Thinking about switching rear gears

[Palehorse95]

Hello all,
I just joined up and thought that I would post my first question for you gurus out there.
I own a 95 GTS which is pretty much a stock ride except for some c-stripes and the underdrive-pulleys I have purchased and will be adding soon. My question is this: I would like to switch out the rear gearing to gain a little more off the line, but I don't want to make the car completely useless for the highway. I would like to be able to cruise at 70mph at around 3k no more. any suggestions as to the gear ratio I should use? I know that this is not a very large mod to most of you , but I enjoy my tang the way she came(for the most part).

Also, does anyone know what kind of tool is needed to adjust the headlights on this car and where do I find it?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, It is great to find a place where I can talk with other sn95 fans..

 

[GTJake]

I would recommend 3.73's or 4.10's. I can do 90 at about 3k rpms with my 3.73's. I'll probably be switching to 4.10's in a year or so.

Jake

 

[Palehorse95]

Man, That means I should be ablw to make a much larger step than I was considering. I was thinking that 3.55 would be tops. thanks for your help !!

 

[Venom351R]

IMO 4.10s are way to high of a gear for Highway driving, If I were you I would lean more towards 3.55's , 3.73's MAX. Im getting 3.55's put in mine in the spring

 

[Joes95GT]

The difference between a 3.55 and a 3.73 makes the 3.55 not worth it. I would get a 3.73 minimum. My Dad just set up a 3.73 in my car a few days ago and I thought I was in for a lot more than what I got. I cruised home at 75 and was at about 2650 RPM. Yes, my speedometer is almost dead on. I would strongly suggest a 3.73 and if you don't drive your car on the highway THAT MUCH, I would opt for a 3.90 or a 4.10. If I had to do mine all over, I would throw a 4.30 and run on 27 inch tires.

Joe

 

[ponyboy19]

3:73's are perfect for a daily driven stang, and they work well from stock up to 500+ hp. I've had 3.55's in my 94 and went 3.73's in my 95 and unless you had enough power to run out of rpm in the 1/4, which your nowhere close to having i'd stay with 3:73's 3:90's or even 4.10's My friend is running 4.10's on his daily driven 02 gt with a few bolt ons and it's very impressive and he has no complaints

 

[Palehorse95]

Thanks for all the suggestions. My Mustang is a weekend ride for the most part and I usually just drive it around town. If I plan on traveling more than 50-100 miles or I want to load up a bunch of friends, I fire up my 1991 lincoln town car. I wished that I could have found a 90' town car in as good of shape as my 91' then I would have had my favorite town car body with the bonus of a 5.0.
I think that with your help I have narrowed my decision down to either 3.55's or 3.73's ,either choice will be a larger improvement than I thought I could make originally. My more conservitive side will probably force me into the 3.55's because I don't want too short of a gear. Right now 1st to 2nd shift is at about 30mph. I could live with that changing to prob. 15-20mph but no less.
Thanks again for all the suggestions.. I really think that I am gonna enjoy the decision to join up and participate here.

 

[ponyboy19]

the difference on a 26" tire at 75 miles per hour with a .68 overdrive in rpm is 3.55's = 2341 rpms and with 3.73's it's 2460. so your only talking 120-150 rpms depending on which calculatory you use difference between the two.. I'd take the extra's low end of the 3.73's IMO because they really don't add that much rpm on the highway