I am just wondering here. I drive my Camaro ALL over the plave (from Ontario to Florida to Alabama, etc...) and like my 2.73 gears on the highway because of the low RPM's. I was thinking of adding a Trans Go shift kit and a Vigilante 3000 converter. Will that make a difference with acceleration? Will my car still be a good daily driver?

I am also thinking of adding a 52 or 54mm throttle body ( I can get a new one for next to nothing) Is it a worthy mod? Are there any HP gains?
THANKS!
Mike

 

The converter will work with those gears they will just compromise drivability. Something like 3.23s would be a good compromise to gain back drivability but still maintain the highway comfort.

 

What he said. I just got my 3000 vig in, and I have 3.73 gears. Normal driving isn't bad at all. Up hills the rpms come up closer to 2000, and just driving on flat road, they are come up to around 1800ish. With your gears, the converter will slip a bit more and the rpms will be slighly higher than mine.

 

OK. I have a Precision 3.73 gearset made for a 2 series carrier. I have never installed them. Maybe I should consider it. I want more power all around but still want this car to be a daily driver. Is a 3000 stall to extreme? Should I consider something in the 2600-2800 range? Not sure what to do. There are so many options. I already HAVE the gears so getting them installed shouldn't be a problem. I don't have a converter yet. Thanks!
Mike

 

Smart choice, the first two guys were right on with there advice. Go with the 3000 or you might wish you did later on.

 

I would pick a little more stall over gears.
I have 3400/3.73s in my car while I choose to drive it a lot it is not my only car. If it were I would be putting 20+K on it a year instead of 10K and after having had 3.42s in it before the 3.73s I will say the 3400 stall to me is less of a compromise in overall drivability than the 3.73s are for highway comfort.

Consider 3.23-3.42 with the 3000 stall and I think you will be happy.
Might consider Edge and Yank for the converters too. I am happy with my Edge but guys who have had all three claim the Yank drives best, Edge is least expensive but there seems to be no durability compromise for the stamped cover which is what makes it cheaper.

 

Take it from someone who just installed 3.73s from 2.73s...just do it...car will drive much more fun. You feel like you're always in the sweet spot of the RPM range..which you really are. Yeah, your RPMs are higher on the freeway, but unless you're on the Autobahn or something going 100mph over a long period of time, no big deal. Mine is a daily driver and going 75 - 80ish is only around 3K on the tach. "Cruising" at 65 mph is only going around 2500 rpm.

 

3000 Vig with 2.73's isn't very good, it's harder on the tranny, more slip for a longer time. Gears make it easier on the tranny "less slip". Hope that helps.

 

Thanks for the replies y'all. I'll get the gears installed and then I'll pick me up a 3000 converter.
Mike

 

With your mods i don,t think a 52tb will do much,but if you decide on H/C etc then it will be of some benefit. I put back my 48 w/slp a/f and couldn,t be happier.BTW i am selling my BBK 52 (225.00)#1543,pm me if your interested.

 

You won't like driving to Florida with 3.73's . I'd wait to hear from someone who has/had 2.73's with a stall .

Considering I've had 2.73's, 3.23's, 3.73's, and 4.10's behind my A4 (and now I have a T56 w/3.90's!) I have some experience with low ratios. Yeah, they're awesome for cruising in town, drag racing , and even on the highway, the car isn't bad. Mileage ("average") never even suffered that bad for me, but for long highway trips, it would suck.

With 2.73's, I could get ~500 kms (~300 miles) to a tank (on the highway). With 4.10's, the most I could get was ~425 kms (~265 miles). I daily drove my car like this for ~2 seasons, but I didn't care. Driving to Florida though, that extra mileage WILL make a difference, and for what you really gain, is it worth it?

I'd seriously consider the ~3k stall w/lock-up, a good tranny cooler, and keep the 2.73's .

 

You've got it wrong. 96capricemgr has it right. 2.73s and a 3000 stall are a joke, you where kidding, right?

 

No, actually I was quite serious. Have you personally had 2.73's with a higher stall converter? I would tend to think that the stall would help eliminate initial bog off the line, and otherwise once you're moving, there's nothing wrong with 2.73's (contrary to popular belief ... I should know, that's what my car came with).

I'm just saying, if he is looking to improve acceleration, but still be able to cruise to Florida (or wherever) on the highway, 3.73's WON'T be all that fun. And again, not that I have anything AGAINST running low gears on the highway (again, I had 4.10's behind my A4) I'm just trying to ensure that all options are seriously considered.

Of course low gears AND a high stall are the "best" for acceleration, but if someone is looking to make a compromise, then "less than ideal" combinations need to be looked at.

 

Well capn, you have your opinion and I have mine. For me "less than ideal" would be at least 3.23s. It's not like these cars don't have overdrive. And I'm not sure why many people think that some extra rpm is going to quickly wear out a small block chevy. Mine came with the 3.23s, does that mean the factory over geared the car? On the highway with the 3.73s I just keep it under 70mph. One other thing too is, the stock tachs read a little high, as has been mentioned many times. I bought an aftermarket tach and I'm actually turning a hundred rpm less then I thought at 70.

 

i've had 273's with a 2800 stall and loved it.....wanted a little more stall actually. I've got the same converter in another car now with 323's and while it's okay I actually enjoyed the 273's more overall and have seriously considered swapping the 323 rear out. In my opinion, a stall should always be put in an auto before gears and evaluate from there. You may find you don't need/want gears. IMO a good 3K stall and 273's would be great. My 2800 with the 273's were really nice because you had more out of the hole in general because of pushing the rpms up but still had the rest of the benefits of the 273's on the highway and etc. Pretty good compromise for a daily driver/highway cruiser I think.