OK, the Vortex and Ripper are on their way from Exit 28. Now I am ready to do some real modding. I really want to do gears in my 2000 MN6. However, I am in shock over prices. Is it really necessary to buy the whole new pumpkin instead of keeping the one I have and just changing out the gears? Is the install that labor intensive, or is it just hard to find a qualified individual to do it? In my 2000 Cobra I had, I bought the gears for like $300 and paid $400 for an install and they worked perfectly (4.10's). The guy I know is really good at installing them in other words and is reasonably priced. Is the stock just not strong enough to hold anything above stock. I know ppl. have had problems with 4.10's, but what about something slightly smaller in there as an upgrade like 3.93's? I would think that would still give me a big SOTP upgrade. What do you guys suggest, and where do you think I can find the cheapest price on these parts. I asked Exit 28 when I ordered my other stuff, but they don't sell gears. I just can't really see shelling out over 2 grand for gears. That's nuts!! If all mods for this car are that expensive, I might have to make a deal with the devil and trade this thing in on a new '03 Cobra with a SC covered by factory warranty. Somebody please slap some sense into me!! LOL!! There has to be a more cost effective way to do this b/c I am ready for heads and cams, but wanted to get this mod first. Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

 

Ouch...thats the first thing I said when I saw the prices of gears on these cars. If you want to buy just the gears and have them
put in it is almost as expensive as buying the whole diff. :mad And, on top of that you risk not setting them up right. I think someone has the
3.73s for about 1600$. Not sure if you get a core refund on that or not. Do the labor yourself, and save 500-600$ :yesnod:
And yes to answer your question, these cars are expensive to modify! :nonod: I used to have a mustang too, the good news is
that the heads and cams and that sort of thing are not that unreasonable compared to mustangs etc...and these cars are so
much better to begin with :yesnod: :yesnod: :cheers: And hey, lowering is free!with the exeption of an alignment. :yesnod:

 

You are right!!! :eek: It is really expensive, but, unlike my old cars too the C5's have a "transaxle". I changed rears in Pontiacs, Plymouths and Fords myself. But, this you have to have a "real " lift and drop the suspension too. Plus, I'm not gettin' any younger. One thing however, I hope they make multiple ratios an option on the C6.

 

I have 3.73 , 3.90 and 4.10 diffs at a good price. They require an exchange. It'll cost just about the same to build it yourself. Believe me , I tried it.

 

The price may seem high for the 3.73, but your 3.42 can be sold for at least $500. That sure helps offset the purchase price.

 

and the core charge that you have to pay in order to keep your rearend is how much??? $400, $500, $600 :confused:

 

Core charge? I thought that was only into play when buying rebuilt carriers? With my A4 upgrade, I purchased a brand new 3.42 for $980 shipped and was able to keep my 3.15's (which I sold).

Unless things have changed, the 3.73's I've been seeing for $1600 were brand new Getrag units (not re-geared used units) that didn't require a core return . One could easily sell their factory 3.42's for at least $500 and that takes the price of the 3.73 down to $1100. Still expensive I agree, but I'm just trying to help minimize the financial impact.



[Modified by Mike Mercury, 10:21 AM 7/6/2002]

 

3.73 diffs are available both as new from Getrag (no core) and as remanufactured with new gears from other vendors (w/ core.) Net costs are similar if you sell or return a 3.42. A4 guys typically don't have 3.42s to sell though :( Anybody want a higher mileage been hammered on 3.15 for $500 plus shipping? :jester

 

OK, so do I really need to shell out the extra cash for a getrag unit, or would a rebuilt one with new gears in it be OK? This car is a daily driver that I take to the 1/8 mile track once every month or so. Not a lot of racing with it. But I wanna be ready for those stoplight encounters with the punks in the stangs. Getting a unit for $980 like was posted above and then getting $500 for mine is definitely more like it!! Do all MN6's have 3.42's from the factory? Lastly, would 3.90's, which I am leaning towards, be a good choice for a daily driver that I use on the interstate at 85 mph to work each day? I don't want alot of noise when daily driving. That's the reason I sold my Cobra with the 4.10's. Just too loud for this ole country boy when cruisin 85 mph. Also, any good places to get these rebuilt units? Andy quoted me $1150 for a new unit with me sending him my factory one. I assume he is talking about a getrag unit then but I didn't ask him. Thanx for all the input guys, keep it coming.

 

ah HA! Now I see your point. :cheers:

From what I've seen, used 3.15's generally sell for $350.

 

Hey Mike, where did you get your 3.42's for $980 delivered at. I might want to check into that. Thanx.

 

I had Cartek change my rear to 4:10's and I really like that
gear ratio. At 80mph I'm tackin 2100rpms and no noise. It
is a very streetable gear and I do a lot of highway driving
since I go to Ocean City most weekends of the summer.

 

Leerph


L.A.P.D. ask for Shawn. It was during a sale. The ones he was selling were brand new.

here is my carrier swap page for those that haven't visited it yet:

mikemercury.home.att.net/342.htm

 

Your 00 mn6 comes with 3.42's.... :D

SMC Performance had a couple of new Getrag 3.73 difs left when I ordered mine last week, they have the lowest price I could find for a new unit at $1,595.00 + $60.00 shipping. As mentioned you can sell your 3.42's for arround $550.00 + shipping and that nets you arround $1,105.00.

If your interested call Shaun @ (248) 276-0483, or visit their site
http://www.smcperformance.com

Good luck........ :cheers:

 

yep, evil-1 is correct. All 6 speed C5's come with the 3.42

:)

 

Hmmm... Well, I bought my 3.73s when there weren't any alternatives. Looking at the options available now, I think the questions are 1) workmanship and 2) why Getrag won't build anything lower than 3.73. For my money it's not a good deal if it costs less but I break due to poor workmanship or running something way out of spec. I think 3.73 is a toss up with confidence in workmanship balanced against cost. The 3.90 and 4.10 are a harder call since there aren't any options. I 'm glad I have an A4 since although I wouldn't want more than a 3.73 in that, the lower gears (particularly the 4.10) look really good with the six speed.

Thinking about that 3.73 in a six speed some more, I would want to replace the left output shaft. Given that it'll be coming apart, I might opt for the reman unit in that case instead of the Getrag, particularly if I could get some kind of warranty.

If I were really conservative, I would wait and watch to see what the failure rate and modes look like. That's no fun though. :nonod:



[Modified by ToplessTexan, 5:05 PM 7/6/2002]

 

Wasn't serious about selling. That's my spare / core for my 4.10 :D

 

Lee........................I had 3.90's installed on the Hardtop 8 months and 17K miles ago.

They really brought the car alive! The ratios in 1st and 2nd are almost identical to the Z06 and 3-4-5 are better.

The car is my daily driver and weekend autocrosser. I've driven the heck out of it and have had no reliability problems.

The gearing for AX is perfect with a vary strong 2nd and 3rd gear that permits you to really put the power down coming out of a corner.

The gearing for street is also very good. 5th gear is now a perormance gear on the interstate and for the first time 6th is actually usable. The gas milage went down about 2 mpg on my daily commute but who cares, the car is now really fun.

I bought the 3.90 from Corvettes of Houston and they are a good place to do business with, no problems.

My suggestion: GO FOR IT !!

Tex

 

Awesome replies guys. Thanx so much. I will begin shopping around for the best prices on Monday. Now it is a matter of which gears to get: the 3.90's or 4.10's. I remember what a momentous choice it was on my Cobra. The 4.10's were great and I loved them. I would think they would be even better in my vett cuz it is a 6 speed vs 5 speed. Probably not much diff in rpms on the interstate or in terms of mpg. However, my main concerns become reliability and usability in terms of if the 4.10's will give me quicker 1/8 mile times than the 3.90's would. Any thoughs on track time with these 2 ratios in my car? Also, what about this whole 12 bolt deal I had been reading about. Andy said they aren't like that anymore with 9 vs. 12 bolt. They are all the same. Do you guys think the 4.10's would be less reliable than the 3.90's? If not, I am definitely going with the 4.10's. Thanx in advance for all the great posts guys. I am getting excited already. I got the Vortex and Ripper put in yesterday. There is a SOTP difference IMO. It also sounds a little better at WOT now. That Ripper does take some getting used to. Also, I am getting some noise coming through the shifter. Gonna have to start troubleshooting that problem tomorrow. I think I will try putting the stock boot back on there by trimming it out a little. Anyway, any more suggestions on the gears would be great. Thanx again.

 

Lee...........................Go to this site listed below. It will help you in your choice between 3.90's vs 4.10's.

http://www.f-body.org/gears/


Tex