What is your opinion? 3.80 or 4.10 8" rear
- Thread starter bryanvw61
- Start date
ratio411
Founding Member
Well heck... one of the previous posters said your 1st gear was 3.35.
I guess they were mistaken!
Well the 2.95 changes things.
I stand on my 3.80 opinion again.
That gives you 11.21 in first gear.
Not bad at all.
The wide ratio Toploader is only the most kick@ss tranny to come out
of Detroit during the time our cars were built.
2.78-1.93-1.36-1.00 is the gear spread.
Your tranny looks to have a very nice gear spread.
Maybe "close ratio" in T5 speak means something different than "close ratio"
in Toploader speak.
I can't stand 5 speeds that have a granny low in the 3s, and then have 2nd
gear fall flat on it's face in comparison.
I would say close ratio was used differently...lol 
anyways i did order a set of 4.11s and this is why...
my 1998 Jetta GT has the sweetest gear ratios and just loves to pull, so to settle the vote of 3.80 or 4.11 (I know my 4.10 was incorrect) i popped all the numbers in a gear ratio calc and wah la, the 4.11 combo was very similar to the jetta numbers, so i let that be the deciding vote.
this motor will probably wind up fast, but what the hey, if I don't like the 4.11, it'll be an excuse to rip it apart again and put a little trac-lock in it with 3.80s
anyways i did order a set of 4.11s and this is why...
my 1998 Jetta GT has the sweetest gear ratios and just loves to pull, so to settle the vote of 3.80 or 4.11 (I know my 4.10 was incorrect) i popped all the numbers in a gear ratio calc and wah la, the 4.11 combo was very similar to the jetta numbers, so i let that be the deciding vote.
this motor will probably wind up fast, but what the hey, if I don't like the 4.11, it'll be an excuse to rip it apart again and put a little trac-lock in it with 3.80s
ultrastang
Founding Member
"Back in the day," the early Mustangs with a Top-Loader 4-speed came with a 2.78 1st gear.
In the Mustangs like the Boss 302s (designed for Trans Am [road] racing), they came with close ratio Top-Loader 4-speeds with a 2.32:1 1st gear.
The 5.0L LX/GT Mustangs came with T-5s that had a 3.35:1 1st gear ratio. The Mustangs like the '93 Cobras used the "Z-spec" T-5s with a 2.95:1 1st gear.
To determine your torque multiplication ratio, multiply your transmission's 1st gear ratio by the rear end ratio. Example: Z-spec T-5 1st gear's 2.95 x rear end ratio of 4.11:1 = 12.12:1
http://ultrastang.com/Page.asp?PageID=9
To determine final drive ratio, multiply your transmission's high gear ratio (or overdrive ratio) by the rear end's ratio. Example: Z-spec T-5 5th gear's .62 x 4.11 rear ratio = 2.55:1 final drive.
http://ultrastang.com/Page.asp?PageID=8
This is what happens to your engine's RPMs with and without an overdrive:
http://ultrastang.com/Page.asp?PageID=8
In the Mustangs like the Boss 302s (designed for Trans Am [road] racing), they came with close ratio Top-Loader 4-speeds with a 2.32:1 1st gear.
The 5.0L LX/GT Mustangs came with T-5s that had a 3.35:1 1st gear ratio. The Mustangs like the '93 Cobras used the "Z-spec" T-5s with a 2.95:1 1st gear.
To determine your torque multiplication ratio, multiply your transmission's 1st gear ratio by the rear end ratio. Example: Z-spec T-5 1st gear's 2.95 x rear end ratio of 4.11:1 = 12.12:1
http://ultrastang.com/Page.asp?PageID=9
To determine final drive ratio, multiply your transmission's high gear ratio (or overdrive ratio) by the rear end's ratio. Example: Z-spec T-5 5th gear's .62 x 4.11 rear ratio = 2.55:1 final drive.
http://ultrastang.com/Page.asp?PageID=8
This is what happens to your engine's RPMs with and without an overdrive:
http://ultrastang.com/Page.asp?PageID=8
Dude, you're talkin my language. It doesn't get any better than a wide ratio toploader gear set.....
ultrastang
Founding Member
Dude, you're talkin my language. It doesn't get any better than a wide ratio toploader gear set.....
I don't know. I have an old (wide ratio) Top-loader 4-speed that used to be in my '68 when the '68 was my daily driver (1982-1989). Granted, It's a tough transmission and all, but it's not pleasant with low rear end gears and cruising out on the highway due to the high engine RPMs it induces. The whole experience is much better with an overdrive if your vehicle is street/highway driven. The overdrive gives you the best of both worlds with being able to run low rear end gears and also be able to keep the engine revs low at speed.
Unless I was to build a track-only car, I seriously doubt I would ever use my Top-Loader again.
