3.73 or 4.11
3.73 or 4.11 My car is an everyday driver. The gears will be going into a 12 bolt once i get it. Just want to get the best selected gears before i buy them. I street race every so often. Sometimes i go to the track. With my mods below and nitrous should i get the 3.73 or the 4.11's?
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 364
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From: Chicago; South Side
I just got a Strange 12 bolt with 4.11's in a daily driver. I could not be happier. Lots more "go" all the time. In heavy traffic I can shift 1-3-5 or 1-4-6. Very easy to drive in heavy rush hour traffic. Much better than the old 3.42's. Oh, and when you want to leave in a hurry..........hang on tight. Best mod I've done. + I can now chirp the tires between 2 and 3. 
TECH Resident
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 855
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From: AUSTIN TX
Well, I am going to go against the groove on this one. I would have to say 3.73's. There are 3 reasons for my suggestion: first you said you like to street race occasionally and since very few street races actually end at the 1/4 mile mark you will be shifting into 5th; second, you appear to be stock cammed and valvetrain and you do not mention anything about changing that so you will top out in 4th at about 112 mph which is about perfect for a bolt on car, but not on the spray;if you run at the track and run any kind of number with the spray you will be out of gear by about 1000 feet.
I am actually having the same debate and I am leaning towards 4.11's; but I do not have NOS, and do have plans in the future of getting cam and heads and then will be able to bump up the rev limiter and shift points a little. Basically a stock valvetrained car on the spray will want less gear so I am suggesting 3.73's.
I am actually having the same debate and I am leaning towards 4.11's; but I do not have NOS, and do have plans in the future of getting cam and heads and then will be able to bump up the rev limiter and shift points a little. Basically a stock valvetrained car on the spray will want less gear so I am suggesting 3.73's.
It sounds to me like N20 and 4.11s are not a good combination? Is it because the RPMs jump up so fast? seems to me that i would put myself back in the same situation i'm in now with the stock 3.42s. I need to shift into 4th gear. With N20 and 4.11's i think i would need to shift into 5th gear if i spray. Then i would be back to square one. Is that correct?
Makes sense to go with 4.11s if your N/A. But it also makes sense to get 4.11's with N20. But then again it makes alot of sense to have 3.73 with N20.
Does anyone have N20 with 4.11's? What is the trap speed when using N20?
Makes sense to go with 4.11s if your N/A. But it also makes sense to get 4.11's with N20. But then again it makes alot of sense to have 3.73 with N20.
Does anyone have N20 with 4.11's? What is the trap speed when using N20?
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TECH Resident
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 855
Likes: 0
From: AUSTIN TX
Originally Posted by Camaroguy
It sounds to me like N20 and 4.11s are not a good combination? Is it because the RPMs jump up so fast? seems to me that i would put myself back in the same situation i'm in now with the stock 3.42s. I need to shift into 4th gear. With N20 and 4.11's i think i would need to shift into 5th gear if i spray. Then i would be back to square one. Is that correct?
Makes sense to go with 4.11s if your N/A. But it also makes sense to get 4.11's with N20. But then again it makes alot of sense to have 3.73 with N20.
Does anyone have N20 with 4.11's? What is the trap speed when using N20?
Makes sense to go with 4.11s if your N/A. But it also makes sense to get 4.11's with N20. But then again it makes alot of sense to have 3.73 with N20.
Does anyone have N20 with 4.11's? What is the trap speed when using N20?
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I run a 4.10 in the stock 10 bolt and made very little gain over the 3.42 in et, but then again I have only run 1/8 mile. This was with a totally stock car with k&n and a flowmaster. However the 4.10 was much more fun to drive on the street, and it actually made 6th gear usable. Besides, whats so bad about going to 5th? I now run a 4.56 in my 12 bolt, and the car will still run around 140-150 in 5th gear depending on how high I rev. (limiter set at 7,000 
)
) TECH Resident
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 855
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From: AUSTIN TX
Originally Posted by 5LTREATR
I run a 4.10 in the stock 10 bolt and made very little gain over the 3.42 in et, but then again I have only run 1/8 mile. This was with a totally stock car with k&n and a flowmaster. However the 4.10 was much more fun to drive on the street, and it actually made 6th gear usable. Besides, whats so bad about going to 5th? I now run a 4.56 in my 12 bolt, and the car will still run around 140-150 in 5th gear depending on how high I rev. (limiter set at 7,000 )
)
Originally Posted by BOWTIE
Look at your sig, then look at his. He is running a stock cam and valvetrain on the spray. If he turns his motor 7,000 (I doubt he could due to all the valve float, but if he did) someone will have to pick up all the pieces of his motor caused by the pistons smacking the valves after his pushrods broke and hung the valve open due to valve float. I have seen several post on this forum and others that actually showed huge drops in dyno numbers after about 5800-6000 rpms and it was attributed to valve float caused by the tired stock springs. As far as the shifting into 5th at the track goes, I suspect it is not reccomended because of the parasitic losses that occur when using an over drive ratio. If someone has easy access to a dyno, why don't you check this theory. Dyno it once in 4th, and then dyno it again in 5th, see if the numbers fall off. If they due, it is because of increased parasitic losses in the tranny. I tried this with a 3-4 dyno the last time I dyno'd. I had them run a third pull in 3rd instead of 4th, and the power dropped by about 15 hp; however, they did not let it cool down first and so we got a little knock retard.
Originally Posted by 5LTREATR
I wasn't saying that he should turn his car 7,000 rpm. I actually give my opinion of the 4.10 based on how it done in my car when it was basically stock. My shift points then were around 5,700 rpm to make the car run its best. I also hear that the lower the gear ratio, the less rwhp is made on the dyno. Ex. 4.56 would make less rwhp than 4.10. This is straigh from Mikes mouth at More Performance. But the way I look at it, if you gear it low enough, pretty soon fifth gear rpms would soon be similar to fourth gear rpms if you put a low enough gear in it. Then all that matters is how fast you can shift. Besides, the lower gear should help the 60ft. more provided there is traction. I also look at a chassis dyno as a tuning device. The engine is still making the same amount of power and torque, regardless of what gear it is in. I would just pick a gear that keeps it in its power the best at the track!
Right now it seems to me that 3.73 are the right choice. Although later i did want to add a tr224 cam or an ls6 cam and keep the nitrous. The n20 shot is a 85 shot. will going from 3.42s to 3.73s even be noticable? will it improve times at all?
i have a 3.23 and nitrous on a stock motor.. im trying to figure out how im going to run a big cam and still use the 3.23 gears in my auto! i really dont want to run a 373 or 411 on the nitrous cuase im afraid ill run out of gear! and i want to finish in 3rd lol, not overdrive... i think i may go with a 3.42 and a futral f9 n2o cam with only a 3000 stall.. lol so if im going way outta my way to run a 3.42 with a cam that will allow me to rev higher ect, then u should prolly keep the 3.42! heres why.. b/c u cant spray a 150 shot to 7000rpm no matter on a stock bottomend... and so if u cut the spray out at 6000, then ur all motor for 800rpm or more just to make it thru the traps... i see no reason to do this!
I went with 3.73's do to a few reasons. The 4.10's are a little easier to break due to smaller size, traction problems, and chance of running out of gear. Mine hardly ever goes to the track and will be getting a 125 shot in the coming months so I need the extra rpms! 
It all depends on what you are doing with the car. Each gear has its pros and cons, just depends on you and your wants for the car.
It all depends on what you are doing with the car. Each gear has its pros and cons, just depends on you and your wants for the car. 
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 273
Likes: 1
From: Trois-Rivières (Québec / Canada)
I had 4.10's when the car was only bolt-on and really loved those gears! I had traction issues in 1st however.
Now I have a 382 stroker. I went back to 3.73's (12 bolts) and I'm very glad I did. Here's my reasons:
1- Traction : Even with 3.73's I will spin badly in 1st and sometimes in 2nd (SZ50 275/40/17). I can only really hook my 3rd gear. 4.10's would have been a nightmare.
2- Trap speed : I don't want to shift into 5th at the end of the quarter. I have never do the quarter since the 382 was installed but I intend to give it a try next summer. I will probably trap in the 118-120mph range and I would have ran out of gear with 4.10's (limiter at 6400rpm).
3- Fuel comsumption : The car is my daily driver. With 382/3.73's combo, I lost only 1 mpg in town but gained 2 mpg on highway vs my previous bolt-on 346 with 4.10's.
4- Cam : I only got a 224/112 in the stroker (that's a baby cam by today's standards) but I really love it! Near stock manners with plenty of torque in the low end (350rwtq at 2200rpm). 3.73's were perfectly suited for that cam.
I'm really no expert in nitrous but IMO since you already have drag radials, you should be OK with 4.11's and your 85 shot if you don't spray it right out of the box. And those 4.11's will be perfect for the 99.9% of the time when you will not use the juice.
Now if you intend to do major mods (heads, cam, cubes...) in the future with your N2O, then you should go with 3.73's instead.
Good Luck with your choice. Either way, your ride will be a blast to drive!
Now I have a 382 stroker. I went back to 3.73's (12 bolts) and I'm very glad I did. Here's my reasons:
1- Traction : Even with 3.73's I will spin badly in 1st and sometimes in 2nd (SZ50 275/40/17). I can only really hook my 3rd gear. 4.10's would have been a nightmare.
2- Trap speed : I don't want to shift into 5th at the end of the quarter. I have never do the quarter since the 382 was installed but I intend to give it a try next summer. I will probably trap in the 118-120mph range and I would have ran out of gear with 4.10's (limiter at 6400rpm).
3- Fuel comsumption : The car is my daily driver. With 382/3.73's combo, I lost only 1 mpg in town but gained 2 mpg on highway vs my previous bolt-on 346 with 4.10's.
4- Cam : I only got a 224/112 in the stroker (that's a baby cam by today's standards) but I really love it! Near stock manners with plenty of torque in the low end (350rwtq at 2200rpm). 3.73's were perfectly suited for that cam.
I'm really no expert in nitrous but IMO since you already have drag radials, you should be OK with 4.11's and your 85 shot if you don't spray it right out of the box. And those 4.11's will be perfect for the 99.9% of the time when you will not use the juice.
Now if you intend to do major mods (heads, cam, cubes...) in the future with your N2O, then you should go with 3.73's instead.
Good Luck with your choice. Either way, your ride will be a blast to drive!
Last edited by Blue Hawk; Dec 28, 2004 at 01:39 PM.
Thanks for the feeback guys..
1 question though. Which set of gears with my mods get me the lowest 1/4 mile times?
N/A 4.11s and n20 run 3.73s? or will the 4.11s get me the lowest times since im using such a small shot of n20?
1 question though. Which set of gears with my mods get me the lowest 1/4 mile times?
N/A 4.11s and n20 run 3.73s? or will the 4.11s get me the lowest times since im using such a small shot of n20?
