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Worth the effort to swap 3.42 to 3.73?


caseyctsv

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I have the opportunity to pick up a cheap stock 10 bolt from another F-body. It has 3.73 gears in it which is why it interests me (that and it is good when you have an F-body to have a spare rear). Is it worth the effort to swap the rearends for the change in gear ratio?

 

I have been told the gears will "wake it up" but I am not sure if this small of move would be noticable.

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As long as your tires burn up and not your clutch ;)

 

<3 Casey hehehehe

 

EDIT: Get the rear and give it a shot, worse case scenario once you kill one of them you'll have a spare for a % of what you'd have in a 9-inch.

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As long as your tires burn up and not your clutch ;)

 

<3 Casey hehehehe

 

.

 

Jerk.

 

Lol - good news is I think it is fine - did a couple of harder launches on it and it feels like it is good to go.

 

FWIW - we are talking $300 for this complete rear ~40K miles.

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I made the change myself because I picked up a set of 3.73 cheap and there is a noticable difference. I thought the car seemed more aggressive but my ET actually dropped, not sure why but I think it was actually my shifting point because it has picked back up and I haven't done that much. On mine I was just shifting into 4th just before the end of the quarter, but now I shift into fourth much sooner and have time to run it up before I hit the line.
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With the stock 3.42 I tried rolling through the quarter without shifting to fourth - sounded like Anthony driving his Firebird - babababababababababa ;-)

 

Yeah I always had to shift at the last seconds or I'd do the same thing, now I have to shift and have a fews seconds in the gear

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I always suggest putting no money into the stock 10-bolt, and saving that cash for a 8.8", 9", 12-bolt, or Dana.

 

I noticed a slight difference going from my stock rear to my Moser w/ 3.73's...noticed it more at the track, but I was bolting on different tires than I ran before too.

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Get it. If you don't use it it wouldmake a great spare for WHEN you kill the stocker. And if it's truly completely as in brakes and backing plates $300 is a helluva price. People buy those brake brackets on tech all day long ;)
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No, the change is not worth it. I did it on my 94Z and I wish I woulda done 4.10s instead.

 

Don't do it.

If you are getting the entire rear already built for a good price, go for it. Otherwise, it's not worth it if you need to get them installed. After you factor in the install costs and materials, just get a S60, 9" or 12 bolt.

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If you are getting the entire rear already built for a good price, go for it. Otherwise, it's not worth it if you need to get them installed. After you factor in the install costs and materials, just get a S60, 9" or 12 bolt.

 

It is the entire rear - a direct swap for what's in there now. I am going to kick it around a bit.

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I know lots of guys with six speed cars that went 3.73s and wished they went 4.10s. Keep in mind the higher ratio you go the more likely you are to break it in that powerhouse rear. I went 4.10s and broke them, went back to 3.42s and didn't break them but after awhile they whined like crazy so I put another set of 3.42s in and then totaled the car (not on purpose).

 

Big difference in the car with the 4.10s- 2nd was like 1st, third like 2nd etc- only problem was traction was now non-existant on the street and I had to get a set of sticky tires which made track trips less fun. They were great for dropping to 3rd or 4th on the freeway though- my 1/4 mile time did not change for some reason- even dropping it at 5K on et streets (maybe I didn't have enough power for them?)... I went back to the 3.42s (street traction) if picked another I probablly would have tried 3.90s but they probably would have been just as bad and its all a waste with that 7 5/8 rear.

 

I am with the rest- save for a 9" or 12 bolt. other than cowl shake, bad power windows, headlight motors, and t-top leaks thats about all there is that is wrong with the f-bodies. They have really come down in price from where they used to be.

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