gear ration for my setup

91BLOWNBIRD

Registered User
I've done a lot of research and searching and I could use some advice on what gear ratio I should go with in my 91 SC with early 5-speed?

Dave mentioned in a post he doesnt like 3.27s for track and 3.08s are good for streetability and 2.73s or 3.55s are good for the track (shifting purposes).

I am not planning on going to the drag strip often if at all and maybe someday road coarse or something.

I just don't like the 2.73s for 4th and 5th gears. I have 2.73s in right now and have 3.08s and 3.27s that can be installed.

According to Dave I should have ~325rwhp and I think ~400rwtq and redline around 5500rpm

I dont think i'll need to go 190mph and would like more 4th and 5th gear acceleration.

I am thinking the 3.27s...?
 
Im not too fond of 4th and 5th gear with my 3.31's .. 1st through 3rd are great for city driving though, but 1st is very short.

If you want to test drive my SC .. feel free to stop by. ;)


- Dan
 
When I had my MPx and was at 350 rhwp/400 rwhp I was OK with 2.73's (and always thought I should change gears) but since I switched to a 1.7 AR and jumped to 403/407 I think 2.73's are perfect, although I'd like to see a little more gear I'm pretty sure I'd have a hard time putting the power to the ground with 3.27's.

Oh and I WANT to go 190. :D:cool::eek:
 
I have a late model trans so i cannot comment too much. But I have been now forced to use the 3.27s from an auto. And I found the gears to be nice 2nd 3rh and 4th----5th 80MPH cruising was 2500rpms, and 18MPG with a fully loaded car driving on the highway. 1st is short with the late trans but still usable and it gives me a sense the car has more power mainly because the tires now have a harder time biting the pavement even with the 285s out back. Now what I found was that I was more consistent on my launch when I bolted on my drag tires, The car did not bog and I nailed 1.7s on my first attempt of the day. Only issue is having to shift to 4th right before the beams. But still allowed me get my best ET to date. With the 3.08s I had a hard time not getting the car to bog and was less consistent. Now 1st gear was perfect with the 3.08s and street tires and 5th was very acceptable for highway cruising. all at 400HP.

For the anniversary I converted that car has an estimated 350 HP.
and the 2.73s and the early trans seems to work just fine, 1st gear is similar to a late trans and 3.08s and you get the joy of cruising in 5th like the car was meant to be. 2nd, 3rd, 4th lacked grunt but the car was still moving it was just a false impression because there was always traction.
 
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Im not too fond of 4th and 5th gear with my 3.31's .. 1st through 3rd are great for city driving though, but 1st is very short.

If you want to test drive my SC .. feel free to stop by. ;)


- Dan

what dont you like? rpms too high for freeway? my engine seems to like to cruise around 2400rpm
 
Yeah, they seem to be a little higher than i am used to. I rarely go over 70-75 mph on the freeway around here in the SC. It feels like it should be doing 90 mph just listening to the engine.


- Dan
 
Had 2.73s with stock setup. Went with MP2 and 15% OD and went with 3.27 and liked it. Moved on to MPX with 25% OD and now going back to the 2.73s. 1st is almost useless with the mods done to it. It does launch very hard which helps freak drivers out on the street, but the higher rpms are just not what I want out of mine.

Have used 1st and 2nd gen of the transmissions also going back to 1st gen.

Would be interested in trying the 3.08s, but I know what I did and didnt like about the 2.73s and with the higher HP and TQ now those issues should be resolved.

3.27s at 70 turning 2600 RPMs but I got 21.5 mpg this past weekend. :)
 
I was just about to post a thread about gears. But mostly the difference between auto versus manual cars.

I had a '94 auto, stocl minus K&N filter and Flowmaster. I currently have '94 manual. THat has K&N, with headers and exhaust. The auto feels like it has more torque, and i always attributed that to the difference in the 3.27 versus 2.73 rears.

Eventually i wanted to redo motor/car, and thought 3.08's would be better, as I didn't think i would be going crazy on the engine output, but would love to be in the 275-300hp range. Highways around here, minus traffic, see 75-85mph, so i was thinking 3.08's could be in my future, since hot enough power to keep the 2.73's and I do a lot of highway.....
 
yeah I just dont see myself getting any more power out of mine with only 91 octane available...so a little more gear would be nice

I'll go with the 3.08s since I wont be drag racing often if at all
 
The way an autos torque converter operates will wind up the engine quicker and will make you feel like you are getting more power. The gear ratios are also different between the gear boxes. But More power will be hitting the pavement with the manual. Unless you are in Direct drive mode 89-93.
 
just feels like the combination of the 3.27 with the wide ratio trans gears gives more 'uuummmmfff' over the manual set-up, and 2.73's.
 
Very true. They should have just come from the factory with 300hp, and better gears, oh, and 400-500 lbs less would have been nice too!
 
Very true. They should have just come from the factory with 300hp, and better gears, oh, and 400-500 lbs less would have been nice too!

Yeah, they are now called Infinity G35-G37s. And now the new V6 mustang can fill that niche too.

But 300Hp is not that hard on a SC nowadays.
 
Sure, time will always facilitate improvements....along with sticker shock. Anyone can go plunk money down on a new car, but no fun in that....Why would we all be fretting over 15-20 year old cars then? I am still waiting for MArauders to come down in price! LOL
 
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