But what should I get? 4:10s, 3:73s, or 3:42s? How are each for highway and street driving, and what kind of gains should I see at the track?

btw...I have a ST3500 in the car <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="gr_stretch.gif" />

Miah

 

For absolute track performance, 4.10s would be best if you can spin high enough to get through the traps or run bigger slicks.

I would suggest that 3.42s are the best compromise between performance and drivability. The gain from 4.10s compared with 3.42s will be no more than .1 and your highway rpms with 4.10 get pretty high at 75mph.

3.73s work very well for racing from a roll and are a good drag race gear for a bolt-on car.

You'll probably be able to hook up 3.42s on nittos with good track prep. 3.73s become much tougher to hook-up.

 

I would recommend the 3:73's with that converter. But if you are interested in the 3:42's I have a set of 3:42 GM Motive I will sell cheap.

 

If you're going to keep that ST3500 and go up in gears, better start saving for that 12 bolt. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="gr_tounge.gif" />
Actually I've thought about changing gears just to tighten up around town driving a little.
Would also like to hear from anyone who had this converter and 2.73s who changed gears.

 

Ragtop said it best.

But if you want some real world feed back, ask Miriah. She just went from 2:73 to 4:10 and is very happy.

 

im very happy with my 2.73 st3500 combo. but i do wonder sometimes what im giving up in performance.the looseness doesnt bother me at all, and the track prep sucks around here so ive pretty much decided to stay with the 2.73's also i spray out of the hole and i like the extra strenghth of the 2.73's. we only have 1/8 mile tracks near here and with the 2.73's i can go through the traps at top of 2nd gear 92.5 mph at around 6100 rpm. with a deeper gear id prob not be at peak power when i went through.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by gwj:
<strong>If you're going to keep that ST3500 and go up in gears, better start saving for that 12 bolt. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="gr_tounge.gif" />
</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Yeah...thought about that. But I don't have the money right now. So, I'm gonna do the TA girdle and stud kit, and weld crossbraces along the axle tubes. That should hold up nicely until I can afford a 12-bolt.

 

i did the ta girdle, stud kit and us strange 3.73 series 2 carrier 3.73's and nittos all at once. Its a very nice setup <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="gr_grin.gif" /> . We also bought in on ls1edit because theres a lot you can tweak on an a4 for shift speeds/points etc.