2004 Gt Gear Upgrade 3:73 Question

[Slappy]

Just a regular driver, not really into street racing much, not into drag-racing, or offroad racing, just enjoy the pleasure of a powerful car, and a big fan of V8's

Got straight pipes and xpipe for that sweet sound. Always been a fan of straight pipes. Ordered a K&N cold air intake today, everything else is stock, and already looking beyond for the next upgrade.

I searched the forums for info on gears on rec from another poster, from what i can tell 3:73 gears would be a good upgrade next. Couple hundo for the gears and a couple hundo for the install.

Does anybody have any links for dyno charts with the effects of going from stock gears of 3:27 (i think) to 3:73? how much HP/Torque increase should i expect? what will this do for the gas mileage? 0-60 time?

has anyone else done this upgrade on a similar model that wasnt already massivly overhauled?
Thanks in advance!

[xxxBlakexxx]

Gears are one of the more popular mods. I have 4.10's. The debate between 3.73's and 4.10's will wage for years to come. If you get 3.73's, I can almost guarentee that you will say "crap, I should gotten the 4.10's".

One thing, gears do not add hp. They actually result in a slight loss when measured on a dyno. It is because of limitations of the dynos and is more of a mathematical deal.

Think of changing your gear ratio like changing the front sproket on a 10 speed from the bigger one to the smaller one. It get's easier to pedal and you can accelerate faster, right? Same as with the car.

4.10's are a lot more fun to drive with...trust me.

[jstrollin711]

Thought I would chim in with my experiance with gears! I have an 02 gt and I also did a gear swap. I went with 4.10's Best money I ever spent! It gave my car atleast 2 tenths at the track maybe even 3 but for the money your going to spend 3.73 or 4.10 same price go bigger with the 4.10's!! Thats what I think! I have a lot of mods. done to my car! I have 4.10 gears, bbk 70mm tb, Trick Flow Upper-Intake Plenum, Mac Pro chambers with Mac Cat Back w/ 3 1/2 tips, Steeda Trix Shifter, Mac Cold Air Intake, Diablo Programer, ASP Plullys, Steeda Caster Camber Plates, Steeda Lower Control Arms, I think thats all! But I'v ran a best 13.11 @103.34 & a 1.73 60ft.

[Duane'97gt2v]

I had to choose the 3.73. I feel the 4.10 would have given me a better low end launch, but I wanted to make sure I still had good street use. Gas for 93 octane on a daily driver aint cheap. With the 3.73's I'm still gettin over 20 mpg, and a whole lot more out of the whole grunt than the stock 3.27. I think you'll be ALOT happier, with either one, than you are with the 3.27. Pleased w/3.73's for me.

[ultraflo]

Originally Posted by Slappy

Just a regular driver, not really into street racing much, not into drag-racing, or offroad racing, just enjoy the pleasure of a powerful car...

Sounds like you'd best be suited to go with the 3.73's

Do you have a stick or auto??

[Slappy]

It's an auto. I preffer manual, they are more fun. I used to have a ford ranger and i busted a seal on it while 4 wheelin, while at the dealership getting it fixed they had several 04 mustangs with an 8k discount as they were trying to clear room for the new 05's. So i bought one. First car ive ever owned of any substancial power.

The only manual ones they had left were v6's and i figured i'd be happier with the big engine instead of the manual. Im pretty stoked with it overall. it's black with the beige racing stripes, has the mach 1k system, 40th package with the spoiler delete(i like it better w/o the spoiler), pretty damn fun ride.

So thats how i wound up with a manual. Not sure how much it would cost to convert it to stick, but im thinkin maybe in the next year or so i'll do it.

So it looks like the gears really dont change the HP, but maybe provide a crapload more low-end torque?

Sounds like fun. I certainly do enjoy blowing the occasional sooped up rice grinder off the line, especially when they have all the body kits and glasspack exhaust and all that. Lookin all fast, just sittin there, waiting, ready to get whooped. The best part is when after you smoke em you see thier hot little girliefriend with them all laughing thier asses off. My ultimate goal is to dyno 300hp at the real wheel at this elevation. its gonna be some $$$ work, but will be damn worth it.

Not sure what stock 04 GT's acually dyno at the wheel.. 230? maybe 240? I figure that 260 is at the engine. pop up to the mile high city and lose about 20-30 more hp due to the lack of oxygen.

[Slappy]

Uh... err... thats how i wound up with an auto.. that is.. <laugh>

[xxxBlakexxx]

I would go with the 4.10's especially since it is an auto.

[Duane'97gt2v]

Being an auto, I would go 4.10's too. Should really come out of the hole on those rice burners then!! Don't throw out those old ring and pinion, never know. Will a hypertech reprogrammer fix speedo readings on the '99 up mustangs?

[stingray427]

I don't have Dyno's, But I love my 373s. but i'm a 5 speed. I think the 410s may be a little to tall if your on the Hiway a lot. but to each his own.

[Bohica06]

Sounds like fun. I certainly do enjoy blowing the occasional sooped up rice grinder off the line, especially when they have all the body kits and glasspack exhaust and all that. Lookin all fast, just sittin there, waiting, ready to get whooped. The best part is when after you smoke em you see thier hot little girliefriend with them all laughing thier asses off. My ultimate goal is to dyno 300hp at the real wheel at this elevation. its gonna be some $$$ work, but will be damn worth it.

Hello, new to the board, and a new mustang owner. I grew up around cars not just driving them but appreciating them. I have respect for all makes and models and just recently unloaded my 1994 Honda civic for my mustang. I'm not trying to stir the hornets nest, but I was the guy busting Gt's and giving the Bow tie a run for his money. Supercharged, tuned suspension, full exhaust, tuned ignition, and a tuned drive train. It was a fun car but the power potential of the engine was taped out. Rather than open the block up, I did the next best thing and moved up in the world to a GT. However I loved the look on the face of the GT’s pilot when I got away from him and the guy in the Z28 when I was holding my own. Sport compacts are fun, but a V8 with the same plan applied is so much tastier. You don’t care to race a, 3:73 is the way to go, maybe even a 3:55. hell I couldn’t even tell you what the final drive of the civic was other than a JDM spec gearbox had close ratio’s than a US spec one. I really do enjoy a rear wheel V8 over the sport compact, but it was fun!!!

[xxxBlakexxx]

Speed is not everything unless you are racing for pink slips. i don't even bother with Civics...not worth the effort or the ticket. at the end of the day, it's still just a Civic no matter how fast it goes. Anybody with a souped-up Civic is just a kid who would much rather have something else.

I have romped on some nice Corvette's at the track, but who cares? A Mustang in all it's glory is still a step-down from a Vette.

There are some nice rice rockets out there. For one thing, the SRT-4 is a respectable car because it's done right and domestic to boot. And some of the tuners do great work too. But there is just soo much crap out there. The stuff is just down-right embarrasing. If I see one more Saturn with a fart-can and looking like a grocery store cart with the wing, I am gonna hurl.

A while back, some annoying kid kept passing me with a Saturn that appeared stock in every way. Finally I nailed it, then came to my senses and slowed down. This is one guy who is not going to get a ticket racing a Saturn. He passed me at about 80 mph like was winning some race. I am sure he went home and told all his friends that he beat a modded Mustang. So, these stories, while yours may be true (and probably is) I just don't believe most of them.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Welcome to the dark-side.

[boatguy1971]

not sure if this will help, but i have a 98 GT with an aod and 4:10's. Just drove to new orleans from north carolina and back 800 miles one way and used 3 tanks of super each way. thought it would be worse than that, but the good thing is the further south you go, the cheaper the gas prices are. I origanlly upgraded to 3:73, but it just didnt have the punch i was looking for, so i talked a guy i know that had a 5-speed and had a new 4:10 into swapping me for the 3:73. my advice is go with the 4:10, you will have alot more fun off the line.

[Duane'97gt2v]

Little rice burners can be fast and fun! Guy in town has a Crv with V-tech out of a wrecked newer civic, Sounds like angry bees when he stomps it, but i'll out run my 4.6!

Why would you want to only race for $$$ or slips? What happened to good ol' fashioned run for fun? I owned plenty of slow vehicles in the past, didn't mean that I thought they would win, but I raced plenty of faster trucks/cars just to watch them go!! If I put up $$$ or slips everytime I ran, I would have probably been broke and walking all the time!!LOL, Do you know how many 5.0's, Z's, 454ss, hell, fiestas that could our run my poor ol' 87 mazda B2000 W/over 200,000 miles on it? I will proudly run anybody, in anything for sport!
I have illegally raced my 4.6 for free many of times, probably too many, out ran some, got beat by others, If a slower car wants to run a little that's fine, racing for "shit's and giggles" has always been great!! I've only owned about 10 vehicles in my 26 yrs of age, only 2 v6 and 2 v8's ('65 mustang 289 4speed, '97 gt 5-speed) the rest 4 bangers. I enjoyed standing in all of them. Even my '04 mazda 6 gets near the redline here and there. I don't know, mabey I'm just too pedal happy!! I like it though.

[Bohica06]

Originally Posted by xxxBlakexxx

Speed is not everything unless you are racing for pink slips. i don't even bother with Civics...not worth the effort or the ticket. at the end of the day, it's still just a Civic no matter how fast it goes. Anybody with a souped-up Civic is just a kid who would much rather have something else.

I have romped on some nice Corvette's at the track, but who cares? A Mustang in all it's glory is still a step-down from a Vette.

There are some nice rice rockets out there. For one thing, the SRT-4 is a respectable car because it's done right and domestic to boot. And some of the tuners do great work too. But there is just soo much crap out there. The stuff is just down-right embarrasing. If I see one more Saturn with a fart-can and looking like a grocery store cart with the wing, I am gonna hurl.

A while back, some annoying kid kept passing me with a Saturn that appeared stock in every way. Finally I nailed it, then came to my senses and slowed down. This is one guy who is not going to get a ticket racing a Saturn. He passed me at about 80 mph like was winning some race. I am sure he went home and told all his friends that he beat a modded Mustang. So, these stories, while yours may be true (and probably is) I just don't believe most of them.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Welcome to the dark-side.

Like I said sport compacts are fun but the low down grunt of a V8 is where it's at and now I know it. I really feel that what I spent to bring the Honda up to what it was could of have made a better muscle car. I'm only 27 know and I really find that I prefer handling over power. With better handling comes a quicker E.T. And yes I am guilty of the occasional street race, but I do it for the thrill and have nothing to prove to anyone. I agree with you in your opinions, but feel insulted that folks just don’t realize how far a well thought out, planned build will go. 1.6L SOHC can make a whopper of a ride. I’m just looking forward to this new build. Sorry folks don’t want to add fuel to the fire, but really I am digging my new toy.

[Slappy]

the one benefit about ricegrinders is they hardly ever break down. <laugh>
My 04 Mustang GT ith 5k miles on it is already in the shop, got a leak on the rear main seal. They have to take out the whole tranny to fix it. Dont see rice burners having those problems.

Everyone just has to take this hobby with a grain of salt. Nothing worse than some kid calling your car a piece of "monkeys**t" cause he has some 89 acura with 8k worth of upgrades to it and never bothered to remove the rust. Like that "Fast and furious" scene with the ferarri, sure, the ferrari guy was a jackass, and you might actually get a riceburner to beat a ferarri, but ya know what? IT AINT NO FERARRI. If you buy a uber-priced car yer not just buying the speed, yer buying the styling and the bragging rights that yer freakin loaded. <laugh> Ive seen some camero fans just BASHING mustang owners on some forums out there, it always amazes me how insecure some people can be that they have to go out of thier way to insult you cause you like a different car. Not a big camero fan, not of the new ones, i dont like the styling. The SS's are pretty nice though. and damn camero's are fast, but if somone i know buys a camero, im gonna be happy for him. Not sit there and try to make him feel dumb for buying a car he liked.

Cars are just fun no matter how you look at them. Untill recently i have never had too much interest in cars, Wih this mustang i cannot get enough of it. i put on a Cold Air intake on it this morning before i took it in for repair and man, what a hell of a difference. I had an 3in xpipe welded about a week back with straight pipes, no mufflers. Some say it is a redneck exhaust but i love the way it sounds. The overall responce of my stang went down a tiny bit from the lack of backpressure. after installing that K&N though that responce came right back.

The exhaust "upgrade" (more like a change) really kind of fueled me to start modding my car. I already have 5 dressup items on order to customize it a little, and next week i will probably be getting some Steeda lowering springs, a accufab plentum and an underpully. I also have an appointment for window tinting next week.

This crap is addictive. Im also now considering saving up about a grand and buying a "beater" car just so i dont have to put miles on my stang to and from work. <laugh>

Just remember,
if yer doing it cause you enjoy it yer fine.
If yer doing it to impress other people, then you got a little weener. <laugh>