advantages of 3.55 rear gears...?

[ltdcrwnvic]

i got the 3.55 gears several months ago and just havent had the time to put them in. dont have the tools either even if wanted to which i did try but couldnt, the damn pinion nut wat a bitch to take off and after that i couldnt take off da pinion. so i just bolted everything back up and just put in the posi-trac carrier. not a auburn or anything fancy. but i did rebuild it with the ford racing kit and did do a couple of burnouts.
so now my question is what are the advantages of the 3.55 gears? most of you guys have em on your rides and have heard nothing but good things such as better miles per gallon and so on. what else can i expect if i put them in? of course imma have to get a rear-end rebuild kit as well. i want new seals, bearings, crush sleeve, etc.. i just got the axle shafts maybe 1yr ago and still seem pretty good. so wat do you guys have to say...

[87vicFIVEO]

Hey,

Are those player wires????

What is the total diameter of those tires?

What gear ratio do you have now?

To answer your question, 3.55's will improve your acceleration but will probably lower you highway fuel economy.

[mrltd]

Should help out the MPG a bit and give you a bit closer to stock overall gear ratio with the larger wheels. And better acceleration. I doubt highway milage will suffer. All MPG will probably increase.

[87vicFIVEO]

Should help out the MPG a bit and give you a bit closer to stock overall gear ratio with the larger wheels. And better acceleration. I doubt highway milage will suffer. All MPG will probably increase.

Hmmm, can you explain this Mike?

Is it because his engine is working to harder to move the car with the taller gears?

At what point do short gears start to reduce MPG?

[ltdcrwnvic]

yes player wheels, 20 x 8. no spacer, no special mods at all. only thing is that we did have to saw off about a half inch of the studs on the rear axle. wouldnt let it sit nice and flat on the drums.

actually i didnt notice any negative accelaration when i put in the new rims/tires. i did notice better accelaration, and better grip on turns. i didnt feel the cars ass give out or slide underneath me when making a turn at almost 60mph.
so even better accel. and somewhat better m/g is what i can expect.

[87vicFIVEO]

yes player wheels, 20 x 8. no spacer, no special mods at all. only thing is that we did have to saw off about a half inch of the studs on the rear axle. wouldnt let it sit nice and flat on the drums.

actually i didnt notice any negative accelaration when i put in the new rims/tires. i did notice better accelaration, and better grip on turns. i didnt feel the cars ass give out or slide underneath me when making a turn at almost 60mph.
so even better accel. and somewhat better m/g is what i can expect.

If you're running 255/35/20's your total diameter is around 27 inches (which is the same as the stock 205/75/15's) so you shouldn't have felt any difference.

Are those knock offs?

[mrltd]

What are the overall diameter of the tires?

And yeah, less work to move the car down the road. I still get good milage with 3.73's.

[ltdcrwnvic]

off the top of my head i cant tell u, when i get out from work ill take another look. and yes they are knock offs.
also the ride is a lil bit rough. could be do to the low-pros but it doesnt bug me.

[mrltd]

The rough ride is all because of the low profile tires, no question there

[87vicFIVEO]

What are the overall diameter of the tires?

And yeah, less work to move the car down the road. I still get good milage with 3.73's.

I bet it isn't much more than stock.

So why does everyone look at me crazy when I tell them I want to run 4.10's in my daily driver???

[Mr. Land Yacht]

when I had 2.73s(stock gears) I was getting about 24.5mpg hwy and about 15 city.
when I got the 3.55s in...
my hwy mpg went down to 21.7
but city went up to about 16..sometimes 17.
I have stock size wheels/tires.

4.10s are pretty high for a DD.
for example, at 70pm in OD, I'm revving at about 2200...with 2.73s, it was more like 1800 or so...IIRC.
but with 4.10s and stock wheels, you'll be revving at like 2400-2500...mpg shall die quickly

[87vicFIVEO]

Ok so there are two schools of thought on this subject I guess....

[mrltd]

4.10's are a bit much for a 5 liter with an automatic and a daily driver.

I ran short tires (26") and 3.73s and could pull 24mpg on the highway. I haven't cared enough to do milage on the wagon. And I can't remember if I have the correct speedo gear in the wagon....

[87vicFIVEO]

4.10's are a bit much for a 5 liter with an automatic and a daily driver.

I ran short tires (26") and 3.73s and could pull 24mpg on the highway. I haven't cared enough to do milage on the wagon. And I can't remember if I have the correct speedo gear in the wagon....

Well, the rim/tire combo I'm planning for the rear is almost an inch taller than stock, so it should be closer to 3.90.

[Mr. Land Yacht]

I bet if I had some working O2 sensors in my merc, my hwy mpg would prolly be more like 22-22.5ish.
I drove down to Toldeo, OH to meet up with Pete(mercmarquis) and for some reason I was getting 23mpg. I was blown away!
but my buddy was telling me that its kinda downhill that way and the wind was kinda pushing with me.