i just got a 96 vert a couple of weeks ago i beleive its all stock and i was told the best way to get better perfromance is to change the gears and i was wondering what i should get and were to get them

 

What is it??

Auto or Stick ??

If its a Auto I heard 353 are nice.

 

auto i was told 373 are good

 

They would be good off the line ... No doubt
Not sure about the highway though.

Maybe someone will chime in who has 373 in a Auto "A4"


Good Luck

 

im wondering if you have a dana 36 or a dana 44 housing?
the dana 44 would be the more desirable one.

my auto has some 2.73 gears in it now. and I bought a used dana housing complete set up with some 3.07 gears for cheap.

I too wanted some 3.73 gears, priced out a install kit and gears from summit for just shy of 500$ then would have to have a pro instal the gear mesh correctly. would probly of ended up costing 1K.

my corvette has the following gears in the tranny:
first = 3.06
secont - 1.63
third - 1.0
fourth- .70

with my current 2.73 gears it breaks down like this
first = 2500 rpm = 21 mph
second= 2500 rpm = 39.5 mph
third = 2500 rpm = 64.3 mph
fourth = 2500 rpm = 91.8 mph.

if I installed 3.73 gears mph would change to this
first - 2500rpm = 15.4 mph
second - 2500 rpm = 28.9 mph
third - 2500 rpm = 47.1 mph
fourth - 2500 rpm = 67.2 mph.

you can see how a drastic gear change will affect your rpm at a certan mph with a set of 3.73 gears you need to buzz 3000rpm to hit 80 mph on the highway 3k would be quite annoying after an hour long road trip or so.
here is the link to a good place to mess around with gear ratios and see what engine rpm it takes to fit in your realistic driving range.
http://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_speed_rpm.htm

the stock tire loaded radius size is 11.8 inches.
avalable gear ratios are as follows, 2.59 / 2.73 / 3.07 / 3.54 / 3.73 / 3.75 / and I think they even go to 4.10 maby.

 

I'm pretty sure that all autos came with the Dana 36 gears and the six speeds have the Dana 44. I could be wrong on that. 373s and a higher converter will give you better launches and 1/4 times. I have 4.10s in my six speed and I lost a few miles per gallon on the highway, but I picked up a few tenths of a second in the 1/4 mile. Best bang-for-buck mod on my car. LT headers would be a close second.

 

find out what gearset you have.if you already have a 3.07 i would consider going with a stall converter first.you might not need any more gear.
if you have the 2.59 i would go 3.07 if i could find a deal on a used set.a 3.45/3.54 would be the most i would run with a stock/mild engine.
yours is the dana 36.if you can find a deal on a d44 the whole swap is nice.if you arent planning on sticky tires and alot of dragstrip abuse it is'nt necessary IMO.

 

where can i see what gear i have and what is dana 36 and dana 44 what does that do

 

I'm not sure on how to check for the gears you have, but I know someone on here does. The Dana 36 and 44 are just the names of the actual rear-end carrier. A Dana 44 is a more heavy duty unit, which allows it to be abused more than the 36 without breaking. Also, the Dana 44 can accept 4.10 gears without modification to the carrier. Like 96-LT4 said, if you don't plan on seeing a lot of strip/race time, then you won't need the Dana 44. Doing just gears cost me about $350 installed, but that cost will depend on if you do the gears yourself or have them installed professionally. Replacing the entire rearend will cost quite a bit more than that.

 

Dana 44 has two cover bolts on top, Dana 36 has one bolt in the center on top.

 

3.45's really wake up the LT1 with an A4.

3.07s are popular with the L98 crowd because they run out of power at a lower rpm than the LT1. I've done a lot of mods to my 95 and a D44 with 3.45s was my best mod.
2800 stall was second best.

The heads/cam etc were all done at the same time so who knows.

LT headers really improved my mid range.

(I ran headers, gears, and stall for a while and was surprising Mustang owners and even a few Cobras.)


Mike

 

go drive your vette, put it in 3rd gear on the auto matic shifter, so it wont go to 4th gear, then crooze around at a comftorble 55 mph. and take note of where your rpms are at. then plug in the numbers in the link I gave up above.

55 mph in 3rd ( 1.0 to 1 tranny ratio ) at 11.8 loaded tire radius hovering around 2000 rpm would sugguest 2.59 gears
around 2200 rpm would be 2.73 gears
and around 2400 rpm would be 3.07 gears.

 

For one thing if you have an Auto you have a D36 from the factory. The D44 was only available from the factory with a Manual tranny.


As far as gear ratio in your car, you can check your RPO list under your center console lid. For instance if you have code GM1 that is for a 2.59 gear ratio. It is my understanding the lowest ratio (highest numerically) you could get from the factory in a D36 is a 3.07. I could be wrong about that.

I originally had 2.59 in my D36. I changed those out to 3.54. Personally I would not go any lower ratio than that with an Auto, and in fact I decided I wanted 3.07's instead so I bought a D44 with factory 3.07's in it and did the full rear end conversion from the D36 to the D44.
Even with the LT1 I didn't like the higher RPM's at cruise speed with the 3.54's. The 3.07's seam to be a good in-between gear, not to high for my liking on the RPM's and still gives the car a decent launch from a standing take off.

 

I have 3.54s in my 92 and love them. At 70 mph she's turning about 2300 rpms. I highly recomend them!

 

First you need to find out what you have. If you will keep the engine stock or mod it also will impact gear selection. Check your RPO codes against the RPO FAQ at the top of the tech section.
If you have a 2.59 or 2.73 ratio you can benefit from a gear change.
Do a search on the web for "Corvette Ring Pinion Gears" lots of vendors.

 

where can you find your RPO codes and stuff

 

I have the 3:07's in my 96. I would recommend them as a great all around gear. Noticeable performance over the standard gears, yet still 24-5mpg. G44 is the Production and process code for 3:07's (option code G92). The codes should be on the inside of the glove box door unless it has been changed (fairly common). I also think on a 96, the dealer should be able to pull up the options by giving them your serial number. (they can also tell you your vats and key codes.

 

I have the 3.54 gears in my 94 auto. I went with Randy's gears and had a shop do the install. Turning 2500 rpm @ 75 mph, about 2100 @70 mph.

 

with 354 gears what would i expect in the 1/4 and if i had 307

 

I don't know exactly but not much. Your 1/8 times will improve more. If you have a 3.07 rear now I would put the money elsewhere first.