has a good point. That being said I own a mustang for one simple reason and you know what that is. Just like everyone else I want to make and feel more power for as little of money as I can. When I swapped out the stock gears for my 3.73's I really didn't get what I thought I was going to get with alittle better gear. The only thing I really noticed was that my fifth gear was alittle stronger. Even my gas mileage didn't really change. So I don't really want to spend the money for a power adder and also don't want to swap to a bigger cam or different heads and intake, for the simple reason that I don't want to mess with the motor that I just got rebuilt. So I figured that I would make up for all that with upgrading my gears to a steeper gear so that would make me feel like I have got alot more hp than I really have. I want to be thrown in the seat with the hp & tq numbers that I am making now. So I figured that swapping out a set of gears would do that and would save me a little money as well.

 

[mustanglouie]

To add to that I say your current combo has not shifted the power band up all that much. I could be going down the wrong road here as your sig does not define what kind of TFS intake.


Grady

It is the Track Heat Intake

 

[mustanglouie]

Also Grady what do you mean that my current mods have not shifted my power band up much more? Are you talking about my RPM range? I am also wanting to ask with the mods you see in my sig do you think that I have a higher rpm range? Like in stead of red lining at 6000 maybe like 6500 or 7000? I don't really have a clue.

 

[Black95GTS]

Its not so much redlining as where the power kicks in. The GT40P heads and e-cam are not known for high rpm power.

The track heat is better suited for your higher RPMS as it supposedly builds to 6500. The higher your power band, the "steeper" you want your rear end to be as its easier for the car to get to and stay in the power band.

If you look at Green92LX's combo, he's shifting that sucker at (I bet) 7 grand. So he wants the 4.30s to get him up that high and keep him there.

You also want to end your run down the quarter mile at the very end of 4th gear.

Adam

 

[mustanglouie]

ok thanks for the help. Okay here is what I am going to do. I am getting my car dyno tuned with a diablo chip in a few days. I will post up my numbers and hopefully post up a chart of some kind and maybe then everyone can see were I am at and see if they would benefit me or be a really stupid waste of money. Thanks for the help guys.
To Be Continued.......

 

[Mrgreen94gt]

Having lived with 4.10 for a few years now, I can't say that I would really even think twice about getting 4.30. It probably won't be all that different (between 4.10 and 4.30).

 

[final5-0]

Also Grady what do you mean that my current mods have not shifted my power band up much more? Are you talking about my RPM range? I am also wanting to ask with the mods you see in my sig do you think that I have a higher rpm range? Like in stead of red lining at 6000 maybe like 6500 or 7000? I don't really have a clue.

Its just like Mr. Adam said

Not about the redline but the rpm range of effectiveness (is that a word?)

The 6500 to 7k is not practical with a stock valve train as the springs are kindy wimpy and even if they were beefed up a bit ... roller lifters are so dad gum heavy.

Unless the motor was purpose built and some thought was put in the cam/vt ... 6k or maybe a wee bit more is just about what most stock block h/c/i combos stop at for the most part.

Since you have made it clear you are running a shorter runner intake your power band is indeed a bit higher.

373's really are a pretty good stick gear for all around conditions. Since they are kinda new to you and all ... I'd tell you to drive em for a while and kinda get used to em.

I have wished I had 410's several times but my 95 is a toy only so highway cruising is not too much of an issue for me.

I've taken my 95 to Austin and East Texas several times and we cruised at 75 a good bit of the way. If I went to 410's I still would not have any concerns with a short trip but I would lower the cruise speed a bit.

Farther up in the thread you asked about differences in ratios.

Here is how I'd splain it

1/4 of a turn is subtle
1/2 of a turn is definitely noticable
3/4 of a turn ... "now we're gettin some where"
1 full turn or more ... you're gonna cream your pants

Grady

 

[GRGT1994]

My first real performance type mod was the 4.10 gears I installed myself. They were great . . . for a while. But it really does get silly shifting outa 1st so quick. Especially once I did my HCI, 4.10's would have felt kinda dumb to me. So I dialed it back to 3.73. And I think this is the perfect balance. I run a stick like you too. So here's one guy with the experience of both a 4.10 and 3.73, and I'll say hands down, don't overdo the gear and expect that to be your end all.

BTW, there is a pretty dramatic impact on your top speed (not top end power). For example, with your 3.73 gears you can probably hit 120, but with 4.30's you'd to out around 105 to 108. Unless you are at the track, there is no need to drive those speeds ever, but just so you know. You will be able to just barely crack 100 with those 4.30's. (my speeds are using 4th gear - 5th is not an acceleration gear and its synchros do not tolerate shifts from 4th at redline on power).

 

[Pokageek]

if you have a manual tranny, 4.10s are even a little too much for a daily driver, because 1st and 2nd gear are practically useless. but stepping on it in 3rd and 4th:

i had 4.10s and, after a while, i found it especially annoying just cruising thru the neighborhood (think about all the stopping and starting at stop signs) because i ended up shifting into 3rd every the time or revving higher than i wanted to in 2nd.

4.30s would just be worse, unless you just skip 1st all together and launch in 2nd.

if you have an automatic, then it doesn't really matter because you aren't doing the shifting anyway.

Xactly. FORGET don't fear the gear in your scenario and go with don't overdo the gear. Mine is not a DD and 3.90's are almost (almost) too much for my type of driving (not track). You (almost) run out of steam with mine. PLUS as one fella mentioned and this is true, you RAISE your 0-60 with 4.10's or higher because of the SHIFT to 3rd b4 60. So what street driver wants that and I quarter mile once every 2 years! I agree with him. Oh yea, all yall that are dyed in the wool gear lovers..go ahead and all you want.

 

[final5-0]

Xactly. FORGET don't fear the gear in your scenario and go with don't overdo the gear. Mine is not a DD and 3.90's are almost (almost) too much for my type of driving (not track). You (almost) run out of steam with mine. PLUS as one fella mentioned and this is true, you lower your 0-60 with 4.10's or higher because of the SHIFT to 3rd b4 60. So what street driver wants that and I quarter mile once every 2 years! I agree with him. Oh yea, all yall that are dyed in the wool gear lovers..go ahead and all you want.

I see no need to flame you or anyone else who has had 410's simply because you or they certainly can speak from experience

however

As always, there can be things that make steep gears not the same for everybody.

Three na combo examples to consider
1 Stock stick stang - stock power band
2 Typical gt40 combo - higher power band ... but not much
3 Mikes purpose built combo - power band shifted up a good bit

Steep ratios are not gonna be the same in each example

Cruising down the freeway at say 65mph ... Yes they will all turn about the same rpm assuming each has the same trans & tire size

however

That is not what will be so different ... its about how steeper gears compliment the higher power band.

The higher the power band has been raised ... the higher numerical value of gear one should be using.

Hearing a guy that has a little stocker Stang or even one mildly modded say "410's are too much" would be very misleading for someone who had a purpose built combo that had a 6k plus effective power band.

Like all things ... one has to consider things like
is the car a dd
tire size
does the car see 1/8 or 1/4 mile use
etc

then again ... if we are talking about a Stang with a purpose built motor that turns some decent rpm ... this kinda guy has hopefully thought about all that

Power adders make all this stuff a whole different story for sure
but
Just trying to point out ...... you have to be careful about how you take the info you see on these boards ......

What the guy says may be true, but it may be all wrong, for you

One more thing and I am done ............

Weight is also a thing that needs to be considered when talking about rear gear selection.

A rule of thumb is the ratio gets steeper as the weight increases.

Grady