I have a '72 Maverick with a 302, 4 bbl., auto. trans. I put P265/70-15 tires on the rear (I like the Old School look) What gears should I use, not only to compensate for the large diameter tires, but also to give it some extra punch. (Are 4.56s excessive?) Loss of top highway speed or gas mileage is not a problem, as its basicly a Weekend Cruiser.
with that tall of a tire, the 4.56 should be kinda cool. Personally, I'd go with no more than a 4.30 with 4.11 ideal, but that's just me.
Where’s the happy medium when it come down to gear ratios? What is the best gear ratio for, highway crusin so you still get great acceleration? :confused:
a lot depends on the height of the rear tire. generally a 3.50 with a 23-25 inch tire works well. taller tire might do with a 3.80 gear. i'm about to put 4.11s on with a 26.5 tire. should be interesting.
Given your input (29.6" tall tires), you will be going 58 mph at 3,000 rpms in high gear (1:1 ratio -assuming you do not have overdrive). I have 4.30's in my '89 Mustang (AOD - 4th gear - 1:.89 ratio) with smaller tires (25.6" tall) and am doing 65mph at 3,000rpms. I do enjoy the instant power. Personally, I'm not into going fast - quick, yes, so the high r's don't bother me that much, but I don't think I'd be comfortable doing 58 mph at 3 grand. You might toy with the calculator links below and see if you want to go to a lower ratio gear (recommended). 'Good luck, Rick sources: http://www.rx7turboturbo.com/robrobinette/tire_diameter.htm and http://www.vmar.com/java/gear.html#
I have 3.80s on my weekend warrior and there pretty nice. I agree with T.L. 411s and up for race. I just show so 380s worked out good. I put about a 1000 miles a year on my Mav. Thom
I would like to have great acceleration… but also keep a decent highway mileage. I was looking into rebuilding my 8”… What is the Stock Ratio for my 76 302 Maverick? Thanks for all the input… This kind of information is damn near impossible to find.
look at the body buck tag on your door post. the axle code will tell you what the ratio is. more than likely it is a 3.00/1 it was pretty common. here is the list 2 = 2.75/1 4 = 3.40/1 6 = 3.00/1 9 = 3.25/1 7 = 3.55/1 5 = 3.07/1 3 = 2.79/1 4 = 3.18/1 if it is just the number by itself it is an open rearend, if it is followed with one of these letters it is a locker K, M, O, R, P, N, L
I have a 2.79 open rear end... can I transplant a 3.00-3.55 locker into my 8”? Where do I look for parts?
I am running 4.11's on a 29" tire. Someone hit it right 60mph = 3100 rpms.. I like it! Awesome fun around town.. Scotty
as with anything the gear is part of the combo, you have to consider whats in the motor, trans, and weight, this is my combo. 302 block, 347 crank 60 over, 13.8 to 1, windsor sr heads, victor jr intake, 750 bg carb, cam is 264 and 273 at 0.50 solid, c4 trans, 4800 converter, i have a 9 inch with 486 gears and it works great. if your racing at the track the gear you have can make or break the car, it has to work with the rest of the combo. also tire size has alot to do with it also, mine are 29x12.50 m and h racemasters. as for a street car that you play with from light to light with a 300 hp 302 410s will work great. randy
To determine for sure what ratio you have, jack the rear of the car up and turn one of the tires 10 times - IF BOTH TIRES ROTATE THE SAME DIRECTION. Count the number of revolutions the drive-shaft rotates. Divide the number of drive-shaft rotations by ten to get your ratio. ex: rotate wheel 10 times and get 27-1/2 rotations on the drive-shaft 27.5/10 = 2.75 If you have an "open differential" if you can jack only one tire off the ground and still rotate (with ease) the one jacked up. If this is the case, rotate the tire 20 times (instead of 10) then divide by 10. You can actually rotate the tire one or two times (depending on the type of differential you have) and count the number of driveshaft rotations (say 2.2, 2.5. 2.7 etc) but, to me, rotating the tires more turns then dividing the number will provide you a more accurate number. If you find that both tires rotate the same direction when one is turned, somebody has been inside the rearend before you and installed some type of "locker" or 'limited slip posi-traction'. I'd recommend getting the 4.10's and don't look back. Rember to change out the bearings also while you're in there. Good luck, -Rick
So with a 4.10 ratio I would still get good highway mileage? What about 3.55 or 4.00? I also think I would like the “limited slip” or “locker” but not to sure about the difference between the two…because this is going to be a daily driver…I would like to clean up the mechanical…
You won't get 'good highway mileage' with the 4.10. 3.55's (or lower) would be more in your range - again depending on your tire diameter (see links in my post above to calculate rpm's at 1:1 tranny ratio). You'd want to stay in the low 2K rpms for 'relatively' good gas mileage. Go through the excersixe above (turning the tires) to see what you have now and use the calculations to help you determine which gear to use. You probably have a 2.75 now and you know, or could find out, what your rpm's are at 'highway' speeds to use as a benchmark. Take the car out and cruise at different rpm's (not mph) to see what you'd feel comfortable running at. If you're NEVER going to drag race it, don't worry about the posi-traction - you don't need the $pend the extra $ on it.
