khartford

Hello Gang,
I currently have 3.07 gears in my near stock 89 A4 Vette and wonder what kind of 1/4 mile e.t. improvement I'll see if I install 3.54 gears
Is it worth the $$$$$ ?
Thanks for responding !
Ken

redcorvettedave

none on a STOCK L98!!.......you would not even get out the hole...without DR ........and your rear would not last long!

BADDUCK

Well, my early 89 6 speed coupe has them. It's quick! I think you will have to change the entire rear end, but not sure.
It has over 50K and doin' fine!

redcorvettedave

..But he wants to improve his ET.....and his vette is an A4...weak
rearend D36....yours D44

BADDUCK

So you're saying he'll simply run ouy of gears? How 'bout a 3.33 lots of them around?

redcorvettedave

A4 ...L98...... I would start with headers and exhaust and Drag Radials first ....this should improve et.

I believe steeper gears will take you out of your power band to quickly?
maybe someone with an L98 will grime in. PEACE!!

Vic'89

Do not waste you money on installing 3.54's in a 3.07 rear for TPI Vettes. TPI Vettes dont need the high gearing.

You will gain better ET's with a 2500 RPM torque convertor and some headers.

Vic

CentralCoaster

I disagree.


A shorter gear is ALWAYS better for launching.

The tire speed is much less at your launch rpm, so after dropping the clutch, so you can actually slip the tires a bit and still get traction back.

Also, when/if you do hook, it won't bog the engine down as much.

I'm running 3.45s on my stock '85 L98. I end the 1/8th mile at 4900 rpm and the 1/4 at about 4600rpm. Which is near PERFECT for the L98 powerband. 3.54s should be ok.

Archaea

from best I can tell my near stock l98 has 410 gearing since I run at about 2100 RPM at ~70 mph in sixth gear on the zf six speed.

The car will leave two long black marks 75-100 feet long on a strong launch. Regardless of ET----the car is fun with the extra torquey feeling down low. I've not driven another "stock" c4 though so I can't compare it to anything. I'm not even 100% sure I have 410. It just seems to make sense with the RPM to mph ratio I have. I don't really know what mods the owners before me did to my vette. I know it has catback, chip, throttle body spacer, and most likely gearing.

rodj

"Also, when/if you do hook, it won't bog the engine down as much".

But you have a stick and the inherent problems that come with launching L98 manuals.
I with Vic for a A4 combo.
Unless you have a free set of gears and someone to install them for nothing would get better gains spending money on items mentioned.
My 100K ,heads never been off L98 , is running 12.9X - 1.7X 60fts on 3.07s with DRs.

427t-top

the gears will be alot more fun but little help in the 1/4 mile with a stock engine. The 3:07 is the ideal gear for the stock L98, having said that, I have 3.73's and love them in my a4

vader86

You will probably lose time in the 1/4mi with 3.54s in a TPI automatic.

Do not install them, 3.07 is perfect already.

BADDUCK

Still looks like the 3.33 would be worth a try. Lot's of them out there. It should be worth a try.

CentralCoaster

What was your finishing rpm with the stock motor and 3.07s? Lemme guess, less than 4000rpm?

You're finishing the 1/4 before you even hit your hp peak in 4th.

vader86

Why are you even talking about 4th gear with an automatic?

CentralCoaster

3rd for you. Your 1:1 gear. Don't play dumb, you know what I mean.

vader86

And exactly where do you think our stock automatics shift themselves?
I'll give you a hint and say its not where you shift your manual.


Every stock and near-stock L98 auto that I have seen at Atlanta Dragway, in street races, and here on the forum in 5 years has lost time when going to lower gear ratios. Nearly all pulled better 60's with them, and lost ET.

Now I'm not going to argue about what I've seen firsthand. If you want to debate it, then try it with the other people here who have told him not to go with 3.54s.

CentralCoaster

Well, if you're gonna act like Mr. Know-it-all, then why don't you enlighten us with an explanation rather than just telling me I'm wrong. Is the auto going to shift into Overdrive at 4000rpm if your shifter is in Drive?

vader86

i'm not acting like a know-it-all

What I do see is what I normally see from people who want to smart off to me: I make a post they dont like, 10 other people say something similar, person decides to quote me and call me out because they want to entice an argument with me. Dimwit troll with 5 total posts can say the exact same thing, and they want to call me out for some-odd reason, maybe their mother didnt tell them "i love you" enough or something, I dont know.

They dont say sh** to anyone else with the same opinion, they just go into the "OOh OOh, Vader86 posted something I dont like, so i'll give him sh**" syndrome.

So you know what? I dont have to explain, and since its 1:32am, and I'm on vacation, I dont feel like doing it for your personal amusement.

Now I apologize to the original poster for saying this in his thread, because I know everybody will throw a sh**-fit all over again.

As I recall, my rpm at the traps was right at (or just barely under) the HP peak of the engine.

CentralCoaster

Must be a helluva vacation youre having if you're on here. Anyhow, since you're short on time, I'll keep it simple.

F*** you vader.