Gear Ratio

Discussion in 'General Maverick/Comet' started by texasbb14, Oct 1, 2014.

  1. GreyGhost74

    GreyGhost74 Member

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    I honestly don't think there's gonna be that much difference in mpg between 3.25 and 3.55. If you were going from say 2.79's to 3.55. Yeah that's quite a bit of a jump. There should be somewhere online you can figure out what difference it will make with your motor. You should do a google search on it...
     
  2. Crazy Larry

    Crazy Larry Member

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    I think you would be very happy with a 3.25. I wouldn't go over 3.40 for a street-driven Maverick without overdrive.
     
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  3. bLaH_hA

    bLaH_hA Member

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    a lot of people convert the rear end to 8.8
     
  4. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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    Here's my dirty penny on the matter. If you're young and just want to keep it simple and affordable(gas mileage can be "tuned in" and driving style can be tailored to match gearing) make sure to plan ahead for future upgrades. All this "perfect gear ratio" stuff really depends on how the motor is going to be built(rpm range and efficiency within that specific range). At 17 years old.. most kids don't want to build totally bone stock motors.

    3.25's are fairly decent all-around gears with noticeable gains in throttle response for bone stock setups(3.00 aren't even worth the time to upgrade from 2.79's) and 3.55's would be good if the motor has a mild cam/intake/exhaust package. Both will leave you in the mid to high teens for mileage with proper tuning.
     
  5. Acedmav75

    Acedmav75 Member

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    great info to know, thank you. I do plan to eventually do some upgrades such as exhaust and other little things here and there but nothing too wild. Maybe add a turbo too haha :scratchchin:
     
  6. bLaH_hA

    bLaH_hA Member

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    If you go with a turbo you want a gear around 3.27 that way you have time for the boost to build.
     
  7. Acedmav75

    Acedmav75 Member

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    Yea, i decided ill just keep to my original decision and get the 3.55
     
  8. Crazy Larry

    Crazy Larry Member

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    I'm telling you right now that at 75mph on the highway, you will hate 3.55s unless you have an overdrive transmission. I know what I'm talking about and I don't care what anyone else says.
     
  9. groberts101

    groberts101 Member

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    yeah.. well I'm pretty sure that one mans "hate" is another mans "love". Some guys even run way more gear than that too and it's all subjective.

    I say just put 27 or 28 inch tall tires on the back("big meats" look cool too right, Larry?).. add a mild RV style cam with a decent dual plane intake and some great sounding mufflers?.. and you'll end up with 2,800 rpm worth of heaven.
     
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  10. Crazy Larry

    Crazy Larry Member

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    Most people don't want 28-inch tires on their Mavericks, and most people aren't building their Mavericks to run the quarter-mile. Also, a 28-inch tire will not drop the RPMs to 2800. I know for a fact that a 26-inch tire with 3.55 gears run 3400 RPM (without overdrive) at 75mph. You can watch the needle on the fuel gauge move to the left as you're driving, and that's with the dual plane intake and RV cam with dual exhausts you mentioned.

    It is a simple known fact that keeping the RPMs down is a key factor in fuel economy, otherwise there would be no need for overdrive transmissions. The difference a taller tire makes is so slight, it's almost negligible.

    You know a lot about making horsepower, but one observation I've made is that you're always in "bigger is better" drag-race mode when giving advice to people on here. While it's true that we're not building economy cars, let's not forget that gasoline has been around $3.50/gallon or more until recently, and it'll go right back up again soon. If people actually want to drive these cars, their engines & drive trains need to be set up with some practicality in mind.

    And I'm so over all the teasing about the pic in my avatar. I don't run those tires, and they don't even really fit the car without air-shocks. Those tires were on my car for about 2 weeks ( and that was 10 years ago) and were old bias-plies with dryrot. Not even road-worthy.
     
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  11. bLaH_hA

    bLaH_hA Member

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    Not sure if my trans has a overdrive but the fifth gear is .68 and I run 3.73 at 75mph I am around 2500rpm which isn't bad. I drove all highway to work and back 67 miles round trip and I burnt 4 gallons which isn't too bad considering I shift at 4500rpm which I know isn't smart but I miss having a maverick.
     
  12. Crazy Larry

    Crazy Larry Member

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    Yes, 5th gear is overdrive.
     
  13. Mel Moeller

    Mel Moeller Maverick Moe

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    :whew::whew: :clap::clap: Boy, this has been a fun thread to read! Enjoyed it.
     
  14. Krazy Comet

    Krazy Comet Tom

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    To quote that Geico commercial "You been livin' under a rock?"

    Any automotive transmission that has less than 1 to 1 final drive ratio is overdrive, which includes most of the last 25-30 years... The ones used with V8 are almost always in the .6-.7 range, while a 4cyl is probably going to be .8 or so...
     
  15. texasbb14

    texasbb14 Member

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    But I am going to be putting in a rebuilt 302 in and maybe turbo it. All I'm doing is thinking about the future and I'm not going to go half way on this car. Im gonna put in all the work to make it nice just like any of you guys would.
     

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