Noticeable Difference between 3.55s and 3.73s?

[fiveoho]

doing a motor and im afraid my combo will be sluggish off the line (hopefully not....wishful thinking im afraid). to make a long story short, ive gotten way too many opinions on things and now im just way confused and frustrated. i've already got 60% of my stuff, so if its not the best choice im just SOL i guess.

anyway: im fearing the worst that i will have no bottom end (some say i will, some say i wont) so im just planning on doing a gear change also. i currently have 3.55s now. i actually want 3.90s, course as you all know - fms doesnt make 3.90s. but ive heard Motive makes a good gear. im afraid 4.10s will just be too much for a street car ( its a 5 speed).

* would i even notice a difference from going 3.55 to 3.73? im just thinking i wont bc its just one step up?

* should i just get some 3.90s and be done with it?

* 4.10s: too much, right?


thanks guys-

btw: any of you guys got a set of gears for sale? preferably new

 

[86bluecobra]

i doubt there is going to be enough of a difference to switch to 3.73's. 4.10's is a nice gear if you don't have to drive lots of miles each day.

 

[fiveoho]

i doubt there is going to be enough of a difference to switch to 3.73's. 4.10's is a nice gear if you don't have to drive lots of miles each day.

your 5 speed becomes a 4 speed tho

 

[soylentgreen]

I have 373s on my 5-speed. I think 355s would have been a better choice.

 

[fiveoho]

I have 373s on my 5-speed. I think 355s would have been a better choice.

i bet you picked a better H/C/I setup than i did

 

[86bluecobra]

what don't you like about your H/C/I combo?

 

[soylentgreen]

Well, the only engine mods I have are a B303 and 1.7 roller rockers. Intake, heads, mass air meter and throttle are all stock. But, it just seems like first gear is too short.

 

[fiveoho]

what don't you like about your H/C/I combo?

just had alot of ppl tell me how didnt make the best choices......heads are too big. cams too big. intakes too small

just frustrated bro. i just hope it comes out better than what other ppl think

 

[soylentgreen]

Well...u have to take what ppl say on the internet with a grain of salt. There are some people that know what they're talking about and some that don't. It's hard to tell sometimes.

Anyway, consider the car as a perpetual "work-in-progress". Maybe they're right...maybe the setup you have isn't optimal. But, you can always make changes and improvements later. Right?

 

[srothfuss]

The difference between 3.55's and 3.73's is typically 200RPM. Assuming the stock tire size and stock transmission ratios (because these effect gearing also)

 

[fiveoho]

Well...u have to take what ppl say on the internet with a grain of salt. There are some people that know what they're talking about and some that don't. It's hard to tell sometimes.

Anyway, consider the car as a perpetual "work-in-progress". Maybe they're right...maybe the setup you have isn't optimal. But, you can always make changes and improvements later. Right?

yea....i guess.

this is my 1st one.....and ive learned if you ask 30 different people, you get 30 different opinions

 

[86bluecobra]

don't worry what peeps say man. put it together and see how it works. I had to swap out a cam not very long into my car's engines life. i have heads that are 2 small. i have been told that if you have heads that are 2 big you need to run a bigger cam to get the volocity up so that the engine can benifit from them. 1 day i will have afr 205's on my 351w. yes it is 2 big but 1 day i will have a 408 stroker so i mean i will have room to grow. same with your combo you have room to grow. room to grow with displacement. just get it assembled and see how it works.

 

[fiveoho]

don't worry what peeps say man. put it together and see how it works. I had to swap out a cam not very long into my car's engines life. i have heads that are 2 small. i have been told that if you have heads that are 2 big you need to run a bigger cam to get the volocity up so that the engine can benifit from them. 1 day i will have afr 205's on my 351w. yes it is 2 big but 1 day i will have a 408 stroker so i mean i will have room to grow. same with your combo you have room to grow. room to grow with displacement. just get it assembled and see how it works.

'preciate it man

 

[fiveoho]

so...

3.90s or 4.10s

?

 

[srothfuss]

Stick with your current setup. Once your new motor is together, then determine what you don't like.

4.10's are a lot of gear for a DD. They are great, but shifting every 2 seconds in traffice is not fun.

 

[fiveoho]

Stick with your current setup. Once your new motor is together, then determine what you don't like.

4.10's are a lot of gear for a DD. They are great, but shifting every 2 seconds in traffice is not fun.

thanks. its actually a weekend car. but yea, traffic is sucky


btw- forgot to mention, i'll be switching to a tremec trans too. will that make much difference?

 

[86bluecobra]

if it is just a weekend car then i say go 4.10's.

 

[86bluecobra]

my 351w make more torque then the 302 and i love my 3.73's. so i guess to get close to the same feeling you would need 4.10's. but if you could get 3.90's it would be a nice compromise.

 

[Grn92LX]

That combo wants a 4.10 gear. But a 3.73 will do 'ok'. I'll be doing 4.30's in my little pump gas streeter.

It sounds like you are getting VERY bad advice from your friends/people on the net. You picked great cyl heads for your 306. You could have done a LOT better on the cam/manifold choice though.

The difference between a 373 and a 410 on the highway is about 250 rpm's. They're fine for the highway unless you have a pus sy between your legs

 

[fiveoho]

my 351w make more torque then the 302 and i love my 3.73's. so i guess to get close to the same feeling you would need 4.10's. but if you could get 3.90's it would be a nice compromise.

so really i could do either one ( 390 / 410 ) and tell a difference from the 355s i have now