LASTOFTHEBREED02T/A

iTrader: (15)

For the last thing i want done on my T/A, would be gears. Not sure what ratio i have, but am positive they are stock.
Im having a mild cam with spring kit installed, shorty headers, and already have an 80 series flowmaster, may remove Cat Convrtrs to compensate for having shorty headers.

Im not trying to sacrifice a whole lot of MPG's, but know that comes with mods.

So... What do 02 TA gear ratio have as stock, and what do you all recommend for a gear ratio upgrade?

floodofnoise

I have an 02 with stock 3.23 ratio. I am planning my gear upgrade as my first mod going to 3.73 ratio. There is a sticky in the gears section that will show you how to check your rpo code to see which stock gears you have either 2.73 or 3.23

TImmy_Jones

iTrader: (4)

I think all 6 speeds are 3.42s....I could be wrong.

Mustang guys swear by gear swaps...I would either do 390s or 410s, but I think people stray away because of the 'weak rear ends'.

For a street car the consensus is:

A4 = 3.73s
M6 = 3.90s or 4.10s

LASTOFTHEBREED02T/A

iTrader: (15)

With the mods im undergoing, I wonder if 373 will be too much... Feedback welcome.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

All M6 cars received 3.42 gears.

The A4 cars came with either 2.73 (GU2) or 3.23 (GU5) gears.

Gears are a great mod for the M6 cars. I wouldn't spend any money on a gear swap for an auto though, until and unless I'd already done a higher stall torque converter. Gains from a gear swap on an auto are minimal compared to gains from a TC swap, and in the end the cost is similar (unless you plan to do the labor on a gear swap yourself). Both mods will cause some loss of MPG in city driving situations, but only the gears will cause a MPG loss on the highway (with a higher stall TC, once you reach lock up, cruising rpms will be the same as stock).

MasterTomos

iTrader: (15)

Stock:
A4=2.73 gears or 3.23 gears
M6=3.42 gears

Most people will tell you to get 3.73's for an A4, and 4.10's for an automatic...in my experience gears haven't made very drastic improvements in 1/4 mile times (the most et improvment obviously comes from making a huge leap like 2.73 to a 3.73)

This is a reason why on a primarily street driven car, I prefer 3.42's in automatics and 3.90's for manual cars. I know this is not the norm, nor will a lot of people tell you this/agree with me...

I basically look at it as why sacrifice a couple mpg/fuel mileage for maybe .1 in the 1/4 mile? IMO not a fair/necessary trade off for minimal performance for a primarily street driven cars...if you're looking for just improved e.t's and dont have any other concerns as far as mileage goes, that's another story...but to me it sounds like OP just wants a little quicker reving/a small performance gain over stock.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I agree. Even the 2.73 to 3.73 swap isn't going to show gains like a ~3500 stall TC will. And doing 3.23 to 3.42 (or even 3.73) is pretty pointless unless you've run out of other things to do.

For an M6, I would do the 4.10s though.

MasterTomos

iTrader: (15)

^I am swapping my 3.23's to 3.42's because I plan on running a 3600 stall converter, and Yank/other stall companies have reccomended at least a 3.42 gear to run a stall of that size for optimal performance. It really all depends on the entire setup and differs from every owners needs/wants from car to car obviously, but I really feel too many people jump on the A4=3.73 bandwagon...

*02WS6TURK*

iTrader: (13)

I don't see anywhere where it says what your have...A4 or M6? If you have a M6, the 3.73's won't be too much. I'm running GM 4.10's and love them. If you currently have the 3.42's in a M6, I would go 3.90's or 4.10's.

LASTOFTHEBREED02T/A

iTrader: (15)

Sorry bout that... I have A4. Great info guys, really appreciate it. I guess tunning will be one of the things that would be more beneficial once all is complete with my car, right?

*02WS6TURK*

iTrader: (13)

I'd definitely go 3.73. I ran the GM 3.73's w/ a Yank SS3600 in my A4 Z28. Great combo. Your speedo will be off. Mine read about 8-10MPH faster then I was really going. Tune solved the problem.

MasterTomos

iTrader: (15)

Proper tuning is neccessary/beneficial for any car, and is a must when you do gears. Btw, there isn't a huge difference between 3.42's and 3.73's, especially in an A4...other than the gas mileage

Nice thing about 3.42's is you can get them out of a factory M6 car. You'll find that many aftermarket gears will make noise/whine. This isn't so with a factory set, and you can get them for cheap. (Got my set for $45 shipped with less than 20k miles on them out of an '02 Camaro)...many people debate that spending any kind of money on beefing up the factory 10 bolt is a waste of money, and they're not really wrong...getting a used, cheap, oem set is a great way to save cash...that way you don't feel as bad when you're rear end explodes

LASTOFTHEBREED02T/A

iTrader: (15)

That's awesome! 45 bucks and oem, U deff cant beat that... Thank u guys so much, after everyones input, im a lil more convinced that gears will be a much later project.

LS1T56FTW

iTrader: (3)

I know this is a bit off topic, but you mentioned you are installing shorty headers with your cam. Honestly, get long tubes or just keep the stock manifolds and save your cash.

Also, for a mild cam-only setup, unless you plan on running nitrous, I would do a 4000 stall/3.73 gear setup. You won't regret it!!!

MasterTomos

iTrader: (15)

^Unless he has to worry about inspection/smog, then I would also suggest at least mids if not long tubes for a cammed car.

justin hover

Man... my 2:73 to 3:73s jump was one of the best moves I've made.. no more sluggish
2nd/3rd gear pull, it's a true sotp feeling... perfect for dd.. I know the 3:73s compared to 2:73s get me to 60mph twice as fast.
If I were to race myself with my old gears I'd have a whole car length by the time I hit 60mph....but 60 to 120mph the 2:73s would kick ***, I never seen any benifit outta 2:73s accept gas and driving 80-130mph which I could care less for gas... and maybe 5% of the time I'll punch it to 125 or so...

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

That's just not correct.

Most people that do 2.73 to 3.73 swap only drop about 2-3 tenths off their ET with a stock converter, and less if you already have a ~3500+ stall. It's not as drastic as it feels, and certainly will not cut your 0-60 time in half.

justin hover

Maybe not half (slightly exagerated) ...but I hit 60mph at least a car length faster than I did with 2:73s...thats for sure....as far as pulling faster top end.. 2:73s were better.
And...it is as drastic as it feels imoa..especially with a tune to really hit those shift points with no slack/lag as it was with stock...with 2:73s the 2nd gear lag was horrible...first gear is a monster in a a4 anyway, but was diminished by the shitty 2nd gear pull...2nd gear with 3:73s throws you back in your seat comparibly...

TImmy_Jones

iTrader: (4)

No one can deny the gains from a gear swap....I am still in denial about my stock rear-end, only reason why it doesn't already have 4.10s in it.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Sounds like there were improvements made to your shift speed and/or torque management reduction/deletion with your tune. You would have noticed some SOTP improvement with those same tuning changes even with stock gears.

There are certainly gains from a gear swap, nobody is denying that, but it's not something I would ever recommend before doing a stall (unless you're getting a killer deal on gears/install/tuning). If you think your car is a whole new animal with 3.73s, try doing a 3500-4000 stall. ET reduction from a stall is about twice what you get from a 2.73 to 3.73 swap (traction dependent). Trust me, I've been through all this stuff on several LS1 cars over the years. Other than N2O/FI, a torque converter upgrade is the single best thing you can do to increase performance with an A4 car.