Gears and exhaust

Nick_Rapitis

New Member
Mar 4, 2007
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I'm looking to get new gears for my 2000 3.8, any of you know which is better, 3.37 or 4.10? I want it to be quicker off the line even though i dont really race it because my brother has a firebird and even though they have the same size engine and roughly the same top end speed his gets going way faster and im tired of hearing about it, so if anyone cane help it would be great!

I also want to make it sound more like a bad a$$ muscle car and i already have duals form the cat back but its the 2 into 1 into 2 setup with two mufflers, it has 2 1/2 inch pipe the whole way through, wht can i do to make it throatier?
 
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People usually got with 3.73 if stick and 4.10 when auto, but don't fear the gears and go with 4.10's anyways. And if you get the gears, you better get the T-lok at the same time or just one wheel with spin instead of 2 ;)

If you want better sound, start from the engine and get headers (you got manifolds), then aftermarket H or X-pipe with cats (hi-flow), then any catback system you like. I got X-pipe and Magnapacks on my pony and I love how it sounds :)
 
If you have never installed gears before don't do it, take it to a shop. It's a job that has to be done right the first time. One reason you don't leave as quick is your exhaust. It's too free flowing which kills low end torque. Dual 2.5" pipe is way to big for a stock 3.8.
 
If you have never installed gears before don't do it, take it to a shop. It's a job that has to be done right the first time. One reason you don't leave as quick is your exhaust. It's too free flowing which kills low end torque. Dual 2.5" pipe is way to big for a stock 3.8.

Strangely enough, but my pony only got faster with 2.5" from the headers and back. And on a dyno it was above stock the whole run, so I don't think I lost anything :lol:
 
Strangely enough, but my pony only got faster with 2.5" from the headers and back. And on a dyno it was above stock the whole run, so I don't think I lost anything :lol:






If you had your car on a dyno it's probably not 'stock' anymore and I'll bet you would gained even more with smaller pipes. 5" pipe is way more than a 'stock' .3.8 needs.
 
thanks a lot for all the info, it seem slike it goes both ways though, as far as the exhaust, the 2 1/2's are staying because im not gonna buy a whole new exhaust for it but deffinately will get the h pipe, as afr as the gears, my brother told me it'll cost like 700 to put em in so i dont know if i'll be getting that done any time soon either if he's right
 
You don't "need" either an X-pipe or H-pipe. The V6 does not really benefit from a crossover connection on the midpipe because no two cylinders on the same bank (side) of the engine fire in sequence. Thus, a divorced dual midpipe, easily fabricated by a muffler shop from behind your stock cats, works just about as well performance-wise as an aftermarket midpipe and is relatively inexpensive.

Labor for gear changes usually runs $200-ish.
 
The 2004 V6 that I had true dual exhaust put on has a stock GT takeoff catback and a divorced dual midpipe fabricated from behind the stock cats, with no X or H crossover. If you have a midpipe fabricated in similar fashion, it's not going to cost a lot more to have the shop include a crossover, but it's not really necessary from a performance standpoint.