Gears - low end?
 

SOrry for asking and i may get flamed for this but i just got my 5.0 and its an 88 with efi totally stock, but i was wondering is it normal to have reallllyy lonnnnnng gears in a 5 speed? i mean i can run 2nd all the way to 75mph and still not be redlining? someone let me know. thanks
bry

Never thought much about it but I don't think that's too high for 2:73's or something close. I remember a certain 17 year old trying to talk me into believing he wasn't doing 58 in a 35 because he was only in 2nd gear and there's no way that car will do that in 2nd. With 3:55's no less. Anyway, 58 in second is easily accomplished. I took him and the car out to see if this was reality or my imagination. He lost.

yep it's pretty normal

mine had 2:73s in it for a while .......2nd gear 6200 rpms 78 mph

coincadentally ......5th gear 80 mph .......1900 rpm

I remember that when I had my 3.08's, it would be nearly impossible to use 5th since the rpms would drop so low that the engine would have no power. 70 in 2nd? Yeah, I have no problems believing that.

Get some 4.11's dude. I have 3.73's and a carb and I get 19-20 highway. I would do the 4.11's if I had to go over again. Putting in FMS gears is a sinche, I did it with just ratchets and a mallet. Any other bradn and you'll need a speed shop or a good rear end mechanic

thanks for the advice on that.

now as for switching out gears, what would be the differance in these things if i were to go with 3.73, or 4.11( like differance for both if u could):
-Gas mileage
-gear span(the 2nd gear going to 75mph hehe)
-and the qwikness of the car in the 1/4 mile

also crazypete, what did u strip off that took off 400lbs?
thanks
bry

If you don't have sticky tires with the 4.10's, you will spin all the time, especially at the track when you don't want to. I think 4.11's are chevy gears and 4.10's are Ford. I have 3.73's and avg 17-20 mpg. The gear span will be reduced, but acceleration is gained. From what I understang it is a dramatic difference. The 3.73's were in my car when I bought it.

Caymon

Off the top of my head.... with 3.73's and stock t-5, I pull 2000 rpm's in 5th at 65mph (roughly). See? You could jump up to the next gear ratio and still have tons of wind left in the ole girl. Why would you want to do 75 in 2nd? That sounds like a fantastic way to blow a motor or bend some rods. I think you can do...probably with the same car 60mph in 2nd? Maybe even 65.

Milage? I get about 20mpg with the 3.73's and a carb. Granted, I baby this car and mosey around (step 23 on the insurance does that to a person).

Go 4.10! Do it! Peeling rubber is fun! Throw the battery in the trunk and get some drag springs.

Thinking about throwing in a pair of either 3.73's or 4.10's in my stock 90 Gt....How difficult is the install? What tools are needed and approx how much time?

Official answer: It's very difficult...blah blah dont attempt it blah blah you'll blow up your axle...

The gears are like $150 and install can range from $200-300

Now if you buy fms gears (and this only applies to fms gears), you can attempt it yourself. Worst case: it makes noise and then you take it to a shop. Hell, you can drop the axle and take it to a place that deals especially in them (commercial truck shops do this a lot).

I pulled the sway bar off, took off the back panel to the axle (the gear oil smells like CRAP!), pulled out the "pin", removed the c-clips, unbolted the differential, hammered the gear off, boiled the new gear and dropped it onto the diff, took a happy dead blow mallet and coerced the pinion out. Since these are fms gears, I decided to try and see if it was true that you could use the existing shims. I simply reused all the shims and I even, in my great wisdom, reused the old crush sleeve. If figured it was crushed enough already the first time around. I bolted everything back together, tightened the pinion nut and threw it all back together. Took it for a spin. Howled. Tightened the pinion nut till it didnt wobble at all and had some drag on it but was still turnable by hand. Threw it back together again , took it for a spin and it was silent. Took it on the highway and it was silent.

Like I said, if this doesnt work, take whatever you've done to the gear shop and have them "fix" what you did. If it's grinding and howling, have it towed for saftey, you dont want to chew up the gears

Pete...how do you get so much gas mileage? I've got a 4.10 or 4.11 rear, one or the other, and a mild cam..but it's an EFI car, and I get a roughly estimated 10 mpg or less sometimes. In a week of normal driving, I put $20 in the Mustang to keep the gas tank up. In my old Camaro that got near 20 mpg, I put in about $10 a week and sometimes drove even more than I am now. SICK!

Here's a trick that I've learned. Most people drive their cars all wrong. All wrong completely.

Most people drive around trying to use the lowest rpms possible. Fuel usage is a function of engine load, not revolutions. Try this. Drive using gear instead of power. What I mean by this is gently let the car spin up to 3k, shift to 2200, run it to 3k, shift and so forth. Notice how high the pedal is. You barely have to put it in to make the car go. Now shift to a higher gear and notice that you have to put the pedal much more just to maintain speed.

I noticed this with my saab 9000, which only had a 2.0 turbo. When my firends drove it, the clutch would be chattering almost and the turbo was spinning away as they were trying to drive around at 1200 rpms. When I drove it, the turbo was silent most of the time using the gear method above. It's easy to use a boost guage as an engine load indicator.

Ok, then I have pulleys, synthetic fluids bumper to bumper, 400 lbs of weight reduction, good ignition system, open exhaust and a casual driving style.

Hope this helps

Oh yeah, I tend to underjet the carb a bit, turn the idle screws a bit to the conservative side of things and put in a 9.5 power valve so the fuel is there if I need to punch it.

Look! I can actually control my car's fuel usage!!! I LOVE CARBS!

weight reduction
 

What all have you removed to acheive 400lbs. of weight reduction??

This is really close to 400 pounds (390 lbs when last I checked)

Removed front bumper and supports
Removed light bar and remounted fogs
removed skirt around lower engine bay
Removed a/c radiator
removed all a/c hoses
removed a/c compressor
removed all tubes and hoses for heater core
removed hood heatshield pad
battery to the trunk
stripped cruise components
Stripped airbag sensors and airbag and brackets
mechanical fuel pump installed with new timing chain cover
Stock fuel pump removed along with all relays and wiring
stock EEC-4 removed with all relays and 25 lbs of wiring
Pulled all soundproofing except under carpet
Removed frame for dashboard (doesnt need it)
pulled entire fan and heater tract assembly including parts in dash
disabled rear defroster assembly and pulled all relays and wiring
Pulled radio support bracket
Pulled shifter boot plate
Replaced armrest unit with 90' convertible plate
removed back seat support frame flipdowns
removed back seat support bars
removed rear bumper I-beam and supports
removed rear axle damper
removed pinion snubber strike plate
removed spare tire + jack + iron (never came with one)
removed tire well plate
removed front bumper and support beams