• Hello there guest and Welcome to The #1 Classic Mustang forum!
    To gain full access you must Register. Registration is free and it takes only a few moments to complete.
    Already a member? Login here then!

How Steep are your gears?

Lets find out whats the most common rear gear ratio. What are you running?

  • 4:11 or higher

    Votes: 2 7.4%

  • 3:73

    Votes: 4 14.8%

  • 3:55

    Votes: 9 33.3%

  • 3:27

    Votes: 4 14.8%

  • 3:00 or lower

    Votes: 8 29.6%
  • Total voters
    27
L

lethal289

Active Member
As I'm planning on a rear end swap in the future, I'm also looking at possible gearing sizes. Right now I have a c-4 transmission. I believe in the future I will change to at least an AOD, or even possibly a t-5 if I come across the right deal. The car is not a daily driver (Its pretty hard to tie ladders and pipe to the roof). So I'm not overly concerned with street-ability yet. It doesn't see much highway driving as I live just on the edge of the city. Some spirited open back roads but that's about it. Currently I have a set of 3:73 that have about 80 K on them and I'm not sure I want to put them back in. I'm thinking 3:55's but want to see what others have. So if you can list your set up, I'd appreciate it.

On a side note, i always assumed my car was as the tag stated with an open rear end. I did my first little smoke session yesterday, and i was shocked to see a two wheel peel. Yep, two black lines on the road. AWESOME!
You'll have to take my word for it. So save the WOP! :yah
 
I had 3.70's for awhile then changed to 4.11's. Since it's 99% track driven, I like the way the 4.11's pull out of the corners. If it was a street car, I'd probably go with a 3.50 gear.
 
T5z with 3.55 gears. I have been tempted to go to 3.73 for a little more aggresive low gear output for it's running just fine so why bother?
 
I have a 4.11, 3.70 and 2.50! I cant practically drive the 4.11, the 3.70 is very nice but with no OD I swapped to the 2.50 for the Power Tour and averaged 14 mpg over 3,000+ miles. I have gobs of torque with the 429 so it will still smoke 'em but the 3.70 was a nice ratio. In my 85 GT I swapped in a 3.55 with the T5 and that was perfect. I got about 20 mpg if I kept my foot out of it and it was still way more than the tires could handle :steer
 
When I was more into running the 1/4 mile, I had a set of 4.11's in the rear. A lot of fun, but with a c4 driving 70 on the freeway the engine was screaming. But now I'm pretty much driving it everyday, I'm running a set of 3.50's currently in the fastback with a TKO.
 
mine has 3.73 right now. only reason its there is cuz it was brand new & had zero miles on it when i got the car. my preference is 3.25-3.50 for a street car. back when i was running fox's, i had a motorsport 8.8 i ordered w/ 3.25 & i had better gear ranges than all the guys running 3.73's (all t-5 cars). if & when i change out my current gears, i'll probably go to a 3.25-3.50.
 
I went with 3.27:1 (8.8) along with a stock T5 (3.35:1 first gear). Now that I've rebuilt the T5 with T5Z gears (2.95:1) the 3.27 rear gears are a touch high. I'd rather have 3.55s with the T5Z.

It sounds like you should really firgure out which transmission you want first since the first gear ratios are so different betwen the c4/AOD (2.4ish) and the T5 (3ish).
 
3.89 with a close ratio toploader. great fun in town, highway at 60 indicated mph runs 3500 rpm.
 
If you're current running a c4, then going t5z means installing clutch, clutch pedal arm etc, smaller brake pedal. Just a few more things to consider before even thinking about the rear end gearing.
 
"cmayna" said:
If you're current running a c4, then going t5z means installing clutch, clutch pedal arm etc, smaller brake pedal. Just a few more things to consider before even thinking about the rear end gearing.
Click to expand...

Thanks Craig. I realize what would be involved with the swap. Im planning on running with the c4 for a long while. Ill change my gears again when the time comes.
 
I'm running 3.0 gears behind an AOD in Red and think it's too doggy so I might consider swapping out to some 3.50 as well.
 
I have 3.25's in my car: 331, close ratio toploader, and short 24.5" tires. I put them in a while ago because I was daily driving the car and had to make several long freeway trips every year. I also had a 3sp m/t at the time. The car cruises at 70mph @ 3300rpm with no troubles.

But now that I've got the close ratio toploader and I don't drive the car nearly as often, I'm wanting something more. I'll probably end up switching to 1497's combo of 3.89 gears to get some more streetability and gear up my really tall first gear.
 
I currently have a stock 289 with a wide ratio T10. I changed the gears from factory 2.80 to 3.25's. It really improved the performance and I can still drive 65-70 w/o revving the motor too much.

I'm planning a T5 swap w/2.95 first gear and will change to rear 3.55 gears.
 
3.55 with c4, a little too tall for my taste on the highway. 70mph takes it around 3-3200 rpm. However, my mpg *seems* to be around 16-18 with this combo. I haven't accurately measured. Around town the gears are great. I've got a little more than stock tire size and can launch from a stop with no spin.
 
"blue65coupe" said:
3.55 with c4, a little too tall for my taste on the highway. 70mph takes it around 3-3200 rpm. However, my mpg *seems* to be around 16-18 with this combo. I haven't accurately measured. Around town the gears are great. I've got a little more than stock tire size and can launch from a stop with no spin.
Click to expand...

Awesome, thats just what i was wanting to hear.
 
3:00 trac-lok and t5.

I frickin' love it. There's plenty of torque in the stroker to to light em up and it runs 1850 rpms at 75 mph.
 
"I frickin' love it. There's plenty of torque in the stroker to to light em up and it runs 1850 rpms at 75 mph."

I bet that stroker has got some kinda torque! :wor
 
I run a 2.80 with my 289 and C4, and have 225 60 15 tires on the rear (fairly big diameter). It runs about 2900 rpm at 75. I do a lot of highway driving, and this is perfect. Acceleration is still good at town speeds, and comes on really well starting at about 45-50. The AOD and T5 route has too many issues for me (and, besides, the car is up and running with this set-up and I am not chasing down AOD/T5 swap issues), so I think the only thing I may change in the future is to upgrade engine power a bit.

/s/ Chris Kennedy
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top