i know this has been asked many many times but im going from 2.73's and want a nice upgrade, i know i need the spacer and stuff but this car will be my daily driver, and im not worried about loosing a little MPG really, i want the car to have really good pickup, having a tough time deciding between the 3.42 and 3.73 gears, the car wont be heavily modded, just cai, exhaust, some other bolt ons, so any input is appreciated, thank you!

 

For auto car the 3.73 would be a good choice. I went from 2.73 to 3.73 and it made a huge difference.

 

Do not put 373s if you do alot of driving on the highway , your mpg will go , 342s is a great gear all the way around and a big jump from 273s, I made that jump myself and cannot imagine 373s, I have no traction now with nitto drags.If you want good pickup go out and buy a TCI superstreet fighter 3500 stall torque converter and dont change the gears, you will have a whole new animal with that converter and your gas milage will not change

 

All my times were with 3.23's and I just installed 3.73's, with the O/D I don't think it will kill the milage that bad...
Plus my rpm at the traps will be closer to what I need...

 

I have been building cars for a long time. Usually with an auto tranny you go down one size in ratio from a manual to get equal performance. 3.73 with an auto is like a 4.10 in a manual, 3.42 in an auto is like a 3.73 in a manual & on......!
In my experience if you have an auto and an engine with alot of torque a 3.42 is probably your best all around gear. If your engine is small and not so much torque then the 3.73 gear would probaly be the better choice. I am talking about daily drivers here, not weekend warriors!

 

I have 3.42's because I got a good deal on a complete rear out of a M6 car (originally had 2.73). I'm very happy with them, but if I was just doing gears I would've opted for 3.73's. At highway speeds there's only about 200 RPM difference between 3.42/3.73.

 

The 3.73's work well with the auto cars, and like 2001NBM said you will only pick up 200 MORE RPM over the 3.42's. You are the one who must decide what you want, the 3.73's will make the car quicker if you can get it hooked. I have both if your interested......

 

I agree with carnutz The 373s might be quicker , but you will need to hook it first, I have done alot of gears and IMO 342s is the perfect gear for an all around street strip car. But you should think about a torque converter first , Gears will only net you maybe about 2 tenths in the 1/4 and torque converter will net you 4 to 7 tenths in the 1/4 mile and make your car with 273s much more fun to drive. Trust me I went with a TCI 2800 converter with 273s and some boltons and my 99 ta went 12.40s at 110mph in the 1/4, I have since put 342s in it and all i can do now is burn , up the nittos.

 

Agreed! The 3.42 is the best all around gear. The first gear in the L60E Transmission is very low ratio , so hooking up with street tires is a problem with 3.42 gears and a bigger problem with 3.73s

 

Matto I'm in your position except I already have 3.23s. Guys, what do you think I should do? I already have in my possession brand new 3.42s, but have been getting real confused on whether I should opt for 3.73s. I have Nitto 315 DRs on my car so that should help a little with traction. I don't know if Matto's car is lightly modded or heavily modded, but I have a lot of bolt-on's already including longtubes. Should I perhaps go with the 3.73s, even though the car is my daily driver?

 

3.42's came standard with my M6. I dont see anything special aout them. Im thinking about an upgrade

 

There's not enough info here to make a reccomendation. How is the car driven? What the mods/plans for the future? In general, I'd very much agree deeavi though.

If it's a strip car, you want to pick a gear/tire combo that puts you just over peak power through the traps in a 1:1 gear (3rd in an A4, 4th in an M6). But this will likely not be an optimal street gear. For example, I'm using a TH400, and 3.42's are perfect for strip use for me with a 27" tire. But with a high stall converter, street tire traction is a joke and 3.23's with a tighter converter or even lower would be a better choice for street use.

Rich Krause

 

Hey Firebird 323s is a good gear , not woth the extra time or money to go to 342s , you will gain nothing. Just buy a torque converter , that is the best mod for us A4 guys hands down. Many people are cutting great 60ft times with 323s, low 1.60s. spend the money on TQ you wont regret it.