I finished my 3.42 rear gears change over today...put new pads and calipers on the front, new ES bushing up front, rear, TQ arm and endlinks, LE1 Alumin driveshaft. I dont know if its just me but I cant really tell a difference in the new gears......I wonder why? maybe cause I was expecting a BIG! differnece..I went from 2.73 to 3.42

Im going to the track here in an hr and see what the difference is in the 1/8th ...if there is any at all! ITs the first cruise-in/car show of the year and it should be packed! Im all cleaned and ready!

next on my list in the next week is a stall converter...and if that doesnt give me a SOTP change then......the hell with this car!

plus Im tapped out on my credit cards!..LOL

I'll probably be one of the car that the 3.42 made slower! DAMNIT!

 

I've been wanting to do this for awhile now keep us posted on you progress ,and how the 3.42's affect you gas milage with gas going up every day I may postpone this to a later date. Good Luck at the track.

 

Did you recalibrate the governor in the transmission. Your trans is shifting as if it still had the 2.73s in. Get a governor kit from B&M and change the inner weights to lighter weights in the governor. Also put lighter springs

That should help.

 

did you have it done at GM like you were talking about in previous posts? lol make sure they actually put the gears in i always ask for my old parts back when having something done at a shop. trust no one...

you should notice a dramatic difference when stepping up that high. see how easier it is to light em up now

 

What track do you go to I live in Winston Salem, well really Germanton im in between them did you install them yourself or did you go somewere if so were?

 

You might have to shift the tranny manually to take full advantage of your gears. In any case, the stock TPI system drops off, power wise after 4500 rpm

 

A gear change will not turn a slow car into a faster one.

 

But it will make a 2.73 car faster when it goes to 3.42s. Mine sure did.

 

which is better for a 3rd gen with a 305, 3.42 gears or 3.73 gears?

 

Depends on your setup. If your system is set up for running with the powerband around say 3000-5000 and your gear makes you run at 6000, it won't help

 

Ah yes, the fastest SOTP car in Canada.....

 

i would have broke it in more then an hour....hope you didn't ruin anything. 3.42's are alright but they are still a stock gear number. 3.73's are fun but you can always use more!

 

I donno. More than 3.73 and I would be afraid. I had 4.10s and they sucked gas. 200 miles cruising on a tank of gas. Now I get 300 with my 3.73.

 

hmmmm wow.....umm i'm getting my car out of storage wednesday (april 14) and i was going to take it to the shop and get some 3.42's put in it. Now im not so convinced...what should i do? any advice?? i definitely want to upgrade the gearing i have in there but i dont want to sacrifice huge amounts in gas mileage.

Thanks in advance

 

Around town you won't notice any loss of mileage. In fact, I get better mileage than I did with 2.73s! (Went from 18 mpg tops to 19.5!) You will lose a little on the highway but not enough to worry about--maybe a mile or two per gallon.