Interesting discussion folks.
I too had brand new FMS 4.30 gears installed in my 96 Cobra two weeks ago and am noticing just a bit of vibration starting at about 2800RPM in 5th gear. I can hear/feel the high frequency vibration throughout the entire car but interestingly the shifter is not really rattling at all... It continues at about the same magnitude as I speed up too. I have not yet had a chance to get it above 100mph to see if it goes away after a certain speed. I do notice that it gets just a bit worse once I let off the throttle or put it in neutral letting it coast. If I am at full or part throttle it is less detectable. It continues like this until I slow down to below 60mph or so when things go back to being extremely smooth. However, it doesn't seem to be present 100% of the time (even at or above 2800rpm) which throws me for a loop...
It seems to be 100% speed related and independent of the car being in gear or not.
This was not present at all with the 3.27 gears.
Here are my thoughts:
1.) Since I did not perform the install myself, perhaps the driveshaft orientation was not marked and the driveshaft was installed 180* rotated from its original orientation relative to the pinion flange? Does the factory leave any marking that will allow me to easily verify this?
2.) I mentioned that I start feeling the vibration at ~2800 RPM. Since I am using a 305-35-18 tire, that means that with my 3.27s, 2800RPM came out to approximately 100mph, a speed that I almost never drive. Maybe once or twice for a few seconds but I was surely not paying close attention to vibration. Now I have 4.30 gears, which means that at that same engine RPM in 5th gear, and same driveshaft rpm, I am now only going 76mph! This leads me to believe that perhaps that vibration may have been present before, however, I was never rotating that shaft fast enough to notice?
The individual who swapped my gears is very experienced and has a great deal of knowledge on gear swaps (probably done over 200+).
I am also using Royal Purple 75W-140 which already has the limited slip additive (no Friction Modifier required). Not sure if it matters but I also had the trac-lock rebuilt at the same time.
I will probably start by checking the driveshaft orientation. If that does not help, I may try the aluminum shaft... Can't believe how much the prices have increased for these things since I purchased on 7 years ago for $150 lol
One other key note, I removed the 6lb dog-bone under the rear differential about 6 months ago with no notable adverse effects. Would it make sense to add it back to see if it helps?
I look forward to any feedback you can provide!
Thanks guys
YLWRCR