I've seen a hundred posts like this, but what the hey.
Got my new Strange 3.73 gears installed and WOW my car has finally awoken!!!
Never would've guessed that 2.73 ratio made that big of a difference. Wish I would've done this a year ago!

 

Did you have to mod. your computer on shift points?? I wanna do the same mod. but theres no place around to do it for me and dont wanna spend $400. on Hypertech to reprogram shift points.

 

You do have to reprogram the PCM. If you don't want to spend the money Madwolf (MadZ28.com) can do it for you for <$100. That's exactly what I'm doing in about a week when I go out to sea.

 

So you dont have it reprogramed now? What does it do now that it wont after the reprograming??

 

It doesn't: Read correctly on the speedo/odometer.
Shift at the correct time.
Adjust a few other things in the PCM.
You HAVE to do it after a gear swap like this. You'll WANT to do it also.


Almost any good mechanic can do a gear swap for you, just make sure it's one you can trust to do it correctly.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I was pretty surprised when I made the 2.73 to 3.73 switch also. It made a .5 second difference in my 1/4 mile times as well

The only down side will be your gas mileage. With my A4 car I went from 24/35 to 16/20 in MPG!!

Schantin
1997 Camaro Z28
VA Tech 31 Miami 7

 

When you guys did your gears did you use their installation kits? What were the prices of everything that you needed I cant figure out who also who to go with for the brand of gears.

 

Yes you need an install kit!! It includes the shims and the new pinion seal and crush washer needed for installation. It's an absolute must.
I personally went with Richmond gears for my Camaro. Other manufacturers are good as well, but I already had Richmond's on my 67 GTO and they seem bulletproof to 600lbs of torque (yep, 600lbs )
Anyhow, I got all my stuff from Summit Racing. It was $180 or so for the gears, $110 (approx) for the install kit, and $300 for aHPP3+ since my A4 would go haywire otherwise. I installed my own gears..... but local shops in Alabama charge around $300.

Schantin
1997 Camaro Z28
Virginia Tech 31 - Miami 7

 

Agree totally, except I got mine from www.strangeengineering.net
cost about $290 for the gears and install kit. Most garages would charge about $250 - $350 for the install. Well, worth it IMO.

Schantin- Yeah, I noticed the gas mileage thing pretty quick. I haven't tuned it yet so can't tell how much, but hey I didn't buy a kick-a** LT1 powered car for gas mileage!!!

 

Thanks for the info. I really want to get rid of my 2.73s, I hear its a night and day diff between 2.73 and 3.73. I was thinking 4.10s but heard it would be too much for a A4