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Which first, headers or 4.10 gears?

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Old Aug 25, 2007 | 11:18 AM
  #1  
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Default Which first, headers or 4.10 gears?

I will try to keep this short. I have an 07, mn6, corsa sports, vararam, 160 stat. I have been sitting on the fence for 3 months about doing headers. I would love the sound and extra hp/torque headers will give me, no doubt. But since I am on a budget, I want the most bang for the buck. I doubt I could afford both of these mods anytime soon.

As a daily driver that is not raced. But I want the most seat of the pants accelleration on the way to work. I mostly get on it in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Suffice to say any higher gear will get me too fast. This car will not see over 100mph (job wont allow speeding tickets) and I dont travel/cruise on the highway.

I have heard good things about 4.10s'. I think this may be the way to go. Thanks to 'welcome2try' who pm'd me some basic gear info.

looking for inputs. What gears do i have now in the manual 6 speed basic suspension (not a z-51)? And the big question, how much $ will this cost? And just for grins, could I install these gears, or is it shop installed only?

Thanks
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Old Aug 25, 2007 | 12:10 PM
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Default Gears

Gears,gears,gears.more cluck for the buck! Rod
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Old Aug 25, 2007 | 12:28 PM
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I would recommend 4.10 gears for you hands down. This will give you more bang for the buck for your purposes than headers or anything else you can get for the price. They will also cause you no problems cruising on the highway under your self-imposed speed limit of 100 MPH.

Gears can be installed in your diff for $1500 or less. You can get a new diff from DTE plus installation for less than $2000. They have more deluxe set-ups and options but you won't need them.
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Old Aug 25, 2007 | 04:33 PM
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Good choice of mods

Depending on your budget and who's installing them. I would do both at the same time. You'll have to remove the x pipe & mufflers to do the gears anyway, ask the installer/shop to cut you a break on the labor for the headers since half the exhaust is off already. After that, take it easy for the next 500 miles and then get ready for some major fun.

Kenny
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Old Aug 25, 2007 | 05:09 PM
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Originally Posted by VetteNo2
I would recommend 4.10 gears for you hands down. This will give you more bang for the buck for your purposes than headers or anything else you can get for the price. They will also cause you no problems cruising on the highway under your self-imposed speed limit of 100 MPH.

Gears can be installed in your diff for $1500 or less. You can get a new diff from DTE plus installation for less than $2000. They have more deluxe set-ups and options but you won't need them.
Go for the gears. It is the absolute best bang for your buck. After that you can tailor your cam and other mods around the fact you have those gears.

My personal advice would be to change the gears in your current
case and not get a new DTE type differential. I say this because it is 100% stealth and looks stock to your dealer when servicing is required.
Case in point is that I have the 4:10's in a stock GM case. I recently had the usual rear end clutches slipping and making the dreaded clunking noises. I went to my dealer and made a warranty complaint. They changed fluid and as per my instructions added two (2) bottles of Slip Modifier and all was covered on warranty. Had this been a foreign looking case it would all be on me and not the "factory".
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Old Aug 25, 2007 | 07:28 PM
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Hi finster07, as you can see everyone posting so far agrees with the 4.10 gear mod. I prefer to do mods in stages, as to see the results in stages and the SOTP results. The total cost of 4.10's with the hardened output shaft installed by a pro shop should be less than 2k. I would not recommend installing the gears and headers same time why? To know the real gain after each mod One step at a time. Otherwise you will have a real fast car, and don't know why?
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Old Aug 25, 2007 | 09:10 PM
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Originally Posted by redrokit8
Go for the gears. It is the absolute best bang for your buck. After that you can tailor your cam and other mods around the fact you have those gears.

My personal advice would be to change the gears in your current
case and not get a new DTE type differential. I say this because it is 100% stealth and looks stock to your dealer when servicing is required.
Case in point is that I have the 4:10's in a stock GM case. I recently had the usual rear end clutches slipping and making the dreaded clunking noises. I went to my dealer and made a warranty complaint. They changed fluid and as per my instructions added two (2) bottles of Slip Modifier and all was covered on warranty. Had this been a foreign looking case it would all be on me and not the "factory".
For me, that is great advice. I had concerns about all the posts I read involving the noises from the differential. I figured at some point, I would have to take it to a dealer. If the 4.10 gears can go in the same case, better yet. I would rather not draw attention to it. I think for a daily driver, the same case option would work fine. I have to say, I am going to start the ball rolling on this and get it done.
The Corvette Forum is awesome. Thanks guys.
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Old Aug 25, 2007 | 10:53 PM
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aTX427
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Gears
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Old Aug 26, 2007 | 02:20 PM
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Headers 1st
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Old Aug 26, 2007 | 05:54 PM
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Do the headers.

I'm always disappointed with how many people suggest a mod because it's easier to defraud the dealership and GM on a warranty repair. That's just stealing...plain and simple. If you mod your car that's great but 'man-up' and be responsible for your actions.
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Old Aug 26, 2007 | 11:12 PM
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what's the logic behind doing the headers first?

It seems that it would make sense to make changes based on expected return. . . gears win.
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