Anyone else not liking short gears with their 5.0??

I'm installing 3.27's in my 86 in the next couple weeks. Can't wait.

My Ranger has 3.73's, and while they work great in that application, I couldn't imagine those gears in my Mustang---I think it would feel way too short. Cruising down the hwy at 2500+rpm would get old real quick as well.
 
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live and learn. i think i need 3.55's or the stock 3:08's or whatever with my mods:) i rember when i had my aod i went with the biggest stall like a 3000 and i hated it! i wouldve prefered lower than stock but i thought bigger and better. i had no idea of the concept of the stall converter.........so i swapped into a manul stall converter (t5) but now im going to look for some 3.55's or something cause these 3.73's are bs.....
 
That's the only reason i havbe 3.73's...cuz i needed them with the AOD.

Now that i'm picking my own gear, they just don't seem to be all that great for what I like to do.

I should have swapped the gears when i had my rear end out :(
 
3.27s are weak for a n/a stick car. Got them in my 93LX and I hate them. If the car wasn't for sale 4.10s would be going in. Had 4.30s in my last car (92LX hatch 7,000 rpm 347) and liked them a lot. My new notch that I just picked up has 3.55s and they're nice but 3.73 should be the minimum.
 
I know what you mean about not liking the lower gears for the street. I have 3.90s in my car currently. Works good, drives decent since i have a 2.95 gearset trans. But when i had the vortech, it was too much gear honestly.

I'm going to be swapping to 3.27s here pretty quick since i'm going turbo. I cant wait for the well mannered driving the higher gears will give me.

IMO low gears are way OVERATED, sure they do provide some SOTP gain, but not near as much as some people like to think, and to me it doesnt really feel like a real power gain (it isnt.) I just makes the car feel lower geared, i what you gain sotp wise you lose with higher cruising RPMs and the like.

To me adding a set of hears, or a power adder satisfies the speed hunger more than gears ever will.
 
One thing about gears that limits you is that you top out faster. Yes, you can keep going in an overdriven gear but it really falls off, so you really only have the real pull in a direct drive gear, which is 3rd auto or 4th in a manual. With 3.73's you top out 115-120mph or so.
 
Go to the 4.6 section and its 4.10s for the 5-speeds and 4.30s for the autos. And these are daily drivers too! :eek: The Mark VIII crowd insisted I would need 4.10s but I cant see drivingthat on the highway all the time. I was planning on going 3.55 but found some 3.73s for $40 so I gots em. :D
 
from what LaserSVT and me have figured out i should have 4.30's in my rear and as a daily driver i tell you what i am at my witts end with the low gearsetting i was thinking 3.55's but honestly 3.27s are not sounding bad either and its really sounding like i will only be loosing a little lowend snap but be able to fool around at higher speeds, am i correct on this?
 
from what LaserSVT and me have figured out i should have 4.30's in my rear and as a daily driver i tell you what i am at my witts end with the low gearsetting i was thinking 3.55's but honestly 3.27s are not sounding bad either and its really sounding like i will only be loosing a little lowend snap but be able to fool around at higher speeds, am i correct on this?
Pretty much. It will be much more pleasent at speed and get better mileage. You may add a half second to your 0-60 time but the car also wont top out at 120 MPH :rlaugh:
Makes for driving around town nicer too as you can cruise 2nd gear longer and have the rumbble without it being overly loud and obnoxious. :nice:
 
I wish I did 3.27's I have instead of 3.55's in my H/C/I 87GT with a TKO trans. It does depend on what size tires you will be running as well. I'm running around a 25" tall tire and it spins in 1st and 2nd and doesn't stay in 3rd that long either (aluminum flywheel and shifting at 6k rpms). But I'm not going to swap them now so I will just live with the 3.55's.
 
You bastard, I was going to recommend that.:rlaugh: (You know what they say about great minds....)

I've got 3.55's in mine and was thinking about the 3.31 swap if I ever found some for real cheap.

Not worth the trouble unless your really fine tuning your combo. I once went from 3.27 to 3.73s and didn't notice a lot of differance. I'm now a big fan of 4.10s. However I'm using a t5z with the 2.95 first gear.

Also my wife's 4.6 2v has 4.10s and still pulls 22 mpg at 80mph cruise. Drop back to 65 and it gets 25mpg. can't bitch about that.

Back in the day (early 90s) the rule of thumb seem to be 3.55s for a stock T5, 3.73s for a 2.95 T5Z, and 4.10s with an AOD. It really all comes down to personal peferance and use of the car.

4.10s with a 28 tire is pretty much the same as 3.73s with a 25.5 (stock duia) tire.
 
Since my T-5 swap, i've been trying to learn to love the 3.73's my car has. But honestly, i can't stand them.

Driving around city streets requires 3rd gear most of the time unless i want to cruise at 3000RPM in 2nd. If i go, my fuel economy goes down the tubes (not that I car on a car i drive maybe 10 miles/week). Get on the highway and it's 3000+RPM in 5th just to keep up with traffic at 80MPH

1st gear is way too short.

When i'm in a gear and punch it, the gear is over way too quick and I need to shift. I'm getting sick of shifting and losing way too much time between shifts.


When i had my '03 GT, i LOVED my 3.27's. I could cruise around town in 2nd gear, when i floored it the gears pulled hard because I stayed in them and highway driving was at 1800RPM.


I'm really thinking about tossing 3.27's or 3.55's in. I think 3.55's won't be worth is since it's not a huge jump....so part of me is thinking 3.27's will be ideal for me.

Anyone else hate tall gears?

Yeah man. Mines an aod but I HAD 373's first, then put in 410's and hate em! There fun around town, but most of my driving is on the highway. With 373's I was doing 2300 rpm, NICE! With 410's its revving out @ 65-70mph.
:notnice::notnice: