jeremyferguson

In the morning it looks like I'm picking up a vigi 3500 from a guy not too far from here. I'm eventually going with 3.73's or atleast 3.42's but does anyone see a problem with driving the car occasionally until then with the original 2.73's in it? It might end up being about a month or so......but the car is rarely driven anyways(maybe one day a week when the weathers nice).

On a side note, people with a4's and high stalls, what do you recommend.....3.42's or 3.73's. I am eventually going to go with a lopey cam too......

Jason Dove

Puta tranny cooler in right away, don't put that off. It'll be kind-of a pain to drive, but you should be fine as long as you're not going to drive tooooo much on it.

I ran 3.42 gears when I had my auto with the 3k stall (and cc305 on the stock bottom end). I guess it depends on how fast you're going to be running at the track (because you don't want to have to shift into 4th). Gas milage does drop slightly when you're freeway driving at 2500+ rpm, that's the only downside of 3.73's.

I guess if you're going to run boost/NOS don't get 3.73's, and if you're going to run N/A, it's up to you.

jkipp84

When I installed my 2400, I still had the stock 2.73's and it kind of sucked. The stall will let the engine rev up a bit, but the gears kind of bogged. Not a good mix IMO.. It wasn't a major problem, more of an annoyance. 3.73's really woke things up though.

ABA383

For daily driving and occasional track...I'd go with 3.42s..the 4L60E has a killer 3.06 first gear. 3.73s make traction difficult unless you go with an ET Street type of tire, which is fine, but will add stress to the 10 bolt rear. For comparison my old Chevelle had 4.10s and a TH350, which had a 2.52 first gear..My 95 has 3.42s and the 3.06 first gear. The final drive multiplication of first gear in the 95 is more than the Chevelle!! Assuming a 26" tall tire I'd use the 3.42s, Drag Radials and have at it...
--Alan

boomcase

I agree with ABA I have 342s and they are great all around gear, you will have traction issues with that 3500 even with 273s.

carbed93Z

I'd also like to know cause I'm looking into a stage 1 4l60 with a 3400 Coan converter. But I've got 2.73's at the moment, I'm going with 3.42 or 3.55's but I'll be with 2.73's for awhile. Think it'll hurt anything?

boomcase

no it wont hurt you, 273s is a great street gear that launches alot easier than 342s on the street.

You will only gain 1 tenth in the 1/4 from the gear change.

jeremyferguson

Thanks everyone for chiming in. Just to add some info....like I said the car is barely driven, but when it is, its almost all just street driving. I may go to the track one time per summer. I don't have an e.t. in mind that I want to run, I just want the car to be as fun as possible when driving it. Does that change any opinions about what gear I should go with. I've had the spray on there since may of last year and still haven't hit the button yet(mostly because I was gone most of last season).

blownbird01

I can't believe that no one has told you not to run your car with a high stall and 2,73's. Call any converter manufacturer and ask them if its alright to do that. You will get the same answer. ITS BAD! You will burn your tranny up very fast. The gears will not allow your tranny to properly lock up causing an excesive amount of heat. I'm not going off of what i've heard, I know because I've blown a couple of trannies because of it. If your going to fun a 3500 stall, you should at a minimum run a 3.73. Trust me on this. It will save you alot of headaches. If you plan on only driving the car a couple of times, I should tell you this. The first time I blew a tranny because of this, it happen the second time I drove it after the converter install. Pulled the tranny apart and found clutches burned!

jeremyferguson

I'm sure glad you chimed in with that. I did talk to some other friends that just confirmed what you said. Thanks for saving 1200 for a tranny rebuild. Once again this board comes through in a crunch. I'm gonna go with gears first......I think 3.73's because I just purely want the fun factor. The will probably not see the highway again. Last summer I only put 300 miles on the car.

Thanks guys!

mike 1978

carbed 93Z

i sent you mail, i'm very interested in swapping the 94 over to a car. Do you have any pic's , also what it take to get a carb in there and working?


Sorry to cut in on the thread, but i've been looking for someone who's done this for quite a while