Gears vs Heads

Cobain03

Active Member

Aug 27, 2003

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Lexington, Ky

Jul 12, 2006

#1

• Jul 12, 2006

• #1

which has the most bang for the buck? my mods are in my sig so i dont know. im not about pure power, just want a little more giddy up here and there.

also, which gears should i go with? t-lock also?

 

dodgestang

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Dec 15, 2003

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Cecil County, MD

Jul 12, 2006

#2

• Jul 12, 2006

• #2

3.25s

 

Cobain03

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Aug 27, 2003

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Lexington, Ky

Jul 12, 2006

#3

• Jul 12, 2006

• #3

i guess i should add... i have a c4 3 speed auto with i THINK 2.80 gears.have not jacked it up and checked. i dont want to rely on the tag on the diff.

 

iskwezm

10 Year Member

May 24, 2005

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Rowland Heights,California

Jul 12, 2006

#4

• Jul 12, 2006

• #4

3.55's or 3.80's

 

Great68

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May 16, 2002

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Victoria BC

Jul 12, 2006

#5

• Jul 12, 2006

• #5

Gears, cheaper and easier to do.

That being said, I ran the same E.T. prior to my head swap with 3.40 gears as I did with the heads and 2.80 gears.

 

Cobain03

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Lexington, Ky

Jul 12, 2006

#6

• Jul 12, 2006

• #6

no way 3.80s. im hesisant on 3.55s

 

washMO66

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Jul 12, 2006

#7

• Jul 12, 2006

• #7

1. What do you use your car for? Daily - toy
2. What does your driving consist of? Hwy - interstate - cruise

I would say if it is just a toy and you cruise and just play with it - 3:70's

I would say that if it is a toy that you drive on the hwy alot - 3:55's

If it is a daily - 3:55's to 3:25's depending on what you want to spend on gas.

Your not going to get the real seat of the pants feel until to you get to a 3:55 in my opinion (flame away)

 

Cobain03

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Lexington, Ky

Jul 12, 2006

#8

• Jul 12, 2006

• #8

but 3.25s would still wake it up from the stock 2.80s

 

washMO66

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#9

• Jul 12, 2006

• #9

Cobain03 said:

but 3.25s would still wake it up from the stock 2.80s

Click to expand...

so would 2:81's but not as much as 3:55's

You didn't answer the question but it sounds like you have made up your mind, good luck.

-Todd

 

Cobain03

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Aug 27, 2003

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Lexington, Ky

Jul 12, 2006

#10

• Jul 12, 2006

• #10

i havent decided on nothing.

car is not a DD, but i have done highway runs before. it is a toy and gas consumption is well, no helping that unless i go the Fast and Furious direction.

 

washMO66

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Jul 12, 2006

#11

• Jul 12, 2006

• #11

3:55

 

fasttback

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Apr 16, 2005

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Jul 12, 2006

#12

• Jul 12, 2006

• #12

IMO: 3.25 or 3.50 with the 1:1 gear in the transmission. If you ever plan on upgrading to an over drive transmission go 3.50+.

When I had to make this decision it was based on operating/power range of the motor, transmission type, wheel size, and city vs. freeway driving.

 

69Rcode_Mach1

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Apr 20, 2004

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Salt Lake City, Utah

Jul 13, 2006

#13

• Jul 13, 2006

• #13

I will throw in a vote here for the 3.55's.

 

dennis112

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May 15, 2005

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Amish Wonderland of Central PA.

Jul 13, 2006

#14

• Jul 13, 2006

• #14

washMO66 said:

1. What do you use your car for? Daily - toy
2. What does your driving consist of? Hwy - interstate - cruise

I would say if it is just a toy and you cruise and just play with it - 3:70's

I would say that if it is a toy that you drive on the hwy alot - 3:55's

If it is a daily - 3:55's to 3:25's depending on what you want to spend on gas.

Your not going to get the real seat of the pants feel until to you get to a 3:55 in my opinion (flame away)

Click to expand...

Washmo66 pretty much sums it up.

FYI, your rear tire size should be part of your decision.

As a point of reference, with a 25" rear tire and a 3:70, I run 3000rpm at 60mph. 3:55's would be about 2800rpms.

 

Vinyl66

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Jul 13, 2006

#15

• Jul 13, 2006

• #15

I agree. 3.55's

 

S

steel1212

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Frankfort, Ky

Jul 13, 2006

#16

• Jul 13, 2006

• #16

Your choice is pretty much limited to 3.25s or 3.50s if there was a 3.35 or so I would say that. Like I've told you before if you had a 9 inch I could let you try my spare chunk its got 3.25 but its open. Call or email MAEracing.com They are somewhere here in KY, they could build you anything you want.

 

iskwezm

10 Year Member

May 24, 2005

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Rowland Heights,California

Jul 13, 2006

#17

• Jul 13, 2006

• #17

i used to drive mine all the time with the 3.80's and a auto. My friend had 4.11's and a auto, but i guarantee you get 3.25's and your gonna kick yourself in the ass for not going deeper

 

washMO66

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Jul 13, 2006

#18

• Jul 13, 2006

• #18

iskwezm said:

i used to drive mine all the time with the 3.80's and a auto. My friend had 4.11's and a auto, but i guarantee you get 3.25's and your gonna kick yourself in the ass for not going deeper

Click to expand...

....and if you go 3.55 (or more) you'll already have the kick in the ass......

 

302 coupe

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Macon, Ga.

Jul 13, 2006

#19

• Jul 13, 2006

• #19

not to mention, the heads would really be waste if you kept the 2.80 gears, lol. Do gears first, 3.50 or so.

 

B

bnickel

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lubbock, texas

Jul 13, 2006

#20

• Jul 13, 2006

• #20

i've got 3.25's in my 9", i like them. if i had overdrive i would probably go 3.70's. with a non-od trans i would go either 3.25 or 3.50 depending on how much you drive on the highway/freeway. if spend most of your time driving in town and rarely get on the highway/freeway then 3.55's will give you more grunt off the line and in some cases can actually improve mileage because the engine doesn't have to work as hard to get the car moving, however if you want to get up on the freeway or take a road trip you'll likely wish you had your 2.80's back so the 3.25 would be the better way to go in that case.