converter or gears next

[Houston F-Body]

The more research I do the more confused I get...

I have basically decided to go with 3.42 instead of 3.73 gears. Not sure about lsd due to my uneven tire wear. I had a blow out and now my rear tires have different tread levels. I heard that can be death to LSD. Let me know your thoughts on that ... ok now the original question .. would it be better to get the converter first or the gears first or does it not really matter?

[John_D.]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Houston F-Body:
Not sure about lsd due to my uneven tire wear.

... ok now the original question .. would it be better to get the converter first or the gears first or does it not really matter?<hr></blockquote>

If you get the converter first, if you have a traction problem now, it will only get worse because the converter will shock the rear even more.

I'd get the gears (and get lsd at the same time) to make sure you get good traction. Then the converter.

[Only4U]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by John_D.:


If you get the converter first, if you have a traction problem now, it will only get worse because the converter will shock the rear even more.

I'd get the gears (and get lsd at the same time) to make sure you get good traction. Then the converter.<hr></blockquote>

agreed.

[slacker69]

Never install gears without a lsd uneven tire wear will not effect the lsd at all. I would get the gears and lsd first but if you plan to ever do a cam or supercharger i would go with 3.73's cause ethier you will want the charger to spool up faster for faster boost or a cam u will drain your lowend power and want to have 3.73's to regain that lowend.

[Arctc Wolf]

u'll hear 3 sides to the gear argument: 3.42's, 3.73's, and 4.10's. 3.42's are a good compromise between mileage and acceleration, 3.73's will be good w/ a cam/sc/turbo/or higher stall converter since most of those things wanna make a lot of power up high. 410's are pretty much for city driving or drag strip, of if u get some monster diameter rear wheels such as 335-35-18, 295-45-18, ect. I love my 3.42's cuz i get 30 mpg on the highway and between 15-20 in town, depending on how I drive.

as far as whether to get gears or converter first, I say gears/LSD, because when u buy a converter, they will ask u about how big ur rear gears are and that will play an important part in how high the converter will stall. the lsd will not be affected by 1 tire being burned out a lot and the other one having full tread. there isn't much difference in circumference between a tire w/ a 26.1 diameter and a tire w/ 25.9 diameter.maybe an inch or 2 circumference difference.

[Camarorulz]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Arctc Wolf:
as far as whether to get gears or converter first, I say gears/LSD, because when u buy a converter, they will ask u about how big ur rear gears are and that will play an important part in how high the converter will stall<hr></blockquote>

So are you saying upgrading from, say 3.08 to 3.42, will let the converter stall higher?

[John_D.]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Camarorulz:
So are you saying upgrading from, say 3.08 to 3.42, will let the converter stall higher?<hr></blockquote>

From what I understand, the stall rpms are based on the load the converter sees. So if you have a big ol' high hp engine, the converter will see more load and will stall higher. Also, if you have a really heavy car, the load is higher and you will stall higher.

So, with 3.42 gears, the car will look a little lighter to the converter, easier to get moving... So it would probably stall a little lower, but not sure about how much lower. (this is if you let the car move.)

If you just hold the brake, and the wheels don't move at all, then the stall point would appear to be the same, no matter what the gears are. Brake stall and effective stall are slightly different.

[Arctc Wolf]

I dunno how much lower the car would stall if u went from 3.08's to 3.42's, but I'd assume it'd stall as much less as the difference between the 2 gear ratios. I've heard that the difference between 3.08's and 3.42's is 10%, so I'd assume that the stall speed would be 10% lower in rpm, but I dunno for sure, so don't quote me please.

[12secondv6]

First 342's and LSD
Then converter and tranny cooler

[Houston F-Body]

I can't believe it - I just checked my codes and I was wrong --- I already have 3.42s!!! Wahoo!! NO LSD though - I still need to get that - either way I'm about 300 bucks better off right now!!