There are nice things about the 3.73's. Passing on the highway doesn't require a downshift, good for booting around town. Good SOTP. I just prefer torque converters instead of gears.

 

What he is saying is without beefing up the traction equation all you do is spin through first with the 3.73s and I agree on that part but if you can get traction the 3.73s will help.
I run 3.73s in my 94 and drive it 30 miles to work and 30 miles home, gas mileage sucks but other than that its nothing you can,t live with.

 

i remember reading that having 2.73's and a converter was a very bad idea... things like the rpms are never higher enough, so it builds a lot of heat in the transmission? after reading all this hype on gears it seems thats what makes a converter livable around town? now im confused

 

I've heard that on here too^. I would do the gears too. Trust me if you could get optimum performance with just a converter..........then why would anyone ever switch gears? The fact is gears do make a difference on most engines (assuming more r's=more power---which on the stock LT1 isn't true) The gears will help and yes it will be easier on the trans with a higer rear gear. There is no substitute for horsepower and gears

 

That's nothing to do with the gears...........that's how a stalled car drives. It's like in a stick car letting the clutch slip. Here's a hint to make it feel like a V8 instead of a 4 cylinder push on the gas harder

 

I've had 3:73's for a few yrs now, and I love them...I went from 2:73's also, and I got a big SOTP feel...

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. My 85 Camaro had a Th-400, 3.23's, and a 3400 stall convertor. At any throttle opening less than 50% the car would barely move. The tach would sit at 3K and you couldn't even tell when it shifted. 3/4 throttle was pretty fun, and full throttle was awesome! There are definately tradeoffs when you change a convertor or gears. Some of the more expensive convertors are pretty good about being "tight" around town, but they will act very loose if you stick your foot in it. My buddy had a ~3000 stall TCI in hos 01 WS6, and it felt almost stock around town. Now when we cracked open the bottle and punched it from a 20 MPH roll it would really slip.(as would the tires) IMO a 3000 or so stall convertor with lockup is the best of both worlds.