thinking about higher gear and free flow exhaust 14 gts

[Stealth78]

I've thought of a few different options, and here are the drawbacks IMO for going with 3.73s and a revised 5th/6th gear:

- Severely traction limited on the street with street tires (how the car is configured 99% of the time, plus I don't trailer the car to events)
- Extra differential heat, with an already low oil capacity (would need to change diff fluid more often)
- Way too high of cruising RPMs on the highway

With 3.07s and the revised 5th/6th ratios, you'd finish the quarter in 3rd on a 28" tire like I currently run, the half in 4th, and a full mile in 5th, leaving 6th for highway only.

Like I said above, this is just my theory, but I intend to try it and see what actually happens in the real world instead of in the spreadsheet where I play with numbers.

You are going to run out of 3rd gear at some point. A mean tune (I know you are good at this), perfect air temps and a bad ass negative DA and you are going to be very frustrated that you went back to 3:07's and potentially sabatoged what could be your best run ever at 130mph+

[Steve M]

You are going to run out of 3rd gear at some point. A mean tune (I know you are good at this), perfect air temps and a bad ass negative DA and you are going to be very frustrated that you went back to 3:07's and potentially sabatoged what could be your best run ever at 130mph+

I've already been 130 in +2,000 DA, but so far haven't been able to back it up with the 3.55s under similar conditions. Perfect air and a bad ass negative DA never happen in this area - my local track is around 900 feet, so even "good" air for this area will only get you down to around +1,000 DA around here.

You can also get an additional 2 MPH for every extra 100 RPMs you bump the rev limiter I think it is definitely worth another experiment...a differential housing swap isn't super easy, but it'll still be an option if I'm wrong.

[Bruce H.]

Anyone concerned about the thought of running up to 6600 rpm with the Arrow non-stop on a road course?

[Jack B]

Totally agree...I remember when the Gen 5 details first came out, everyone about pissed themselves when they found out it was coming with 3.55s. The masses cheered...except that most totally overlooked the fact that they had also changed the transmission ratios, still leaving a super long first gear, which is what everyone hated in the first place, and then shortened 6th gear, which led to drone on the highway.

As Steve-Indy indicated above, we're pretty much all pissing in the wind here, and comparing Gen 4 and Gen 5 transmission ratios probably isn't helping. There are many ways to skin this cat...

With my 2.66 1st, my shift point happens at 55 mph, whereas it was approx 65 mph with the 2.26. With the cam, the 2.66 makes it much easier during normal driving when starting out in first.

The interesting part of the trans change was that the 0.8, 5th gear also seems to be a better fit for street driving. Even though it is not a big change, the 5% difference is noticeable. I find myself going to 5th gear earlier (lower rpm) and more often, versus, extending the rpm's in 4th gear with the original gears.

[sharmut]

Anyone concerned about the thought of running up to 6600 rpm with the Arrow non-stop on a road course?

By Arrow, I assume you meant the PCM, if I recall Darius commented on high temp days, we planned to switch back to OE PCM to lower the engine coolant temp.

[Steve M]

Anyone concerned about the thought of running up to 6600 rpm with the Arrow non-stop on a road course?

I can't speak for anyone else, but I would run a very different tune on a road course vs. what I run at the drag strip, which is also different than what I run on the street.

[Stealth78]

I can't speak for anyone else, but I would run a very different tune on a road course vs. what I run at the drag strip, which is also different than what I run on the street.

I completely understand why your road course tune would be different but curious to know why your street/strip tunes are different?

[Steve M]

I completely understand why your road course tune would be different but curious to know why your street/strip tunes are different?

For the strip, I disable anything that can pull timing. For the street, I allow some timing to be pulled based on IAT just to be safe. For a road course, I'd pull a couple degrees from my main spark table, enable timing to be pulled for IAT and ECT, and also let it add fuel back in if timing does get pulled.

[manfreakca]

Be careful what you wish for. I could go on about gears for quite some time, but I'll boil it down to this piece of advice: try before you buy. What works for one might not work for you, and vice versa. It helps if you have a goal in mind to start with, and go from there. You also have the added complexity of things like cruise control and traction/stability control - things can get a little wonky when the PCM can no longer tell what gear you are in due to how that is estimated, so you need to make sure that you have retained all system functionality after the swap, depending on how aggressive you get. A numerically higher gear can also greatly increase the amount of drone you have while going down the highway.

I've been down this road with my Gen 4 - went from 3.07s to 3.55s, and I'm seriously considering swapping back.

thankyou sir for the good advice

[manfreakca]

I find the gears are really tall it seems like by the time you get to 6th gear you could be going 230mph lol

[William craun]

So Steve, with he 5th/6th gear swap (.80/.63) do you see any logical reason to change the diff. from stock to 3:55?

[ACR-ISH]

I find the gears are really tall it seems like by the time you get to 6th gear you could be going 230mph lol

I previously had a Gen 3 (2004) and it had 3.55s installed. After driving a stock 3.07 car it was definitely THE BEST mod that had been done to the car, hands down. Fuel economy did plummet accordingly... which is hard to believe for a car that already does so poorly. It was MUCH more comfortable and responsive around town and for real world driving. Never made it to the track with the G3 so I can't comment on that part of it, but my vote is go for it!

[13COBRA]

I previously had a Gen 3 (2004) and it had 3.55s installed. After driving a stock 3.07 car it was definitely THE BEST mod that had been done to the car, hands down. Fuel economy did plummet accordingly... which is hard to believe for a car that already does so poorly. It was MUCH more comfortable and responsive around town and for real world driving. Never made it to the track with the G3 so I can't comment on that part of it, but my vote is go for it!

I have a whole new rear diff with 3.55s sitting on a pallet right now..just waiting for the stub axles to come in and do the swap lol

[Steve M]

So Steve, with he 5th/6th gear swap (.80/.63) do you see any logical reason to change the diff. from stock to 3:55?

Here's what I would do:

Stock 3.07 gears with the 0.80 5th and 0.63 6th gear ratios - this would be a really nice combination for a car primarily on street tires. It would also be good for longer tracks and standing half mile events since 4th gear would be good to about 168 MPH. 5th gear would still pull hard for standing full mile events as well. 6th gear would be a very useful highway cruising gear.

If running 3.55s out back, I would still do the 0.80 5th gear, but I would keep the stock 0.50 6th gear so that your cruising RPMs would still be reasonable on the highway.

That said, I'm still running my 3.55s, but I will be stepping down to a 26" tire at the drag strip. The 28" tire I'm on right now isn't ideal for what I'm trying to do.