explain gear ratio to me

[lostatlantis]

I have the Y87 performance package on my '96 V6 Firebird. I am not sure what exactly the different gear ratio means... can someone shed some light? also, the y87 means i have dual exhaust and not just two tail pipes coming out of a single muffler right?

thanks for any help in advance!

[bu-bye]

no sorry, just two tailpipes coming out of one muffler. True dual exhaust I have heard is very bad on our cars. For one it sounds like crap and two there was a big performance drop.


the bigger the gear you have the faster you take off from the line. The down side to this is your top speed is less. i'm not sure for the 96's but I know for sure the 98 and up's have a 3.42 in the rear for autos and 3.23 for M6's. If you have a smaller gear, say a 3.08 your low end will not be as fast but you top speed will be better. I have heard having the 3.42 gear takes off half a second on your 1/4 mile time. Half a second might not seem like a lot but it is. You gain something like .11 second for every 10 horses so .5 seconds faster is a nice increase. In the real world this differs but you get the idea. you can't have the best of both worlds. it is eather lowend or topend. Now, you can have both but every time you increase one you loose from the other. How you choose is how you like to drive. I like the feel of being smashed into my seat from takeoffs so I go with a bigger gear, others like the feel of flying down the highway at high speeds so they get a smaller gear. Now remember our cars have governors on them so you can only hit 118 (or something like that) unless you program it out. I hope I helped you out a little. Check out How Stuff Works for some great information about everything. you might not find gearing information under automotive but I'm sure its there.

Edit: And the ratio for a 3.42 is 3.42:1. So everytime the driveshaft makes 3.42 turns the wheels make one turn.

[ November 28, 2001: Message edited by: bu-bye ]</p>

[lostatlantis]

thanks for the post! yes, it became clear with your edit [img]smile.gif[/img] you brought up the top speed issue and governor - I've been wondering what the top speed for my V6 firebird is. There's a governor on this car? The speedometer only goes up to 125 and a friend told me the V6 is no where powerful enough to top the speedometer. Is he right?

but isn't top speed kinda irrelevant b/c of cops hehe i mean the highest I've gone is 88 or so, but being a college kid I can't afford tickets.

[Infernal]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by lostatlantis:
thanks for the post! yes, it became clear with your edit [img]smile.gif[/img] you brought up the top speed issue and governor - I've been wondering what the top speed for my V6 firebird is. There's a governor on this car? The speedometer only goes up to 125 and a friend told me the V6 is no where powerful enough to top the speedometer. Is he right?

but isn't top speed kinda irrelevant b/c of cops hehe i mean the highest I've gone is 88 or so, but being a college kid I can't afford tickets.<hr></blockquote>

Well, he's right in one respect, with the 118 mph limiter theres no way you can top the speedo -- however I think most people here will agree with me 125 wouldn't be difficult to reach with the limiter gone. At 118 theres still quite a bit left to go in third on a 3.42:1 setup.

I don't wanna start this topic up again though (for anyone who reads the other boards). :D

[goldenfbodyboy]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>the bigger the gear you have the faster you take off from the line. The down side to this is your top speed is less. i'm not sure for the 96's but I know for sure the 98 and up's have a 3.42 in the rear for autos and 3.23 for M6's. If you have a smaller gear, say a 3.08 your low end will not be as fast but you top speed will be better <hr></blockquote>

98 and up A4's are no different than earlier models- 3.08 standard and 3.42 with the Y87 package.

Also, just wanted to point out that 3.08 is a bigger gear than a 3.42- the numbers do not indicate size--only ratio.


cheers

Golden

[Black_v6_Beast]

Trust me at 118 you can't go faster but theres still more power left to be used...I know.

[obsessedv6]

alright...haha...i just had to reply cause its bugging me....i neither want to bring the topic up again guys so maybe we can all agree on this statement....If there were no governor on the car....YES the bird/camaro would break 125....BUT the last thing i am gonna say is use your imagination when you wanna guess what the TOP speed really is..
can we agree on that?? haha.. ;)

[strobhen]

A note on horsepower

There is a point of diminishing returns. 10 hp on our car might make a .1 sec difference. 10 hp on a 800 hp 7 sec monster won't do jack :)

[bu-bye]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by strobhen:
A note on horsepower

There is a point of diminishing returns. 10 hp on our car might make a .1 sec difference. 10 hp on a 800 hp 7 sec monster won't do jack :)<hr></blockquote>

I agree. I said "in the real world this differs." On paper this looks right but take that info to the track and you are bound to walk away without a smile.

[pgriffith]

Have you ever rode a ten speed? Or maybee a mountain bike? Its just like that. The bigger gear is faster off the line and the smaller gear will go faster on top end.

[goldenfbodyboy]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr> Have you ever rode a ten speed? Or maybee a mountain bike? Its just like that. The bigger gear is faster off the line and the smaller gear will go faster on top end. <hr></blockquote>


Sorry to beat this dead horse again- but a SMALLER gear will give you more acceleration off the line, and a BIGGER gear wil give you more top end.

3.42= smaller gear (lower gear)
3.08= bigger gear (higher gear)