I am going to be putting in some different
gears..probably 3.42 ,not sure if they make 3.55 ratio. What makes are quiet,hate loud whiney gears..I had richmonds before and there were terrible..and had so so luck with gm motives in my 99 also. Are strange quiet,superior gm,or should I go with old set of actual gm gears..I thought it wasn't a good idea to reuse gears??

 

I bought a used set of 3.73 gears for my 79 about 7 years ago and still have them in today. It whined for a while until the new pattern set in, but I have had no problems with them and it sees regular track duty. As far as noisy gears, the only time I have ever had any problems with noise on a new set of gears is when they weren't set up properly and they whined.

 

When i got my Richmond's put in, the shop i took them to told me the US strange are much quieter, but im not sure if that was a sales pitch or not, but my Richmonds definately whine a little bit.

 

My richmond were professionally installed and to spec.I watched the entire job and made sure..they whined terrible.I was originally supposed to get strange gears but my buddy/installer/speed shop owner
said to try the richmonds..they wound up in his wifes blow lt1 ta and they lasted not even one trip down the track..kaboom.!! but that was wimpy 7.5 rear end. I think I might go with strange
depending on price..should be less noticeable for whine anyway as the 80 has a truck and my 99 seems to amplify the gear noise due to the hatch.And I have a loud stereo in the 80 and plan on loud exhaust with dual electric cutouts.

 

I drove a '01 SS SLP packaged Camaro that had richmond gears in it. It whined as bad as my 12 bolt w/4.11's.

 

The gear pitch (angle of the teeth) and the material they're made out of both affect whine, but so does improper installation. Make SURE you take it to someone that KNOWS how to install gears and has done it many times. Richmonds are loud, but they're pretty darn tough (7.5's excluded. NOTHING for a 7.5 is tough). I'm not sure what these are going in, but if it's an old 10-bolt or a commercial 10-bolt, or a 12-bolt, if whine is your main concern, go with GM replacements. One of the main things manufactures care about now days is noise. That's why there's baffles in intake systems, exhaust systems are about as efficient as stuffing a sock in your tail pipe, they put sissy tires even on 4x4's so the tires don't whine on the highway, etc etc.

And yes, they make 3.55's (although I'm not sure about the 7.5's).

 

I personally like superior gears, I have installed them in my truck and my 00ss no whine at all and cheap to!

 

I have a set of Richmond 3.73 in my camaro. Absolutely no whinning at all since the day they were new! Maybe I just got lucky?

 

Probably just had someone put them in correctly. Replacement gears will whine if you put them in wrong.

 

It possible not nearly as much gear whine problems in these older cars with 8.5 or 12 bolt rear ends..and you have the truck to help dampen noise.Still I won't touch richmond again with a 10 foot pole..where did you get your superiors from..I have heard they are quiet from several people. Its either those or strange that I will be getting...
But also not sure what ratio to get for a supercharged big block..What can a decently built big block with good springs and pushrods and forged crank and all that rev to safely..is 6000 doable..??..I need to know if 3.42 is still too much ,might need 3.23 or 3.08??? I am not sure what kind of trap speeds are possible with 6 to mabye 10 pounds of boost from a 6.71 or 8.71..

 

You can get superior gears from Summit

 

Thanks..ahotrod79...go over there and look right now..

 

What tranny are you running? With a big block, 3.08's should be fine, ESPECIALLY with a blower, whether it's 8-71 or 6-71. Your engine will produce enough torque to over come the high gears regardless. Even if you were to swich from 3.08's to 4.11's, you may gain .2 seconds in the 1/4 mile, which HARDLY seems worth it to me in terms of driveability and gas mileage. If you're supercharging a big block, I'd say stick with higway gears (3.08's, and GM replacements may not hold up, so I'd say go with Richmond and take it to someone you KNOW can install them correctly, like I said, that can make ALL the difference). Anyway, good luck!

 

Well currently just have a turbo 350
with my pontiac 400 engine which is stock rebuilt I think.not totallly sure
on history of the car.Its got dual 2 1/4 inch exhaust and new dynomax turbo mufflers.So currently don't have the supercharged big block torque.
I guess its possible I have 3.08s. I guess I should maybe get engine in first and then see how the current gears work..Its just I have the money to do gears now but not all the money to get both engine and blower,so trying to make the car a bit faster and more fun now. I still might go to turbo 400,some say the 350 will be ok and some say go to the 400 tranny..
Everyone has an opinion..usually different of course from everyone else.
And like I said before..I had richmonds
in my 99 set up to spec..checked and double checked to pattern,etc..they were unbelievable loud..But as I said I do know that some 7.5 newer rear ends are never very quiet and the hatch design can amplify rear end noise. But the same richmonds were super loud when put in an lt1 car and they didn't last even one track run behind a six speed paxton supercharged lt1 on et streets. Since I think its possible to rev a properly built
big block chevy to 6000 for sure and maybe 6500 it sounds like some 3.42 will probably be fine but 3.23 or 3.08 might be fine too. Maybe try counting turns of the driveshaft today.I tried to look on axle for codes but no luck there.

 

Hah, well you can't really expect 7.5 gears of any brand to last behind a supercharged LT-1 with a manual on slicks. I've seen guys break their rearends with drag radials (!) in LS-1 cars with 6-speeds. The shock is just more than it can handle if you get any kind of traction.
Your TH350 should be fine for the motor you have in it now as long as it's decently built, but if you plan on supercharging it, you WILL need a TH400 (or, if you have the dough, you could go with a 4L80-E and still put some 3.73's in there!) Also, if you plan on supercharging it later on, go ahead and get aftermarket gears.