Would 3.73's mess my traction up totally?

I want to get 3.73's to not stress my car hard on the freeway and be able to get off the line a bit quicker without feeling like i'm in a pickup truck hehe. Only problem is, traction is not too great right now. I plan on getting LCA's and reloc. brackets but even then I know it's not going to be too nice on the tires haha. Will 3.73's make it majorly worse or is it dealwithable??

What gear are you currently running? I do not understand how you are currently stressing the motor. For example I would think if you were going from a 3.42 to a 3.73 you would be working the motor more because your will be turning more rpms.

The 3.42's put too much load on the freeway in 6'th gear. If you hit an type of slight incline the load goes way up. I don't like that... I get the feeling that my car is very heavy, which it is, but it has a ****load of power so it shuldn't feel like that. It should feel light and nimble. That's why I was thinking of upping the gears a tick.

With that cam I'd think you'd be better off with 3.73's anyway. If you are only bothered by it in 6th gear though, consider swapping the .50 ratio 6th for a .62 6th like the '93 model M6's had. I have long considered that and will probably do it one day. I have heard it's actually quite an easy swap if you are only looking to change 5th and/or 6th gear(s). Having the closer ratio 6th gear in there would make the upshift to 6th feel more like the upshifts to the other gears.......rather than feeling like an A4 that's upshifting to 4th and then having the torque converter lock up right away ("bog") .....I know what you mean, I don't care for the extra tall 6th either except on long, long trips which are very rare for my Z.

96 WS6 I thought you were doing a 383 buildup. If you are and plan to throw down big numbers. But if your keeping your current setup or building the motor it is going to make a lot harder to hook up, go attack the whole suspension if your going to do the gear. If you don't you only going to hurt your 60ft times more.

Aren't the stock 5th and 6th gears in a T56 like .70:1 and .50:1 ratios? If so, then shouldn't you change the 5th gear to like a .80:1 ratio if you change 6th to a .62:1 ratio? Just doesn't make alot of sense to me to go from .70:1 in 5th to a .62:1 in 6th.

I usually keep mine in 5th gear until I hit the nice flat spots on the freeway where I can do 75 so the engine doesn't work as hard in 6th.

Originally posted by 97WS6SCharged
Aren't the stock 5th and 6th gears in a T56 like .70:1 and .50:1 ratios? If so, then shouldn't you change the 5th gear to like a .80:1 ratio if you change 6th to a .62:1 ratio? Just doesn't make alot of sense to me to go from .70:1 in 5th to a .62:1 in 6th.

I usually keep mine in 5th gear until I hit the nice flat spots on the freeway where I can do 75 so the engine doesn't work as hard in 6th.

The main difference between the '93 model T-56 and the rest of them is the difference in ratios in gears 1 - 3 to accomodate CAGS and the difference in 6th gear. I believe 5th gear is .75 in every T-56. But 6th gear is .62 in the '93 model, ask any '93 owner and they will tell you their T-56 feels like a close ratio tranny on every shift. The '93 is a slightly broader pattern from 1st to 3rd which is actually an advantage (1st isn't so damn high like it is on the other T-56's so you don't have to glaze the hell out of the clutch and/or tires on launch). 1st is higher on the later model years due to CAGS so the skip-shift from 1st to 4th won't wind up being quite as bad of a bog. The advantage of the '94 and up T-56 is the higher max torque capacity due to the higher ratio 1st gear (2.62) not torquing the shafts as hard.

The timing of shifting is more involved than target speeds or flat spots, it's load-relative as well. There may be times it's most efficient to use 6th at 50 MPH, then there are other times you shouldn't be using it until 150 MPH ....it all depends on gearing and load.

Originally posted by canbaufo
I believe 5th gear is .75 in every T-56.


i think its .80 in the 93's

Don't worry about traction. Pick your gears based on your tire diameter, and put a suspension on the car. You'll be fine.

I say keep the 3.42's. I recently switched from 4.10's to 3.42's because the car was completely unuseable. 3.42's are perfect. I have the 218-230-114 Comp Cam. I cant wait to make more power BUT, would never veer far from this ratio.

I think I want to get 3.73's... I got a little money laying around. What the best place to get some motives???