M5 3.23 to 3.42......

[camaroincal]

First off...I have heard that the factory 3.23's gearing is already nicely placed...But I was wondering for those people that put in 3.42's in there M5..where do your gears redline at now? For instance..in my 3.23..1st redlines at about 31-32 mph...2nd gear about 55-56....and third about 88-89...Was it worth it switching to the 3.42's and how did it performance and your track times? thanks...

[WickEdSix9838]

since its an M5 i wouldnt mess w/just goin 3.42's, go w/3.73's, i love mine! and i gained about .4-.5 in the quarter w/adding LSD/3.73s...i dont know what each gear redlines at but the car launces bad a$$ compared to 3.23...

[camaroincal]

Hey Wicked....how much has your gas mileage suffered? Where are your rpms in 5th on the freeway going about 80 mph?...

[Dominic]

80MPH on stock gearing = 2500RPM
80MPH on 3.42s = 2700RPM
80MPH on 3.73s = 2950RPM
80MPH on 4.10s = 3240RPM

[imported_admin]

I have a manual and have had more gears than just about anyone here...

Started with 3.23. Liked them but wanted something with better low-end.

Switched to 3.73. Launches considerably improved, 60' went from 2.2x to 2.01x, mph went down by about 3 mph, ET went from best of 15.4 to 15.7 (while naturally aspirated with only intake and exhaust mods other than gears). Added the blower, still disappointed with the mph.

Switched to 3.42. Loved them. Launches just about right, even, balanced mix of acceleration and top-end. Ran my best times ever with these (with the blower).

Got a reckless by speed ticket doing 80 in a 55. Switched to 2.73, had speedometer calibrated by a certified place (was notarized and everything), got the ticket reduced in court because of my calibration paperwork. Car is now slow as piss until about 75 mph when it wakes up. Going from 75 to 140 happens in a few seconds. ;)

Will be switching back to 3.42 before AIS this year. Looking forward to more record-breaking times.

So, the question:

For a manual, is it worth it to switch to 3.42?

Normally no. The money you'd spend on the gears + install could very easily be spent somewhere else with better benefit. But if you already have every other mod in the book and you're running out of things to do, go for it. Pop an Auburn Pro limited slip differential in there while you're at it, too.

[camaroincal]

Thanks for the replies...

[WickEdSix9838]

how did you slow down .3???????? i ran that much or more quicker??? dont take offense but how good a driver are you?? BTW i can still get 23-25 mpg with about 50/50 highway/city driving and 28 all highway, it just depends where you shift and how heavy ur foot is...

[ April 12, 2003: Message edited by: WickEdSix9838 ]</p>

[jonny985]

IMO Go for the 3.73s if you plan on staying N/A. I did the 3.23-&gt;3.42 switch and I can hardly notice a difference.

I really want to switch to 3.73s but can't afford it.

[Jason McCallister]

The following was calculated using 245/50 R16 tire size.

Redline w/3.23's
----------------
1st - 37 MPH
2nd - 64 MPH
3rd - 99 MPH
4th - 139 MPH

Redline w/3.42's
----------------
1st - 35 MPH
2nd - 60 MPH
3rd - 93 MPH
4th - 132 MPH

Redline w/3.73's
----------------
1st - 32 MPH
2nd - 55 MPH
3rd - 86 MPH
4th - 121 MPH

Redline w/4.10's
----------------
1st - 29 MPH
2nd - 50 MPH
3rd - 78 MPH
4th - 110 MPH

Do your own calculations by using our speed chart here:
http://www.wtfba.org/files/speed.xls

93-02 5-speed transmission (MM5) gear ratios are as follows:
1st - 3.75
2nd - 2.19
3rd - 1.41
4th - 1.00
5th - 0.72

[camaroincal]

Hi Jason..the link to the wtfba site wasn't working on my cpu...but those numbers seem off to me? In my first post I stated where my car redlines in 1st thru 3rd gear..and I'm almost positive I have a stock 3.23 gearing (my car was purchased used from a dealer so who knows?.. but according to your chart my car runs like it has 3.73's and I do have 245/50 R16's? What gear are you running in your car and does your car's redline gears the same as that chart? thanks...

[Tyler]

i think jasons were for an automatic..

because in my 5 speed.. 1st gear brings me to 30 at redline..


and 2nd gear brings me to 60 at redline.....


this is with 3.23's.

with 255/40/16 tires

[Amped96]

Jason, I have to agree that your stock numbers seem a little off. I can only take 2nd to about 60 and 3rd to about 90.

Where did you find the gear ratios for the T5? On f-body.org in the tecnhical database it has the ratios listed as:
1st 2.95
2nd 1.94
3rd 1.34
4th 1.00
5th 0.74

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

Just curious about the numbers. I have pondered going with 3.42s or 3.73s myself. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Dominic]

This is the accurate info, no question about it. I have verified it from 6 different sources including the serial # on my transmission case with Tremec.


Manual Transmission Borg-Warner / Tremec T-5
Type RWD longitudinal - RPO# MM5
1st Gear 3.75
2nd Gear 2.19
3rd Gear 1.41
4th Gear 1.00
5th Gear (Final Drive) 0.74
Reverse 3.53
Final Drive Ratio Factory Options 3.23

[Bliggida]

Dominic is correct, I have the 1998 Camaro specifications guide from GM. It's about a half inch thick, and tranny specs take up a whole page. For performance we have an edge on the automatic guys.

To answer your question about if it's worth it. You will see a gain in performance simillar to having added 12 horsepower. Is it worth it? That's up to how much you spend getting it done. If you blow 600 bucks, that's 50 bucks a horse.
Where as I spent, 350 and gained simillar to 22 horsepower. So that's only 15 bucks a horse. And it was worth every penny!!!

[Amped96]

Cool...i always wondered about those numbers on f-body.org. Maybe we should e-mail them to correct them?

What about the numbers Jason posted about different final drive ratios and redline in each gear? They seem a little off from stock (maybe), but i guess as long as they are all relatively correct that it gives you an idea of what kind of change you are looking at. I think i need some 3.42s. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ April 14, 2003: Message edited by: Amped96 ]</p>