I run 4.10's, my dad runs 4.30's in his '91, and my buddy Joe runs 4.56's in his 10 second NA fox... all are NA 5 speeds. It all depends on the powerband, tires, etc that are to be used.
I don't see anything wrong w/ the steep gear on the stick, it's all in how you use it and what sort of power/suspension you have. Everyone is different.
like stated above, it really depends on your set up and the RPM capability as there is no set rule that stick cars have to run a certain geat and autos have to run a certain gear. The 3.73 for stick and 4.10 for auto is more for a stock or close to stock car. I run 4.30s in my 5 spd LX (street car too) and ran 4.56 and then 4.88 in my 5spd GT.
i had 4.10s in my mostly stock 96 gt, a 100% street car. for me, they were too steep: 1st gear was virtually unusable because at 2500 rpms i was only going like 10 mph, and 2nd went by really fast. at neighborhood speeds, i often found myself right on the boundary between 2nd and 3rd. also, since it was a street car, it also bugged me that the speedo and odometer were way off.
the car did pull great in 3rd and 4th though.
for your goals, i agree that 4.10s would be absolutely fine.
Listen to those who said ... "Its all about application" :Word:
A NA rule of thumb is ..........
The more radical the combo ... The more steep you go with the ratio
As said above ... a radical drag combo will be wild in the sixty foot
so
Slicks to hold it will be taller
thus
A N Y ratio you choose will act as a smaller numerical ratio would act
Its things such as that ...
You can only find from peeps ( those above )
They can be so helpful cause they got the fruit of success
DO NOT take info to heart from bolt on combos and the results they
experienced with steep gears and expect a radical combo like it seems
you are gonna build to act the same.
Just two very different applications ... thats all
i do plan on bringing this car as far as the pocket will allow.....but it will be a slow build....i will take it to the track next weekend to get a baseline...currently its got a 19,000 mile engine,cam unknown(stock i think),bbk cai and maf,bbk x-pipe no cats,flow 40's,3:73's.....car pulls stronger then my freinds gt with similar set up...
after baseline i have an e-303 on the shelf and a nos fogger system ill throw on.....
Good luck at the track! Be warned though, majority of the 94-95 guys that run the E303 cam develop the dreaded "surge and die syndrome" and you will need a way to tune around it. I would do a cam swap last after you decide on what heads and intake you will run as you won't see much if any gain right now.
FWIW, I guess I'm one of the lucky ones since I installed 4.10's when my car was an auto and I left them in after I did the T5 swap. My car was a daily driver with both transmissions and 4.10's were perfect. I didn't mind that 1st gear was short.
Now that I take it to the track a lil more often, I wouldn't recommend any less than 4.10s.
Regarding your e-cam, redsnk couldn't have said it better.
this is about what i figured....just dont have the money for heads now...in a few months ill have some money saved to do intake and heads at the same time...the cam is just sitting there i figured it could at least sound meaner..lol
any ways thanks...good info!
I DO HAVE A NIB EDL PERFORMER INTAKE AND CARB I COULD ALWAYS THROW ON.....AND SOME MORE STOCK E7'S