Agreed.
If you go with anything bigger i will have to come up there and set you straight

 

I switched my 3.42s for 4.10s on my 97SS. I only have around 400+ at the crank, so I guess I will be OK. 3.42s only had 7800 easy miles on them. Know this belongs in FS sect. but I'd swap them for a nice DS.

 

5.57

 

It really depends on the powerband, not peak power. With a blown 396 it depends on heads and cam. Since this is going to be a street car I'm sure it isn't anything too radical, in which case I'd just stick with ~3.42. The 396 should have plenty of torque, this gear is going to be much more appropriate for the 1/4, and if you were ever so inclined it would also fair well at top speed.

The only reason I would go with a steeper gear is if you find it more comfortable to get going from a stop, which can be a problem with a lopey cam. I really don't think you'll have much trouble getting the engine into its powerband at low speeds as I suspect it's everywhere

JimLab's done lots of research in this area but his engine is much different in character and his car is also much lighter With the drag of a blower, the weight of a loaded Z28, and the added displacement of a 396 it shouldn't be too hard to tame a somewhat bumpy cam without too much gearing.

 

Hey Bubba ...

The " New Tires " ... ( just changed them before we left for Atlanta, the 33's where gettin a tad thin ) are 17.5 x 31.5 with 4.88's not 33's and 4.56... and I thought I had a bad memory Remember we had to change the tire size in the PCM on the way to Atlanta ??

IMHO I would use 3.36's... we are going to be making our power at mid to the big end, the 396 will have pleanty of torque to get you out of the hole....

Also Remember I Make a whole lot comin out ( very little spin helps) and mid is Awesome... not to bad at the high end of the track but could be better, Also remember my shift points, I can go through the traps at 6800 with No prob...the tires and gear are perfect for me but we are also looking at two diff worlds here, meaning your car to my car

BTW....Is that MY Blower your thinking about putting on your Car?
there go's a bolt down your intake

Take Care Bud..........Cos.........

 

4.10s will probably get you some valvetrain bending rpms at the top end of the track. 3.42 is the ticket.

 

I wouldn't make a decision until I could see a dyno graph. Chances are a 3.73 would be about ideal behind a 6-speed but I'd still want to see the graph.

-Mindgame

 

I do like how the M6's came mostly stock with 3.42's and how the owner can keep his lower gearing ratio and start modding away....
My shi'ite gears are 2.73 stock in my A4 and of course I'm going to have to step up...wish my car came stock with 3.42's....

 

Thanks a million guys for all the great advice! There is a lot of great info in here... I'm going to have to print this out and save it!

I will go with the 3.42s for sure as they are the different winner.

Now, just need to find the time to finish the darn engine and get things rolling!!!

Thanks again for all the opinions... I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on the progress! (just don't hold your breath. hahahaha)

 

this one is easy, with that much hp you should have a bigger axle, at least 3:73s or 4:10's with 26" drag slicks or ETs. Most I know with that much hp are running 4:10's or 4:56 gears on a Ford 9" or Moser axle with no less than 28.5" dia drags.

 

3.42 or 3.55 if you can find the gears.

Rich Krause

 

Yeah, however, this is going to be primarily a daily driver fun street car with a trip to the track maybe once or twice a year. I'll have a set of drag radials to go on the car for the track but for the most part I'll just be keeping the normal wheels/tires on the car. I also eventually plan to get a 9" or Moser but not right away so, I won't be putting no slicks or drag radials on right away

And Rich, I already have the 3.42 gears so will most likely go with those

 

oh ok, well the same here actually, it's my everyday driver. I'm a little apprehenive myself about 4:10 gears but the majority is for vs against....guess I'll find out soon enough.

 

Hi Brent, with that much power, it is impossible to have any traction in first and second gears with street tires. Even with third gears starting at high RPM, the tires will also burn out. I ended using the nitto drag for daily driving. Although the thread wear is bad, I am fun driving this about 100-200 miles a week.

The DR is useless on the track. Even with the ET street at 12psi, the tires were still spinning, but at least the car is still moving forward.

cheers

 

Thanks!

Yeah, this is just going to be an experiment. I may end up HAVING to do something like that just to keep the car semi-safe. However, I'm no serious racer so was hoping to get by (carefully) with my regular 315 street tires for street use. Will see what happens.

I also noticed your signature... the engine I'm talking about is also a 396 Nutek built stroker so it should be fun like yours