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Old 12-24-2001, 03:56 AM   #1
Sonics2042
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Default 3.55 gears and affects on high end accleration?

Hey,

Probably gonna get gears in next month or two. I have a 1990 LX 5.0 with automatic tranny.

Just wondering how it will affect the pickup acceleration (head to headrest affect...) at these speeds

30 mph: ??
50 mph: ??
65 mph: ??
75+ mph: ??

Don't need to know any specifics...just wondering how it will be compared to my current 2.73 gears? I have heard it kills top end acceleration, but I have also heard that it will be better because it can apply more torque...Just wondering how it actaully reacts

Thanks,
Sonics2042
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What I have:
1990 Red Mustang 5.0 LX:
[BBK X-Pipe]-[MAC Cat-Back Exhaust]
[MAC Cold Air Intake]-[BBK Equal Shorties]
[3.55 Gears]-[Cobra Intake Manifold (Upper and Lower]
[E-303 Cam]-[Granetelli Mass Air Flow Sensor]
[Front and rear sway bars]-[New black carpet and seats.]
[Adjustable Fuel Regulator]-[T5 Conversion w/ K. Cobra Clutch/Hurst STS]
[Cobra Throttle Body]-[130A Alt. Conversion]

Thinking about:
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Vortech A-Trim
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Old 12-24-2001, 10:16 AM   #2
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you should feel better acceleration at any speed because youll put more torque to the ground... on the highway though you wont be able to downshift from 5th to 3rd most likely... depending how fast your going... that is what most people mean when they say it kills top end acceleration... you just run out of RPMS faster!!!

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Old 12-24-2001, 10:25 AM   #3
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Ok they are great for high end Speeds i am working on making my car a high speed car 160+ I plan on racing it.... Not realy drag racing but it will do not to bad at the track with the 3.55 I hope to rip a few mid 12's next year time will tell but the are Much better then the 2.73 you will love them
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Drive Train: 3.55, T-5 with a Pro 5.0 shifter
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Old 12-24-2001, 12:39 PM   #4
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It's hard to describe it, but your car is going to feel alot stronger off the line and down low. It's kind of like riding a 10 speed bike in one gear for a while, then changing to another gear and "feeling" you have more power after the change. The 3.55:1 gearset is OK, but I recommend the 3.73:1 gearset for your Mustang.
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Old 12-24-2001, 11:18 PM   #5
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I think 3.73's will be better for your AOD as well...even consider a 4.11 gear set if you dont do tons of highway driving. I love the 3.55's in my 5-speed, but all I hear about AOD's say go with 3.73 or 4.10's. Any gear you choose will certainly be felt in the seat! Later!
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Old 12-24-2001, 11:43 PM   #6
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How is the gas mileage with the 3.55 gears. I am thinking about those too. I would get bigger but I have a 3 hour drive at 85+ mph to college, and I come home about once every two weeks. How much gas will I suck up at these speeds. Thanks guys, John
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Old 12-25-2001, 12:00 AM   #7
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I had an '87 GT with 3.55's and basically everything else stock for 6 years. I drove from Kentucky to New York in one day and got well over 20mpg. I also had a 3 1/2hr drive home once or twice a month and got the same results when mostly highway driving. In my current car I have 3.73's, I don't drive it very much and usually it's stop and go and not much highway driving. I get about 14mpg but I can't compare the gears because I haven't made a long trip with the car yet. 3.55's did not hurt my gas mileage at all and they performed pretty good. I like the 3.73's better but I don't know what they will do to your mileage for highway driving. Maybe someone who does some highway driving can tell you that.
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Old 12-25-2001, 01:08 AM   #8
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355's are probaby the best freeway gears around. Whoever told you that they will hurt your top end doesnt know what the **** their talking about. Your car cant top out the final gear with 273's anyway. The 355's will let you. if you EVER street or drag race your car go with 410's or 373's. 355's arent for drag racing and you will NOT notice a big difference in your quarter mile times. Im swapping my 355's out for 410's very soon. I already have the gears I just need to slap em in. Dont worry about gas mileage. If you really care about gas mileage over performance get a Honda.
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Old 12-25-2001, 01:41 AM   #9
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is it true that 3.55 is better for a blower combo then 3.73? i plan on a full TFS combo with a S trim in the late future and im trying to deside on 3.55 or 3.73..but i heard 3.55 is alittle better for a blower set up
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Old 12-26-2001, 12:05 PM   #10
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I am in the same vote as Demon...

Anyone have any info for us???

3:55 vs. 3:73???


Thanx,
LOBE
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Old 12-26-2001, 01:47 PM   #11
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sonics2042, you are going to love the gears. it helps really all the way around. My quarter mile improved nearly half a second going from 2.73's to 3.55's w/ an automatic. there is one problem you are going to have though and that is with the aod. you see the aod will not shift into overdrive at wot. So therefore you top end will not be close to the same because of the transmission not shifting into od. see most of the people who posted to you did not take that into consideration. before i put my 3.55's in my car i could go close to 140 mph in 3rd gear. after, i topped out at about 120 because i was getting close to the red. it felt better but i just ran out of gear. so that next summer i put in a 5 speed to cure that and a few more problems. i heard of shift kits that allow aod's to shift into 4th or od but i don't know how long the od gear can handle that kind of power, that is the reason it doensn't shift into od to begin with. Well good luck man, just take a look and all the pro's and con's and make a well educated decision, like how many times are you going to try and top your car out, and such.......
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Old 12-26-2001, 03:33 PM   #12
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Hmmm....soo if I get gears I will max out at 120 on my AOD transmission? Is there any way to remedy this, besides converting to a T-5 transmission ($$$!)? I would like to be able to hit 135 if possible. Low-end is the most important for me, but I still would like to save the top-end as much as possible.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also...anyone know about what my 0-60 time should be with this setup:
1990 LX 5.0 Mustang w/ AOD
MAC Cold Air Intake
MAC Cat-back exhaust
3.55 gears
Cobra Intake Manifold
New Cobra MAF
All plugs and wires are from Ford Racing
...I think that is it for engine/speed mods

Thanks,
DoranW
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What I have:
1990 Red Mustang 5.0 LX:
[BBK X-Pipe]-[MAC Cat-Back Exhaust]
[MAC Cold Air Intake]-[BBK Equal Shorties]
[3.55 Gears]-[Cobra Intake Manifold (Upper and Lower]
[E-303 Cam]-[Granetelli Mass Air Flow Sensor]
[Front and rear sway bars]-[New black carpet and seats.]
[Adjustable Fuel Regulator]-[T5 Conversion w/ K. Cobra Clutch/Hurst STS]
[Cobra Throttle Body]-[130A Alt. Conversion]

Thinking about:
Aftermarket Heads!
Vortech A-Trim
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Old 12-26-2001, 04:56 PM   #13
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120MPH maybe a 125MPH with the Mods you have. yes would be about right in 3nd gear for the max The only Way to get more speed will be to get the Car to Make more power Up High 5600rpms+ or to use over drive I and Not sure if it will Have the Power to go much faster in the OD I never had a Auto.
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Engine: steel mounts, Under drive pulleys, K&N, GT-40 Intake ported Lower, No power steering, No A/C, Mac cold intake, 65MM TB, 255 Fuel pump, 24's, AFR 165 58cc, Rocker Arms 1.7with the stock Cam, 1 5/8 short headers, offRoad X-pipe
Drive Train: 3.55, T-5 with a Pro 5.0 shifter
12.656@107.71MPH See It at www.T-racing.com/mustang.htm
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Old 12-26-2001, 05:00 PM   #14
Sonics2042
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So...would a chip help this?
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What I have:
1990 Red Mustang 5.0 LX:
[BBK X-Pipe]-[MAC Cat-Back Exhaust]
[MAC Cold Air Intake]-[BBK Equal Shorties]
[3.55 Gears]-[Cobra Intake Manifold (Upper and Lower]
[E-303 Cam]-[Granetelli Mass Air Flow Sensor]
[Front and rear sway bars]-[New black carpet and seats.]
[Adjustable Fuel Regulator]-[T5 Conversion w/ K. Cobra Clutch/Hurst STS]
[Cobra Throttle Body]-[130A Alt. Conversion]

Thinking about:
Aftermarket Heads!
Vortech A-Trim
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Old 12-26-2001, 06:06 PM   #15
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No the reason is you will wind out the 3nd gear on the car The Onlt way with the 3.55 is to get more Power 50hp+ or so will help out alot. or dont get new gears yet
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Engine: steel mounts, Under drive pulleys, K&N, GT-40 Intake ported Lower, No power steering, No A/C, Mac cold intake, 65MM TB, 255 Fuel pump, 24's, AFR 165 58cc, Rocker Arms 1.7with the stock Cam, 1 5/8 short headers, offRoad X-pipe
Drive Train: 3.55, T-5 with a Pro 5.0 shifter
12.656@107.71MPH See It at www.T-racing.com/mustang.htm
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Old 12-26-2001, 06:17 PM   #16
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Well, I was thinking about a supercharger Would that suffice?
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What I have:
1990 Red Mustang 5.0 LX:
[BBK X-Pipe]-[MAC Cat-Back Exhaust]
[MAC Cold Air Intake]-[BBK Equal Shorties]
[3.55 Gears]-[Cobra Intake Manifold (Upper and Lower]
[E-303 Cam]-[Granetelli Mass Air Flow Sensor]
[Front and rear sway bars]-[New black carpet and seats.]
[Adjustable Fuel Regulator]-[T5 Conversion w/ K. Cobra Clutch/Hurst STS]
[Cobra Throttle Body]-[130A Alt. Conversion]

Thinking about:
Aftermarket Heads!
Vortech A-Trim
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Old 12-26-2001, 06:22 PM   #17
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A Super Will Make the top speed Much higher!!! with the 3.55 gears.
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Engine: steel mounts, Under drive pulleys, K&N, GT-40 Intake ported Lower, No power steering, No A/C, Mac cold intake, 65MM TB, 255 Fuel pump, 24's, AFR 165 58cc, Rocker Arms 1.7with the stock Cam, 1 5/8 short headers, offRoad X-pipe
Drive Train: 3.55, T-5 with a Pro 5.0 shifter
12.656@107.71MPH See It at www.T-racing.com/mustang.htm
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Old 12-26-2001, 11:45 PM   #18
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I made a little program to calculate MPH in any gear-RPM combination to help me figure out which 6 speed to buy and what rear end to switch to. I used the AOD ratios I found on the web and my tire size just to give you an idea. If you want your actual combo e-mail me your tire size and trans gear rations if different from the ones I used.

AOD with 3.55
AOD with 3.73
AOD with 4.10
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Old 12-27-2001, 01:17 AM   #19
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I love the 3.55 gears in my '89 GT (5 speed) because they're perfect for the near-stock powerband. I shift a little over 4500 (right near peak horsepower) and it drops right down to 3000 where it's making peak torque. On the freeway, going 60 the tach is at 2,000 rpm and you can feel it pull pretty hard at 70+. I've gotten my car up to 135 with little trouble. With a near stock engine with mild bolt ons they're my pick, although most people recommend 3.73's for a stick. With an auto you may want to get 3.73 gears for a near stock car, and i don't think that it would kill gas mileage too much, it also depends alot on your tendancy to gun it.
I get ON AVERAGE mostly city driving too, about 19-21 miles per gallon.
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Old 12-27-2001, 09:45 AM   #20
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I've wondered why 3.55 5 speed owners claim no loss of MPG and I may have figured it out. With the 2.73's sometimes you just can't push the car good enough in 5th at lower speeds 40 - 65 or so, when the revs are 1500 or lower. Thus you end up downshifting into 4 th often. Even with the 3.08's I had in my long gone 91 I could hold out in 5th much better. I can only log maybe 22 -23 mpg at best. If I can still get over 20 highway with the 3.55's I would be happy
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