I'm kind of new to all of this modification stuff that is out there! I bought my car this past June (love it by the way!!) I've heard gears are a good upgrade. Has anyone tried out the 3.73 gears? I was reading on firebirdv6.com, in thier modification encyclopedia that the 3.73 gears give you excellent acceleration, but butcher the top end. However, i rarely do highway driving in my bird. Any opinions or suggestions. I've also heard that the 3.42 gears are good aswell. Any help would be great!! Thanks! Oh, it's a manual tranny if that helps!

 

3.73's are great upgrade for the v6. I had a 91 Camaro with the 3.1 v6 and the gears made one hell of a difference. The car was still great on gas too with 26 city and 34 highway, although I understand that that is not typical at all for that year. If I remember correctly it would turn 2000 rpms at 55 mph in 5th gear and 3000 rpms at 80 mph.

 

Rarely do highway, go for 4.10s and don't look back. You won't regret it.

 

What's involved with gears? A newbie question yes, but hey we all have to start some where!!!

 

i wouldnt do it yourself, just buy them and tell someone to put them in!! 4:10's

 

Unless you change the cam and heads, 3.73s will not be of any additional benefit over 3.42s. These engines don't produce enough high rpm HP to effectively pull with a 3.73 or 4.10. Yes guys have done it, but going with 3.42s will produce the same if not better ET without all the additional engine rpms and drop in fuel economy.

 

Interesting point. So going with 3.73's or 4.10's are useless, unless you change the heads and cams. I learn something everyday!

 

You don't know what you're talking about. I raced a buddy of mine with just about the same mods but 3.42s and took him pretty good until 90 when we let off. If it were a 3.4L I'd see where you are coming from though.

 

noob...

 

Don't give me any noob crap. I've been racing longer than most of you have been alive. Those that scream noob don't have a freaking clue. A 3.4 or 3.8 with 3.73s will trap 1 mph slower and .1 tenth slower due to the lack of useable HP. I've owned a raced several V6s, including a GN that runs 10s..... so........ crap-can the noob garbage. Gears will make a difference to a point, but what is added in the low end is taken away from the big end.

 

I don't? Come on down here to Florida. I have several complete rears you can swap. Start with 2.73, then 3.42, then 3.73 and finally 4.10...... You'll find out for yourself. 4.10 may feel initially faster, but the timing slips won't lie. Been there, done it, got the t-shirt. You numnuts should be careful before you start bashing others. Somone else just might have a little more inside info. It's times like this I wonder why people contribute to the board. The instant someone hears what they don't want to hear, the bashing starts. I'll say it again...........Until you raise the powerband of the motor by doing heads, cam or other changes, gears will give a little until you reach a point that the motor cannot make use of the gear. It's that way with any other motor, why people think a V6 f-body is any different is a mystery.

 

Ummm, already there... As for swapping rears, no thanks. I like my 4.10s, they're staying. Even if you are right (and no I don't think you are) I'll be doing heads and cam down the road anyway so I guess I'm set. There's a guy I think his name is Craig (little G some may know him as) and he runs a 13.585 @ 100.05 on a stock motor n/a v6 f-body with 4.10s, weight reduction and tuning. Think he'd be doing the same if he had 3.42s?

 

hehe everyone settle down...

Joe I know you know your stuff, I have consdered 3.73s for my current car. I can see what you are saying definitely with the 3.4 for sure... But the 3.8L is a pretty high revving motor, and with an opened up exhaust, I can imagine some gains with 3.73s. I get where you are coming from, with teh gearing and the motor though

I have thought about 4.10s, I personally think they would be a bit over kill...


either way I have considered getting a 3.42 rear(easier to find), put it in, then take my current 3.23 rear, and maybe put soem 3.73s in. if I disliked them, put he 3.42s back in and sell the 3.73, or if I like it sold the 3.42.

But my interest isn't completely drag race, little autoX thrown in there nothing worse then coming out of a corner at 2500 rpms in 2nd gear, not worth it for a downshift to 1st, but just a bog down on power through till about 3500.



btw Corey one argument I have to make about little G's car, is everyone says his times are because of his gear but he has other things going on with it too. I mean come on he is trapping 100 mph His car is making some decent power for what it is, and he has soem pretty extreme weight reduction.

 

It's too bad a back to back comparison isn't in the cards, will find that a 3.8 will have a faster trap speed with 3.73s than a 4.10. The 4.10s will get it out of the hole faster, but like I said, you lose it on top. Funny thing is that this same scenero was hashed out 20 years ago by kenne Bell, the literal father of V6 performance. Ironically, you can argue with him as I followed his R&D. Now for those adding a power adder, one step lower is the choice. It's the same for V8s just like V6s. You will ultimately find that 3.42 is the ideal gear for a V6 f-body. 3.23s if you have a torque adder.

The biggest problem is what people perceive. Put in 4.10s........ the car revs faster, it must be faster. Put that same car next to an indentical one except 3.73s and both nail it from the start. The car with the 4.10s will take an early lead. By the 8th mile the 4.10 car isn't widening it's lead anymore. as they approach the traps the 3.73 car is trapping a higher speed and is gaining ground. Depending on driver, either the 4.10 or 3.73 car could cross the line first, but the 3.73 car will have been charging up from behind with a higher trap speed. The same will happen with 3.42s only the initial gap that the 4.10 car shows will be a little wider. Again, the deep gears are more for 8th mile.

Look at the LS1 vs LT1 debate. The LS1 has a higher powerband, equal torgw but at a higher rpm. That's why an lt1 often takes an early lead that begins to get erased at the 1/8th mile. Then the LS1 rapidly gains speed and is the average winner at the end of the quarter, even a wider margin by the half mile.( can you say walked?) Even though both motors have the same torque, just at different rpm levels.

It's torque that wins races folks. If you plan on 8th mile racing or playing around on the street, put in your 4.10s. If you get serious about numbers and a longer race, 3.73...... especially if you add a torque booster like nitrous, turbo or supercharger. Even then you may be best served with 3.42s. Change the powerband to a higher rpm by doing heads and cam, you will need to step up to the gears to take advantage of the gearing. As a referance point, my 10 second GN had a slightly better 8th mile with 3.73, but the car has better 1/4 mile trap and ET with 3.42s...... even better ETs and speed by stepping up to a 28" tall tire to effectively remove a little more gear. Now that wouldn't be the case if this weren't true. Those that believe what they want, will go ahead and do what they want. Nothing will stop you and that's fine. I'm not out to convince anyone, I am merely stating facts. If you don't understand why, that's fine too. I'm post a few writeups and post them so that others may read and not take a "noob's" advice. lol!

Here's one: http://vettenet.org/torquehp.html

While this one uses v8s as an example, you will see some interesting info.

 

Yep. The key would be traction and driving ability. My bet is that his ET would only be off by a tenth and he would likely trap the same or even higher. 8th mile would be a different story, obviously 4.10s have the advantage there. By the way, what is considered stock? If you add anything that raises the powerband of the motor like 1.8 rockers combined with headers and cutout, gearing will have an impact.

Besides, weight reduction probably added more (or should I say negated more HP loss) than anything else. each 100lbs you lose will correlate to a tenth reduction in ET.

btw, Eric....... I've been driving your old 3.4 daily for some time now. It just passed 160K and still going strong. I swapped rears about 2 months ago to 3.73s. The car didn't like them. It did OK, but 1st gear was no longer even useable on the street. It ends up being waaaayyy to short. Completely ill suited. I swapped back to the 3.42s. Most times on the street I leave the line in second because 1st is so short. 1st is good for a launch and that's about it. BTW, broke the trans mount again too.