| Isolde | Oct 22, 2013 10:23 AM | When you multiply out first gear times axle ratio, and your experience is with TH350s and TH400s, the 4L60E looks a little wrong. I still recall my concern the first time I tried 3.73:1 with a 700R-4. Same gearing as 4L60E. Then a friend tried 4.10:1 with his, but his engine was all done by 5800 RPM, while mine was a better match since mine pulled 5500 far more eagerly.
If you're running 28" slicks, then the 4.10:1 will be a great launch.
And when you compare 4L60E gearing to 6L80E gearing, it seems you can't go too deep. But having first gear only good to 25 MPH, and near-useless due to traction problems, then having a top gear that's nowhere near tall enough, well, the 3.73:1 was fun, but ever since then I've stopped at 3.42:1 to make all 4 gears more useable.
If you're gearing the car so you can be at the RPM of your peak HP through the far end of the 1/4-mile, that's understandable, but consider adding a GearVendors to regain some relaxed cruising, unless you live 1 mile from the strip and have a second car for cruising.
Just don't ask the axle ratio to do the job of the torque converter. That never feels right, and it never performs right. |