Is better gears a good first mod?
10-31-2013, 08:25 PM
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Is better gears a good first mod? I have a 98 A4 trans am and was thinking about buying better gears for it. I looked on the RPO codes and found that I have the GU2 code which means 2.73 rear end. I know that I would have to upgrade to a series 3 carrier to get 3.73 gears, but I have heard that I can put 3.42 gears in a series 2 carrier, is this true? Would it be better to just get a series 3 and get 3.73 instead? And should I do any other mods before upgrading gears? I am fairly certain that my car is a stock ls1 other than a magnaflow catback. I will probably at least do a lid before gears, since it is so cheap anyways.
10-31-2013, 08:30 PM
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You can often find whole rear ends for the cost of a
new set of gears. Of course condition is on you, but
then so is the quality of a swap's setup.
You will not be able to hook up 3.23s or 3.42s with
any decent mods so I don't recommend you go with
3.73s. All you will do is effefctively throw away first
gear and lose MPG / pick up more highway RPM.
Tuning your shiftpoints and getting a sensible torque
converter would do way more for you with less of a
tradeoff.
new set of gears. Of course condition is on you, but
then so is the quality of a swap's setup.
You will not be able to hook up 3.23s or 3.42s with
any decent mods so I don't recommend you go with
3.73s. All you will do is effefctively throw away first
gear and lose MPG / pick up more highway RPM.
Tuning your shiftpoints and getting a sensible torque
converter would do way more for you with less of a
tradeoff.
10-31-2013, 08:31 PM
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You can often find whole rear ends for the cost of a
new set of gears. Of course condition is on you, but
then so is the quality of a swap's setup.
You will not be able to hook up 3.23s or 3.42s with
any decent mods so I don't recommend you go with
3.73s. All you will do is effefctively throw away first
gear and lose MPG / pick up more highway RPM.
Tuning your shiftpoints and getting a sensible torque
converter would do way more for you with less of a
tradeoff.
new set of gears. Of course condition is on you, but
then so is the quality of a swap's setup.
You will not be able to hook up 3.23s or 3.42s with
any decent mods so I don't recommend you go with
3.73s. All you will do is effefctively throw away first
gear and lose MPG / pick up more highway RPM.
Tuning your shiftpoints and getting a sensible torque
converter would do way more for you with less of a
tradeoff.
10-31-2013, 08:44 PM
#6
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You can often find whole rear ends for the cost of a
new set of gears. Of course condition is on you, but
then so is the quality of a swap's setup.
You will not be able to hook up 3.23s or 3.42s with
any decent mods so I don't recommend you go with
3.73s. All you will do is effefctively throw away first
gear and lose MPG / pick up more highway RPM.
Tuning your shiftpoints and getting a sensible torque
converter would do way more for you with less of a
tradeoff.
new set of gears. Of course condition is on you, but
then so is the quality of a swap's setup.
You will not be able to hook up 3.23s or 3.42s with
any decent mods so I don't recommend you go with
3.73s. All you will do is effefctively throw away first
gear and lose MPG / pick up more highway RPM.
Tuning your shiftpoints and getting a sensible torque
converter would do way more for you with less of a
tradeoff.
When you say shiftpoints do you mean shifting higher in the rpm band or lower? I would assume higher as my car normally shifts at WOT at around 5500 rpm.
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10-31-2013, 10:07 PM
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All LS1 F-bodies came with limited slip (G80) stock.
To the original question of this thread, I would suggest you forget about gears and go with a higher stall torque converter. ~3500 stall is a good compromise between street manners and performance, even for a stock engine. A stall converter of that range will offer double the acceleration gains of a 3.73 gear swap, all while having zero effect on MPG at lock-up cruising speeds. When it comes to an LS1/4L60E combo, a 3.73 gear swap isn't worth much in the way of additional gains once you have the proper stall speed; usually about one tenth or so of additional ET reduction.
There is a wealth of information on this topic in the auto trans section. I could type for hours, but my suggestion is to search this topic for nearly endless reading material.
To the original question of this thread, I would suggest you forget about gears and go with a higher stall torque converter. ~3500 stall is a good compromise between street manners and performance, even for a stock engine. A stall converter of that range will offer double the acceleration gains of a 3.73 gear swap, all while having zero effect on MPG at lock-up cruising speeds. When it comes to an LS1/4L60E combo, a 3.73 gear swap isn't worth much in the way of additional gains once you have the proper stall speed; usually about one tenth or so of additional ET reduction.
There is a wealth of information on this topic in the auto trans section. I could type for hours, but my suggestion is to search this topic for nearly endless reading material.
10-31-2013, 10:23 PM
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All LS1 F-bodies came with limited slip (G80) stock.
To the original question of this thread, I would suggest you forget about gears and go with a higher stall torque converter. ~3500 stall is a good compromise between street manners and performance, even for a stock engine. A stall converter of that range will offer double the acceleration gains of a 3.73 gear swap, all while having zero effect on MPG at lock-up cruising speeds. When it comes to an LS1/4L60E combo, a 3.73 gear swap isn't worth much in the way of additional gains once you have the proper stall speed; usually about one tenth or so of additional ET reduction.
There is a wealth of information on this topic in the auto trans section. I could type for hours, but my suggestion is to search this topic for nearly endless reading material.
To the original question of this thread, I would suggest you forget about gears and go with a higher stall torque converter. ~3500 stall is a good compromise between street manners and performance, even for a stock engine. A stall converter of that range will offer double the acceleration gains of a 3.73 gear swap, all while having zero effect on MPG at lock-up cruising speeds. When it comes to an LS1/4L60E combo, a 3.73 gear swap isn't worth much in the way of additional gains once you have the proper stall speed; usually about one tenth or so of additional ET reduction.
There is a wealth of information on this topic in the auto trans section. I could type for hours, but my suggestion is to search this topic for nearly endless reading material.
11-03-2013, 01:39 PM
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11-03-2013, 04:11 PM
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I guess I worded it kinda dumb. What I meant is to get the stall and gears at the same time. I'm under the impression that riding around town with 2.73s and a 3600+ stall converter isn't very ideal. Please correct me if I'm wrong though.
11-03-2013, 05:09 PM
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I'd say to try it first without the gears and see what you think. It's a lot of extra money to do a gear swap, and then if it's not setup just right you might have some extra whine to deal with, and with the higher (numeric) ratio you'll lose some highway MPG.
11-04-2013, 07:24 AM
#15
I would do a stall and gears so you don't have to get two tunes, but I would do gears before a stall. Maybe it's just that I had a little 3000 fti, but it didn't flash high enough in the rpms to get the car in the power band so it still lugged along. Picked up a 10th on 28" tall tires with 3.27's. Prob would have been a nice gain on 26" tall tires but my radials were all I had. I still need some effin gears.
11-04-2013, 08:24 AM
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Do I need a tune after I get a stall? If so, can I do it myself with HPTuners or something along that line? I know computers well enough(I'm a computer information systems major, actually). But I don't know what you actually DO when tuning it. Like, what do I change?
11-04-2013, 09:31 AM
#18
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A tune is highly recommended for that particular set up which includes shift points, torque management, rev limiter, fans, etc.
11-04-2013, 09:33 AM
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according to what i've read anything over 3300 stall the computer thinks the trans is slipping so you do need a tune. i always tell newbies to check out an old article may superchevy 2004 ls1 dos & donts. that article does say 3:73's for an A4 (auto) but i would listen to the guys on this board especially jimmy blue. unless your going to the track im happy with my 2:73's. i will know next spring if i made the right decision going with a 3k stall. most of the guys here like 3600. cheers
11-04-2013, 11:26 AM
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A tune is not usually a "requirement" to get the car to run properly with a stall. I've had ~3500 stalls before with a stock tune for a period of time and there were no significant problems (I do recall some slight idle surge, due to the higher stall "unloading" the engine at idle....though this mostly cleared up once the PCM had time to relearn). This was on older models though ('98-'00), I remember that the '01+ PCM is more sensitive to higher stall speeds and will sometimes have more significant issues without a tune. Since the OP has a '98 though, getting by on the stock tune for a period of time should be entirely doable.
But yes, a tune is needed to maximize shift and overall trans performance.
With gears, you'll want the the tune to correct the speedometer and shift points.
Again, gears of a 3.73 ratio or (numerically) lower offer no more than about ~1 tenth of additional ET reduction on an LS1/4L60E combo with a stall speed of about ~3500 or more.
But yes, a tune is needed to maximize shift and overall trans performance.
With gears, you'll want the the tune to correct the speedometer and shift points.
Again, gears of a 3.73 ratio or (numerically) lower offer no more than about ~1 tenth of additional ET reduction on an LS1/4L60E combo with a stall speed of about ~3500 or more.