3.73 gears

I am soon to be getting my moms 01 mustang and I have listed a bunch of mods I planning on doing to it. I saw a lot of you have upgraded to 3.73 gear ratios and was wondering if its really worth it. Ive heard that accessing the gear box is hard so the labor might be expensive. Whats the stock gear ratios and how much would upgrading improve the acceleration?

Total cost $500-$700 depending. You def feel the dfference. You also need to either get a custom chip or a Speedcal to fix ya speedomoter

3.73s are super cool, but if you're going to be doing a bit of freeway time - or plan on doing a lot of driving in general you might want to consider 3.55s to conserve on fule. Also learn what your stock gears are because you might be lucky and already have a short set.

Yup, you can feel it in the seat of your pants. Look for about $200-300 just labour.

thnx a lot for the feedback, im definately gona upgrade the gears. Also, as i was surfing through some sites i came across a set of gears that are 4.10. Would any of you recommend this over the 3.73s?

heres the link to the site http://www.v6mustangstuff.com/Drivetrain.html

a lot of guys would, those are the ultimate torque substitue - but you're going to lose a lot top end fule economy.

3.73's are the gear of choice. They are a good all around gear, without effecting highway performance and make for great acceleration. I really wouldn't suggest 4.10's unless you were drag racing the car or had an auto tranny and wanted max performance. I don't think your Mom would like how much shifting she would have to do with the 4.10's in the back if she were ever to drive it.

i still dont fully understand the concept of gear ratios. If i get the 4.10s' acceleration will be better than the 3.73s' but whats the main disadvantage? Slower pickup at higher speeds and gears?

a taller gearing (low ratio) results in a higher top speed, but a slower accleration. Short gearting, higher ratios will result in higher accelertaion with a lower top speed.

Originally posted by MaNtiS3024
i still dont fully understand the concept of gear ratios. If i get the 4.10s' acceleration will be better than the 3.73s' but whats the main disadvantage? Slower pickup at higher speeds and gears?
Theoretically 4.10's would make you accelerate quicker, but without the proper traction all you will do is spin the tires more making the car slower. Not to mention that the top speed of the car will be cut down, cause you will tack out a lot sooner. Think of it this way, with 4.10's, for everyone time your tire makes one complete revolution, your driveshaft make's 4.10 revolutions. With 3.73's, for every time your tire makes one revolution, your driveshaft makes 3.73 revolutions, so on and so on... The steeper the gear the more revolutions the motor is spinning, making more power higher in the rpm bad, making for quicker acceleration. I hope I described that correctly.:smile:

ok thanks a lot, makes a whole lot more sense. Im gona get the 3.73s. I still dont know a whole lot about mustangs and you seem to, is it alright if i talk to you on AIM? cuz i got some other q's

Originally posted by BigDanTheMan
a taller gearing (low ratio) results in a higher top speed, but a slower accleration. Short gearting, higher ratios will result in higher accelertaion with a lower top speed.
Actually you got that backwards. A lower ratio is a higher numerical #, a lower ratio would give you quicker acceleration and less of a top end mph. Reversed for higher ratio, lower numerical #, slower acceleration and more top end mph.

MaNtiS3024, drop me a line sometime, CR980 on AIM.

damn it! just like the economic concept of elasticity - i always get them backwards.