Either this winter or next spring I am going to change my 3:42's to 4:10's. I was wondering which brand of gears are more reliable than others and which has the best quality? I know the Richmond gears are race cut gears and pretty strong, but I don't know much about the other brands out there. Should I just stick with a Richmond gear or is there a a better one out there?

 

If you drive the car a lot, i wouldn't recommend Richmond Gears. They are louder than most other manufacturers and tend to have some whine. They would be ok for a drag only car, but they will drive you nuts in normal driving.
I have Precision Gears and love them. But there are other good gear manufacturers out there.
By the way, mine have no noise whatsoever.
My .02

 

Most people seem to go with GM Motives and are happy with them. Strange would be another option, but definately don't get Richmonds for a daily driver.

 

I've got a 10 bolt 4.10 rear in my 94Z and am planning on going the opposite route. I'm going to a 3.42. The 4.10 with a TH400 is a bad combo for a daily driver. It's terrible on the highway and whines a lot. No way to get around it. I'm also thinking that once I hook up a 200HP shot of NOX, I'll kill my topend if I keep a 4.10 in it.

 

I have a T-56 tranny, not a TH400. I have 6 gears so driving on the highway is not a concern for me.

Also my car is so **** loud that I'm willing to put up with a little noise for performance. All of you are saying not to get Richmonds beccause of the noise, but what do u think of the strength of them?

 

by the way guys, is it true that on a 94 and newer you have to send in your computer to hypertech to reprogram it , only on automatic so it shiftes properly, or the car will shift at 3000-4000 rpm's, is that true. also i myself like to find out more about richmonds, and motive and precision. thanks

 

Limited,
The strength of the Richmond's are good, that's why a lot of people use them for drag racing. But, if you are thinking about doing a lot of drag racing and think the Richmond's will help your 10-bolt last longer, they won't. It will eventually go, especially if you're running any kind of serious power.
Also, the high pitched gear whine, that Richmond's commonly produce, will still make its way in to the interior.
The Precision, Strange, or Moser Gears are probably just as strong as the Richmond's, except without the noise. This is given that they are set-up properly.

95z,
As for your car, i believe some cars were made with a chip and some were made to where you will have to reprogram your computer. I would talk to Madwolf on this board. He would be able to give you more info on this and can reprogram your computer for you. You can find him in the Computer Diagnostic section. I don't believe you can send your computer to Hypertech, i think you usually just sell off-the-shelf hand programmers. I wouldn't recommend this, it limits your options. Just talk to Madwolf.

 

94 and newer F-bodies can be programmed by anybody having the right software and ODBI or II interface. My son routinely plays around with his computer settings.
One of these days, he'll get it right.