whats the purpose of high performance rear gears? if i upgraded from stock to hi performance. what would it do?
Rear Gears
- Thread starter franknitticutlass
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it's not "high performance" or stock gears, it's just a higher or lower ratio. the number actually means how many times the driveshaft turns for one full revolution of the wheels. cars meant for very high speed will use a very low (numerically) gear like that found stock in many g-bodys. a drag car will use a very high (again numerically) gear ratio. (btw i specify "numerically" because in conversation a "low" gear often means a high numerical ratio like 4:1 and a "high" gear can mean a low numerical number like 2.4:1)
high gear ratios like 4:1 are good for fast acceleration but are bad for top speed, lows like 2.41:1 are the opposite, poor on acceleration and good at top speed. high ratio gears are often found in trucks due to the heavier weight/loading.
picture a multi speed bicycle. when the large pedal gear is connected to the small wheel gear, the wheel turns very fast, but if you need to go up a hill or accelerate quickly from a stop, you're working very hard. if you have the small pedal gear and large wheel gear, you can come off the stop easily, but to reach high speeds you'd have to pedal at an insane rate.
most g-bodys came with a 2.x:1 gear, but could be had with 3.42 (GN) and 3.73's (Monte SS)
to find out what ratio you have, put a mark on the driveshaft and on a tire. turn the tires one full revolution and count how many times the shaft turns. if you have a limited slip differential it's easy. unfortunately most cars have an open diff. which means that if you do it in the air, one tire will spin and one won't. IIRC you take the number of turns you get and divide by 2 but it doesn't always seem to work. you can do it on the ground though, just don't get run over!
high gear ratios like 4:1 are good for fast acceleration but are bad for top speed, lows like 2.41:1 are the opposite, poor on acceleration and good at top speed. high ratio gears are often found in trucks due to the heavier weight/loading.
picture a multi speed bicycle. when the large pedal gear is connected to the small wheel gear, the wheel turns very fast, but if you need to go up a hill or accelerate quickly from a stop, you're working very hard. if you have the small pedal gear and large wheel gear, you can come off the stop easily, but to reach high speeds you'd have to pedal at an insane rate.
most g-bodys came with a 2.x:1 gear, but could be had with 3.42 (GN) and 3.73's (Monte SS)
to find out what ratio you have, put a mark on the driveshaft and on a tire. turn the tires one full revolution and count how many times the shaft turns. if you have a limited slip differential it's easy. unfortunately most cars have an open diff. which means that if you do it in the air, one tire will spin and one won't. IIRC you take the number of turns you get and divide by 2 but it doesn't always seem to work. you can do it on the ground though, just don't get run over!
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