Re: What rear end gears should I get?
I had 3.42 gears with a 700 R4 and they worked fine with the 700R4 on my 84, but I changed over to 3.73 gears when I put in the larger cam and 383 stroker motor along with the 2400 stall torque converter. The 91 pickup that I drive daily has 3.42 gears and a 700 R4, connected to a throttle body fed 5.7 liter motor and it performs well at 20 MPG (the fuel injection throttle body is the trick here). I like the 3.73 gears and the acceleration that it gives me over the 3.42 gears. The RPMs on my different motors are around 2300 RPMs at 70 MPH on the 91 Silverado (29" tires) and the RPMs on the 84 GMC is at 2500 RPMs at 70 MPH. The 3.73 will eat up the 3.42 gears any day of the week, in an acceleration comparison.
My gas mileage in the 84 GMC went from 15.5 / 16 MPG to 14.5/15 MPG average with a 400 HP, 383 stroker motor and the 700R4 tranny. You will like either set, but if you want acceleration and pulling capability, consider the 3.73 gears and believe me the MPGs are not that much different. You can change that slightly by the tire size that you run.
|