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Swapping for 4.10's

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Old Mar 19, 2009 | 11:19 AM
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Default Swapping for 4.10's

Hey guys, I am VERY new to this gear swap idea....however I have heard great things about it. Right now I have an 03 MN6 Coupe with ONLY a vararam (and soon to be BB Bullets)... what do i need to know about swapping out the 3.42's and putting in 4.10's .... will my stock car take that? Are the tires going to break loose every time i step on the gas a little? MPG? any other work that will need to be done in order to compensate for the bigger gears?


Thanks guys!!

Last edited by Scoops03; Mar 19, 2009 at 11:33 AM. Reason: Tranny clarification
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Old Mar 19, 2009 | 11:28 AM
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Since its got 3.42's I am assuming it is a 6 speed, so you shouldn't have to do anything else. My neighbor has 4.10's in his 2002 coupe and LOVES them. If and when I go to gears, it will be 4.10's for sure.

If the car is an auto it will need a reprogram for the speedo to read correctly.
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Old Mar 19, 2009 | 12:50 PM
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4.10's are a great choice for stock internal or head and cam cars. If you plan on going forced induction in the future I would suggest staying eith the factory 3.42 gears though. While you are doing the gears I would suggest doing out trans brace as an added safety feature.

http://www.eastcoastsupercharging.co...rut_Brace.html
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Old Mar 19, 2009 | 03:19 PM
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Since I am planning on doing a gear swap within the next month or so, is it wise to just buy a whole new rearend or buy a set of gears and have them professionally installed?
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Old Mar 19, 2009 | 06:05 PM
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I am thinking about just getting the ring and pinion from a guy on the forum....will that work??
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Old Mar 19, 2009 | 06:34 PM
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Originally Posted by Scoops03
I am thinking about just getting the ring and pinion from a guy on the forum....will that work??

It should, just ask yourself if you are willing to trust used parts on a job that take so much effort to complete.
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Old Mar 19, 2009 | 07:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Chevy Guy
It should, just ask yourself if you are willing to trust used parts on a job that take so much effort to complete.
Supposedly its brand new.....how much APPROX. would a shop charge for putting it in?
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Old Mar 19, 2009 | 08:16 PM
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Neither the MN6 nor the A4 require speedo recalibration since the speed sensor reads the output in the diff. An A4 does need shift point retuning though. Your MN6 will not need anything special programming-wise. I put 4.10's in my MN6 and the 3.42's from that went in my wife's A4. Love 'em both.

I would recommend you buy a converted diff from a tuner like DTE rather than chancing a bad install of ring/pinion by a local shop unless they have lots of experience setting up C5 diffs. Lots of folks have tried saving money doing just that and ended up having to have it redone due to an improper setup.
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Old Mar 19, 2009 | 09:18 PM
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i've got 4.10s with just headers and a honker.

they're great for SOTP.
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Old Mar 19, 2009 | 10:06 PM
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one thing.....
4.10's = Good Drag Racing
4.10's = Bad Road Carving

Just my 2 cents
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Old Mar 20, 2009 | 12:57 AM
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Contrary to Chevy guys comment that you ll need a reprogram for the speedo to read correctly- No, it ll read correctly, regardless of gearing. It won t SHIFT correctly(in an auto) though! You ll want a reprogram for that! And<for the price< Get a differential with the gears already installed. Its not particularily cheap to get gears set up, but finding a diff at a good price isn t hard! I Just sold a low mile 4.10 geared diff(worked flawlessly) for $650 shipped! They will appear for a good price and will save u from having to get the gears set up.(& $) On top of that, you can sell your stock differential to recoup part of your $$ towards the new/used diff....And swapping the diff isn t a hard job at all! Ill NEVER buy gears only. Ill ALWAYS purchase awhole diff!

Go with the Diff/trans Brace!(DTE or ECS) Added strength/insurance. Good Luck!
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Old Mar 20, 2009 | 07:34 AM
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Originally Posted by intoc6s
Contrary to Chevy guys comment that you ll need a reprogram for the speedo to read correctly- No, it ll read correctly, regardless of gearing. It won t SHIFT correctly(in an auto) though! You ll want a reprogram for that! And<for the price< Get a differential with the gears already installed. Its not particularily cheap to get gears set up, but finding a diff at a good price isn t hard! I Just sold a low mile 4.10 geared diff(worked flawlessly) for $650 shipped! They will appear for a good price and will save u from having to get the gears set up.(& $) On top of that, you can sell your stock differential to recoup part of your $$ towards the new/used diff....And swapping the diff isn t a hard job at all! Ill NEVER buy gears only. Ill ALWAYS purchase awhole diff!

Go with the Diff/trans Brace!(DTE or ECS) Added strength/insurance. Good Luck!


The Predator handheld tuner can adjust the PCM for the new gear ratio and adjust the shifting.
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Old Mar 20, 2009 | 07:41 AM
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We do 4.10 gear swaps at the shop all the time, but we have been doing it for years. I would not go to someone that didnt know the vette.

Most people enjoy 4.10 gears in their car. I loved them even with 460rwhp, but when I started to get into road racing I dropped down to 3.73.

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Old Mar 20, 2009 | 08:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Wicked Weasel @ ECS
We do 4.10 gear swaps at the shop all the time, but we have been doing it for years. I would not go to someone that didnt know the vette.

Most people enjoy 4.10 gears in their car. I loved them even with 460rwhp, but when I started to get into road racing I dropped down to 3.73.

Hi Wicked! I have a 04 coupe MN6 444rwhp 414tq and do occasional road races and hpde's, but mainly hitting the canyons and or cruising. I was thinking 3.90's for my set up. I don't PLAN to go forced induction. What do you think?
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