200r4 and rear end gear

[bossman]

I was cruising performance info on the Net today and came across some opions stating that you should not use lower gears(numerically higher) with the 200r4. Can anyone confirm or refute this?

 

[MY85pontiac]

WTF? you can use any gear you want. tell those know nothing crap stains to stop the johnny shadetree madness.

 

[b4black]

The common opinion among the SFI/Turbo owners is that 3.42 gears are optimum for their cars. Going to 3.73 will actually slow the car down.

The faster they go, the more important 3.42 seem to become. For our "slow" cars, this may or may hold true. I have a 3.73 limited slip rear to put in someday. Even if it looses a tenth or two in the ¼ mile, it would be worth it if it compensates to turbo lag on a daily driver.

 

[pat83t]

I heard however that regearing the tranny itself isn't a bad idea. I have heard of running the same internal gears as a 700r4.

 

[buick83-T]

taller gears

Taller gears are a slow down on a stock car it seems. Most people recomend if going to a taller gear you need to have ported heads a larger cam and taller tires(26"or 28").

 

[bossman]

I'll rarely, if ever, go to the track. I'm more interested in what goes down on the street and daily driving. I don't have the numbers but wouldn't, say, a 4:11 gear put our cars in the same RPM range on the highway as a TH350 with 3:42's but be a lot more responsive around town?

 

[b4black]

The 200-4R OD ratio is 0.67.

4.11 x 0.67 = 2.75 final drive ratio.
3.73 x 0.67 = 2.50
3.42 x 0.67 = 2.29

I choose the 3.73 becuase they are easy to find under Monte Carlo SS. Swapping a complete rear is easier/cheaper than swapping just the gears.

The difference between a 3.42 and 3.73 is not very much, so it's probaly not worth the effort for the gears alone. In my case, it means going from an open 3.42 to a limited slip 3.73 so it worth it to me.

Going to a taller tire negates the steeper gears. If I don't like the 3.73 with my 26" tires, I can go with a 28" tire and effectivly be back where I started. (205/70R14's are actually closer to 25" tires)