RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Which 3600? A Yank?

When I did my first LS1 TC upgrade it was a Yank 3500 with stock 3.23s, and it felt as natural as stock to me after just a few days of driving it. Shortly after, I found myself wishing I had gone with a 4000 instead....and this was mostly a street car too.

BoricuaHec01

Yea, going with the Yank SS3600. So not worth the upgrade unless supporting with gears? When you did the TC upgrade on your first LS1, did you upgrade the entire tranny or used your stock 4L60E?

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Quite the opposite. It's definitely worth the upgrade, especially with stock gears! I just meant that the general cruising behavior of the higher stall felt as nautral as stock after a few days of driving it. There was nothing stock about what would happen at WOT, though. 3500 was so surprisingly streetable to me that I found myself wishing I had gone even higher, but again, looseness is sometimes tolerated differently by different people.

At first, I used the stock trans and it held up fine, only had a few thousand miles on it though (car was almost brand new still). When I did the cam and other modifications, I upgraded to a built FLP (now FLT) unit. The stock trans was still doing fine, but I wanted something more durable for the higher shift points required with the engine upgrades.

BoricuaHec01

Ya I figured WOT would be a different story lol. Wasn't hundred percent sure if I need to upgrade my tranny (ex. level 3 4L60E) cause a friend of mine swapped his tranny and added a stall but that's cause it blew prior. So was wondering if that's the best bet or have mines rebuilt. It's running strong but don't know how much longer that'll last since it's soon reaching the 100k mark.

udienow

iTrader: (18)

I know someone that has 100k on the stock trans and the past 30k daily driven miles have been with a Yank SS3600 and 3.42 gears. Car is only a bolt on car and pulls 1.70 60 foots all day long. I've driven it a few times, and while it does take a bit to get used to driving a stall... once you are used to it you will never want to drive a stock stalled car again.

flattusmaximus78

iTrader: (1)

You guys are crazy saying Mpg's wont go down. Lock up or not. The engine is doing all the acceleration. A gear will help that.

And people saying .1 on a gear swap are even more out of their minds.

Roarin_8

iTrader: (5)

MPGs won't go down, I'm able to watch them on my aeroforce, I get on average 14-16 city and 26 highway and this is with a bigger cam

It's all related to RPMS: shorter gears, numerically higher, will have the engine rev higher for the particular speed. For example doing 1800 rpms at 70 mph on 2.73s as compared to doing 2400 rpms at 70 with 3.73s, the 3.73s will use more gas on the highway because the engine is spinning more.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Think again. Cruising along in lock-up will put you at exactly the same rpms as with a stock stall (same gearing). Doesn't matter if the stall speed is 2000rpm or 4000rpm. Of course, that only applies during lock-up.

A higher (numeric) gear will absolutely NOT help MPG in that situation. Higher cruising rpms does not equal better MPG. This is explained nicely in the post above.

Not crazy at all. This is not new information, and those of us who have experimented with it have known it to be true for years. Once you have a *proper* stall speed in your LS1/4L60E combo, any additional gains are limited to about .1 second of ET reduction going from 3.23 to 3.73, and possibily a bit more (but not always) going from 2.73 to 3.73. Some setups drop almost nothing in the way of ET from a 3.73 swap once they have the proper stall speed. The biggest benefit to a gear swap at that point is the "tighter" feel for around town driving, for those that are bothered by the looseness.

People who do gears *before* the stall will see bigger ET reductions, but much of those reductions are negated if you already have a proper stall speed.

thunderstruck507

iTrader: (18)

Before the ls1 swap my car had a mild 350 in it. I went from 2.56 stock to 3.08 to 3.42 and the car still never really varied more than a tenth at the track in the 1/8th mile.

Gears a "fun" but don't really do much in way of going fast with an automatic unless the car is severely crippled by a bad powerband or way too tall of tire. At least in my experience.

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

There was something majorly wrong if even a 3000 only knocked off .2. Did you run on street tires with the converter?

It wouldn't have been 10 times the mod with gears... A converters gain is not dependent on gears, not even a little bit.

Once you hit lock up (40mph usually) you get the EXACT same mpg as stock and it is at the EXACT same mph and acts EXACTLY the same (until you go XX% throttle or tap the breaks to make it exit lock up).

Gears don't help a converter do anything.

I have a built 4l60e FS.. I also have a 4000 Vig converter to go with it and a trans cooler. At your power levels and weight it would be closer to a 3600.

^I have one FS.

Gears will hurt mpg just as much as a converter.

Hot damn I LOVE seeing this post!

PLEASE post up where people have gained .2 or more from a gear swap. It can be the ONLY mod done for the before/after testing and MUST have DA calculations to back it.

I'll wait... You would be the first of probably 20 people that come up empty handed.

Fact. There have been plenty of people document before/after with gears. The LARGEST ET reduction I have ever seen is .15 and that is going from 2.73s to 3.73s in the 1/4.

A converter will knock off a minimum of .5.




I would rather BE faster and feel the same...
Than..
FEEL faster and be the same.

What I'm saying.. You can FEEL gears and it FEELS great... It doesn't provide the performance gain you feel however.
A converter makes it "lazy" under normal driving but turns into a completely different animal WOT.

Converter, period.

Why do I put gears in a car? To cross the traps at XXXX RPM. Has nothing to do with making my converter feel different or going to a lower gear for more ET reduction. I put gears in based on tire height/1/8 or 1/4/ and everything else.

Boostscootinboogie

Thanks for all the feed back but as of right now im not sure i want to get that crazy with the car. it only has 45K original miles and is all stock and clean other then flowmaster.

I was given a super chip tuner that is not yet been put on the car...is that something worth doing?

and if i was to just do gears for a little more whats good for the street and DD?

Headers i'd consider if i was to keep it long enough as well as converter but i dont want to get deep in to mods yet seeing that the car is at a rare stage and i been on the fence about selling it in a month or so.

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

Stock manual rear with 3.42s. I won't recommend 3.73s for multiple reasons.

Boostscootinboogie

this is auto. whats in that?

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

Either 3.23 or 2.73. You have to look at your door codes.

If you already have 3.23s, don't waste your money on messing with gears.

If you have 2.73s and want a little more pep feeling then pick up a used 3.42 rear from a manual car.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Either 2.73 (RPO GU2) or 3.23 (RPO GU5). You can check the SPID sticker on the driver's door to find this option code.

If you already have 3.23s, going to a 3.42 is hardly worth the effort for any reason. I would not even consider it unless the car needed a new rear anyway.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Haha....I should have refreshed before posting....I basically just re-wrote your post.

Boostscootinboogie

Thanks for the info i will check on that and let you all know. now what about the superchip tuner since i already have it? should i use it? is it safe? do you feel a difference?

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

Yea yea, stealing my brains and stuff!!!



From what I remember... This isn't the first time we agree on something and have the same way explaining it (usually). LOL

I know I've said it before.. Great minds think alike!

Never really heard of it.. Or if I had I have dismissed the info since it is most likely junk.

A lot of those are crap.

If it isn't HPTuners/LIVE, it isn't goign to be hooked up to mine for tuning purposes.

Gunslinger09

CAI/Lid
Stall converter
Headers
12 bolt rear with gears to match your stall

30th t/a

iTrader: (51)

My point exactly. If the OP is looking to wake his daily driver/cruiser up GET GEARS. After reading the OP's original question, Im pretty sure he doesnt want a car that is going to feel "LAZY" under normal driving conditions.

If OP is only concerned with timeslip ET's and racing from a Dig...get a converter (I still wouldnt get a converter if I had 2:73's)

That AND it will make the car ripped through the gear MUCH faster. = fun, on the street and at the track.

Look at most of the M6 guys. One of the first things you do is go 3:90's or 4:10s.

Also, Id rather spend $200-$300 on a used 3:42 rearend and regret it (which is not going to happen)
Than to spend $500-$1000 for a converter, plus $ for a trans cooler, fan, etc.. and then find out how it feels under normal driving