[grimerley]

which is better in a 5 speed car i have been reading all these fourms about gears to be the first mod and i am stuck between these gears to which of the two would be the best i have also heard that a 3.90 would be good i want the car fast but it still has to be a daily driver so any info would be greatly welcomed

[05horse]

Originally Posted by grimerley

which is better in a 5 speed car i have been reading all these fourms about gears to be the first mod and i am stuck between these gears to which of the two would be the best i have also heard that a 3.90 would be good i want the car fast but it still has to be a daily driver so any info would be greatly welcomed

3.73 or 3.90

i love my 3.73's

[cindys_sn95]

o.k. daily driver, 10 miles or 100? interstate or not?

[nearlystock5.0]

in my opinion, the 3:55's are the best choice for all around driving. the difference between the two are less than 10%. if you do ANY amount of hwy driving, i say go with the 3:55's. @ 60 m.p.h., i'm turning 2,000 r.p.m.'s with the 3:55's. if i had 3:73's in it , i'd be turning roughly 2,200 r.p.m.'s . 3:73's will give you slightly better acceleration all things being equal. remember; the more power you have, the less gear you need.

[Pro Mustang]

There is not a huge difference in these gears. I put 3.73's in my 96 because it is a V6. At 75 mph it is turning about 2600 rpm.

I also have a 94 GT. On the GT I did not want my rpms more tham 2500 (personal preference) so I went with 3.55's. At 75 mph it turns about 2450 rpm. I like them and I use it on the interstate quite a bit. Additionally, if you drive decent they really do not hurt your mileage much at all.

[grimerley]

drive about 160 miles a week not alot of hwy but some ok so im getting the idea of the 3.73 would be the best choice sense there is not alot of diff between the two

[rj8806]

Originally Posted by grimerley

...... idea of the 3.73 would be the best choice sense there is not alot of diff between the two

Actually there is quite a bit of difference between the 2. So far, everyone has compared the 2 gear choices with 5th gear, no one has yet to tell you what's going to happen to your 1st gear.
With your T5, you have a 3.35 1st gear ratio. When you couple that 1st gear ratio with a 3.73 rear gear, you essentially end up with a stump puller for 1st gear. I know because my '90 mustang also had a 3.35 1st gear and I ran 3.73's as well. I never used 1st because it was useless. It was good for putting on a burn out show but as far as being a useable 1st gear, forget about it. The 3.55's will give you a more useable 1st gear, which helps in stop and go traffic(daily driving).
It's really going to depend on you and your driving style. If you like a short 1st gear (read useless), then go 3.73. If you want a useable 1st gear, then go 3.55. Like everyone else said, the 3.73 will get you going quick, but you will have to shift out of 1st almost as soon as you let the clutch out. The cruising rpm difference between the 2 is about 200rpm.

My daily driver (2000GT with a T45 5 speed and a 3.37 1st gear) runs a 3.55 rear gear. I too had to make a decision not to long ago about gears and decided that the 3.55's would better suit me for a daily driver. I got tired of not having a 1st gear.



Richard
Tech Support
Tremec TKO, T45 & T56 Transmission Systems

[cmozez]

I have 3.73's in my 94. I wish I would have went with 3.55's.

[95blkcobra]

4.10's at 65 ur at 2200 rpms

[grimerley]

in that case i guess it would be wise to go with the 3.55 then cause i would like to have a first gear that is usable but still get me going to

[rj8806]

Originally Posted by 95blkcobra

4.10's at 65 ur at 2200 rpms

Once again, it's not the overdrive that needs to be considered here, 4.10's and a 3.35 1st gear ratio means you now have a 4 speed overdrive and ABSOLUTELY no 1st gear at all.

Just so you know, the math says 4.10's, a 26" tall tire, the .68 5th gear of a T5 and 2200rpm equates to 61mph, not 65.
If this is true for your car, you may want to get your speedo re-calibrated.






Richard
Tech Support
Tremec TKO, T45 & T56 Transmission Systems

[grimerley]

all i need to know now is the 3.55 has a fast take off but yet still gives me my first gear for daily driving ?

[hunter548]

I have the 3.73's in my 95 vert 5sp and I love the acceleration. I do mostly highway and get about 22 mpg on average. The only annoyance is the speedometer reads 5mph low with the 23 tooth speedometer gear change. Gives me a slight cushion against speeding though.