Automatic Transmission - Do I need to step up gears with 4000 stall?

Hey guys, wanting to get a 4000 stall and wondering if it's worth the trouble of stepping up from my 3.42 gears? Some people say it's not worth the time or money and others say to do it. I'm also stepping up to a larger cam and I'm wondering if I'll lose too much torque if I stay with the higher gears?

In a situation like this, where I assume we are not talking about a track first car, I would certainly say wait on the gears. Get the converter and see how you like it. A 4000 is a lot of stall, but many people like the way they feel. The lower gears like 373s will make the converter feel tighter if the 4000 ends up being too loose. How big is the cam you are talking about?

yea - when you move to lower gears, the experienced stall speed is reduced. the lower gear makes it easier to move the car and in turn makes the input shaft catch up to the motor quicker, making it seem tighter - in simple terms i guess... maybe not the best way to explain it.

the move from a 3.42 to a 3.73 i don't think will be that noticable. i'd go w/ a 4.10 gear. but that's just what I'D do. i have a 3,500 stall w/ a 4.10 - i like it. around town drive is fine.

yea - when you move to lower gears, the experienced stall speed is reduced. the lower gear makes it easier to move the car and in turn makes the input shaft catch up to the motor quicker, making it seem tighter - in simple terms i guess... maybe not the best way to explain it.

the move from a 3.42 to a 3.73 i don't think will be that noticable. i'd go w/ a 4.10 gear. but that's just what I'D do. i have a 3,500 stall w/ a 4.10 - i like it. around town drive is fine.

Personally, I could never see going with 4.10 gears in an auto. I would be afraid of running out of gear. On stock tires (with 3.73's) you run out of 3rd gear at 127 which is fine. But at 4.10 it runs out of 3rd gear at 116 which sucks because we all know shifting into OD at WoT is a bad thing. Plus highway mileage would suck. I wouldn't touch 4.10's unless it was a trailer queen for track duty.

But that's just me. I would keep the 3.42's. That's a perfect gear IMHO for both performance and MPG economy.

I'd stick with the gears you have.

Thanks guys. John, I'm looking at the T-Rex or equivalent cam so I'm trying to keep good torque but not kill myself on the highway. I don't drive on the highway that much but when I do, I don't wanna be running crazy RPM's. I'd like to keep the current gears but I didn't know how my torque would be so thanks for clearing that up guys.

your torque will be all smoke, from the tires that is with that cam.

the t-rex likes 4400 stall converters and i would assume nothing but slicks at the track. i have a 4k stall and drag radials, stock motor except for a lid, and even those BFGs go up in smoke on cold tires. i also have 373 gears...getting a tune for everything thus far next weekend. tqm is KILLING me.