sneaky98gt
10 Year Member
With 4.10's I've hit 113 in the 1/4 on a 26" drag radial. Was turning right around 6100 according to the tach.
I also have seen 25mpg highway with 3.27's as well as 4.10's. This will always be a never ending debate, but any N/A 2v needs a steep gear.
6100 on a 26" tire gets right at 115, give or take. Considering the inaccuracies of the stock tach, that sounds just right.
And yes, taller tires start making big differences on top speeds. 26" slick gives an extra 1.5 mph over 25.66" tires (stock size), and 28" tires give over 10 mph more than stock tires. Somehow, I doubt the OP will ever be running slicks.
And also, just a little extra RPM at that speed makes a big difference, too. Every 100 rpm over 6000 gives an extra 2ish mph. But it is of my personal opinion that going over 6000 on a stock bottom end is only asking for trouble. Especially repeated occasions. Remember that this is happening right at the end of a run, and the motor temps/strain is already at its greatest.
OK, I've tried to avoid it, but I'll go ahead and spill my opinion on the gears. IT IS OF MY OPINION that 4.10s are too much for a street driven 5-speed. A car that sees the track regularly with good tires? Or one where the owner wants to squeeze every last second and mph out of it? Yes, the more gear the better.
BUT, for a car that is going to be driven on the street 99% of the time? No. It is too much. While fixing my car, I am currently driving my granddad's 94 5.0, 5 speed, mild cam, ported stock heads, intake, full exhaust, and 4.10s. It might make 270 rwhp, roughly the same amount a full bolt-on PI 4.6 would make. It has good tires on it, 295/35-17 size on the back. On the street, 1st gear is 100% useless. Go WOT at any point, and it goes sideways. 2nd gear is like that sometimes, depends on if you break them lose on the 1-2 shift or not. I'd put money on it that ON THE STREET, the SAME car, with 3.73s, would beat it. Traction is just so much harder to come by with the 4.10s. The 4.10s are really only useful if you have a sticky tire (read: drag radial or slick) at the track.
Even then, the advantage isn't that terrible great. Using the racing calculator I made (which I have determined is relatively accurate) on a mostly stock 2 valve 4.6, the difference between 3.73s and 4.10s in the 1/4 is LESS than 1 mph. The loss of traction on the street just isn't worth fractions of a mph at the track.
So, in conclusion, if the car is a street car that will not or rarely will see the track, IN MY OPINION: 3.73s for a 5-speed, 4.10s for an auto. Take it for what it's worth.