3.73's

[1BAD302]

Im gonna drop in some 3.73's, but i just want to know....aside from the performance gains, is there any other side affects that i might want to know? do they change things like fuel economy, top speed, shift speed/rpm, wear, or anything else???

thanks guys

[Hethj7]

They obviously change top speed by lowering it and will most likely cause a decrease in gas mileage. Shifting RPM's may not change, but you will get to those RPM's MUCH quicker.

I have the 3.73 and love them. I also can still get pretty good mileage - 19-20 around town and suburbs, 24-25 on hiways. I have even gotten as high as 29 on the hiway before. I must say though that my transmission is geared a little higher than the stock T-5, so my set up may be a little closer to a 3.55 gear with the stock T-5. I assume you have a T-5 or T-45, in which case you will probably be happy with either the 3.73 or 3.55.

Without doubt one of the best bang for you buck performance mods you can make! Enjoy

[cyberstang5.0]

I have a set of 3.73's in my car and love them

I'm not sure what kind of mods you have but I have a few things under the hood . When I installed mine, I lost about 1-2 mpg. So far the highest I got my car up to was 130mph in 5th (stock T-5) at about 4500rpm. I could of kept going, but something about traffic I get about 17-18 miles per gallon which is pretty good since I can beat WS6's and SS's (if they are stock and/or with exhaust). You will hit gears much faster, and it will feel like it pulls harder. It does change your shift points. I had to relearn my RPM range for every gear.

It's a good investment and you won't be disapointed.

[Mr 5 0]

With a lower gear (higher numerically) you'll find that your first gear is 'shorter' and somewhat less usable in normal driving, as the revs come up very quickly.

When racing, you'll have to adjust to shifting a lot quicker, especially from first to second. That's why I strongly recommend having a aftermarket shifter installed before or at the same time you change the ring & pinion gear.

High end drops a bit and so may mpg, but often the fact that you're shifting into a higher transmission gear sooner (in normal driving) equals out any mpg losses.

It's all good.

[BLACK85GT]

My friend has an 85gt 5speed with 3.73
Mine has 3.08. His pulls alot harder out of the hole and he has to shift quite a bit earlier. Mine catches him and passes him in the longer run, about start of my third gear. Top speed is lost with the 3.73 if that matters to you.

[95mustanggt]

I don't agree with the top speed loss. If you have a high power car to start with, then yes you will loss top end, but if you are close to stock (If I remember you have a SN95 like mine (?) ) you will actually increase top end.

I found that with 2.73's 5th was useless and I was stuck to 4th . Once you get going to just don't have the power to go any faster.

With 3.73's my 4th hits about 110 mph and I can use 5th, so I can actually go even faster.

Of course if you have the power to push 2.73's all the way then you will lose speed with 3.73's.

I LOVE my 3.73's! They are a great gear ratio, highway driving with them is not bad (I was worried at first).

Black85GT is right. in my case i seem to notice third gear i loose top end speed compared to a stock geared 5.0

if i were you i would consider the 3:55s, when i get my new stang i'm going to put 3:55s in.

[95mustanggt]

3.55's aren't going to be as fast as 3.73's. If you start losing with 3.73's to a car with 3.08's (any gear) something is wrong.

then why would my car be loosing power in third? is it not breathing right?