i have a bone stock 96 gt 5speed. i dont race, i am looking for nice upgrade with somthing that is not overkill on the highway. when i drive the car, i am on the highway for about 15 miles going to work. so i dont want car screaming at 75, but yet i want a noticable feel in pick up. are these 3.55 a good upgrade from stock. also if i dont have to mess with speedo, then this is what i want. the 3.73 sound like they are a little to much for highway. again i am not looking to race eventully, just want to upgrade ass of the car. soon to be mods MAGNAFLOW C/X PIPE, BORLA CAT-BACK, VOLANT CAI, JET CHIP. thanks for any opinions.3.55 gears, should i
- Thread starter n.j.gt
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i have a bone stock 96 gt 5speed. i dont race, i am looking for nice upgrade with somthing that is not overkill on the highway. when i drive the car, i am on the highway for about 15 miles going to work. so i dont want car screaming at 75, but yet i want a noticable feel in pick up. are these 3.55 a good upgrade from stock. also if i dont have to mess with speedo, then this is what i want. the 3.73 sound like they are a little to much for highway. again i am not looking to race eventully, just want to upgrade ass of the car. soon to be mods MAGNAFLOW C/X PIPE, BORLA CAT-BACK, VOLANT CAI, JET CHIP. thanks for any opinions.-
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I had 3.55s in my car for a while when it was n/a. I noticed an improvement and thought the gears were decent. I took an 11 hour trip and pulled down 24 mpg. They were a decent gear if you never plan to race.
If, however, you plan to do any racing (street included), you'll need more than 3.55s to even think about waking the car up. I went from 3.55s to 4.10s and must say it was a night-and-day difference. The car felt like an animal.
IMHO, I would go to 3.73s. They're a good alternative to 4.10s and won't scream too bad on the highway with your 5-spd. I put some in my friend's 02 and it's very civilized on the highway.
BTW, you're going to get a lot of the "don't fear the gear" remarks. You're hearing from someone who has experienced the gears you're asking about. I'd shy away from folks who have never experienced 3.55s and are just regergitating words they read daily on the boards. Just my $.01.
Tim
If, however, you plan to do any racing (street included), you'll need more than 3.55s to even think about waking the car up. I went from 3.55s to 4.10s and must say it was a night-and-day difference. The car felt like an animal.
IMHO, I would go to 3.73s. They're a good alternative to 4.10s and won't scream too bad on the highway with your 5-spd. I put some in my friend's 02 and it's very civilized on the highway.
BTW, you're going to get a lot of the "don't fear the gear" remarks. You're hearing from someone who has experienced the gears you're asking about. I'd shy away from folks who have never experienced 3.55s and are just regergitating words they read daily on the boards. Just my $.01.
Tim
03redfiregt
New Member
I put 3:55 in my 03 and Like he said if you dont plan on racing they are a good gear. I'm pretty happy with them. There not a kick in the ass but i definetly noticed a difference. I don't drive my car real hard wich is why i decided to go with them . But i get crap all the time from people about why i did'nt put 3:73 in. But my 2 cents is go with the 3:55 if you want a difference. Go with the 3:73 if you plan on racing. 
stangman
15 Year Member
i have a friend that has 3.55 gears in his car & i could feel NO difference between his car & my last car that i had with stock gearing. the 3.55's would be a waste of money imo. if you are going to do gears... 3.73 would be the minimum. also don't forget about 3.90's, they are a nice alternative if you scared of the 4.10's 
i put 4.10's in my old car after diving his car & it was night & day difference. also it didn't kill my milage, it actually went up (but i also had full exhaust) & it wasn't bad rmp wise on the interstate imo too. good luck with your decision 
i put 4.10's in my old car after diving his car & it was night & day difference. also it didn't kill my milage, it actually went up (but i also had full exhaust) & it wasn't bad rmp wise on the interstate imo too. good luck with your decision 
GOLDENPONY
Founding Member
Gears
I put 3.73's in an '85 GT and really didn't like them. Changed to 3.55's and they were perfect!
I put 3.73's in an '85 GT and really didn't like them. Changed to 3.55's and they were perfect!
Since you have the same car as mine I'll give you my experience with 4.10's. I drive 75 miles one way to work all Interstate. I just recently put an o/r h-pipe with the stock exhaust and it is about as loud as I want to get with the drone.
If you are planning on those exhaust upgrades the drone on your car will be considerably louder. Now this is the ONLY drawback. If you can you need to find other cars about the same year as yours with gear upgrades and find out for yourself. My opinion is I wouldn't go less than 3.73's. Since your car is a 5 speed you probably have 3.27's already and probably would not notice a difference between them and 3.55's. I don't do any racing (except for the occasional quick jaunt on the Interstate or a little spirited run from a red light) but I would not trade it for anything.
If you are planning on those exhaust upgrades the drone on your car will be considerably louder. Now this is the ONLY drawback. If you can you need to find other cars about the same year as yours with gear upgrades and find out for yourself. My opinion is I wouldn't go less than 3.73's. Since your car is a 5 speed you probably have 3.27's already and probably would not notice a difference between them and 3.55's. I don't do any racing (except for the occasional quick jaunt on the Interstate or a little spirited run from a red light) but I would not trade it for anything.
The 5.0 engines handle gears differently than the 4.6's. The newer engines rev a little more so a taller gear is better.GOLDENPONY said:
Ezekial
Founding Member
I like 3.55s myself. I have no experience really with gears in late models, but I always like the 3.50s in my 66. I plan to put 3.55s in my 96 down the road here. I think I will notice a nice difference over my 2.73s and still allow me to play with 4th some on the highway.
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