3.55 ?

-
saabfan9

saabfan9

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 26, 2011
Messages
113
Reaction score
15
Location
chicago
hey guys planning on going through my diff. i was looking at a set of 3.55 gears.....the car is set up for cruising (no track stuff) 3 speed auto and small block and 26 inch tire.....just wondering if i will be happy with these gears or should i step down to a 3.23....i will plan on hitting the expressway from time to time...worry about what kind of RPM's she'll turn...i still want to have fun with it...thanks guys
 
saabfan9 said:
hey guys planning on going through my diff. i was looking at a set of 3.55 gears.....the car is set up for cruising (no track stuff) 3 speed auto and small block and 26 inch tire.....just wondering if i will be happy with these gears or should i step down to a 3.23....i will plan on hitting the expressway from time to time...worry about what kind of RPM's she'll turn...i still want to have fun with it...thanks guys
Click to expand...

Try this calculator...you will be buzzing pretty good at 65...around 3000 rpm ... http://www.csgnetwork.com/multirpmcalc.html
 
badsport since your running this combo are you comfortable with this setup or would you change something?
 
I'm running 3.55's with 28" tires and an auto

70 mph is around 3100-3200 rpm

I suggest 3.23 if your converter is comfortable with that
 
3:55 is a good street gear, My 65 will be running 3:91 wit a 245/14/60. I have run a 4:56 with a 275/15/60 with no problems. My friend on here Mikes270dart ran a 4:56 gear with a 245/14/60.......that was nuts at 60 -70 mph. hearing loss:confused:
 
I'm running 3.55's in my car and cruise a lot but my tires are nearly 28" tall. At 60 mph it's turning about 2800 rpm which isn't too bad. I think if I had shorter 26" tires like you I'd go for 3.23's but a lot depends on the rest of the combination. If you are running a small cubic inch engine with a big cam it won't be happy with hwy. gears.
 
i like 355..good all around gear. but i have 24.5" diameter tires on 17" wheels....so im kinda steep on the highway...
 
had 3.55's in my dart with a 28" tall tire and like them better then the 3.91 gears but i still didn't really like them. i'm loving the 2.94 gears in the car now but i do a lot more highway cruising then some.

if your choices are 3.55 or a 3.23 i would go 3.23.
 
saabfan9 said:
badsport since your running this combo are you comfortable with this setup or would you change something?
Click to expand...

I like it at cruise on the secondary roads, I wouldn't want to do any long driving on the highway at 70. I set mine up for street/strip that's why I went with them.

If I was to do long rides or highway I would drop it to 3.23's.

Also if you run the 3.55's you can go with a larger tire for longer drives although I doubt it would change it that much. If you are just cruising it and not racing it I would go with the 3.23.
 
3.91 and 27 inch tires, can do 75 plus all day long---its just gets expensive for gas, lol

A quieter exhaust is a big help and no stroker motors, the 3.31 stroke loves rpm's, again its the gas mileage that is the turn off, IMO.

If gas was $1 a gallon again I would go on a cross country tour--and likely lose my license, ha ha


As for your case, 3.55 is a great gear and taller tires WILL make a difference. Plus taller tires gives you more bite on the road. If you are stuck with 26 inch tires, hmm, well which motor, the 318--340, I would say stay with 3.55, for the 360's get 3.23..unless you like to haul butt off from the light, why I'm keeping my 3.91's
 
awesome guys thanks for all the help ..still really torn but looks like the 3.23 might be the better choice...i'm 75 miles round trip to work and drive her 3 times a week (weather permitting)
 
saabfan9 said:
awesome guys thanks for all the help ..still really torn but looks like the 3.23 might be the better choice...i'm 75 miles round trip to work and drive her 3 times a week (weather permitting)
Click to expand...

If that's the case you might look at the 3.55's. I went on a 100 mile or better jaunt yesterday, the furthest I've driven at one time it since the swap, and I was happy with it. I was running 60 most of the time right at 3000 RPM.
 
Running 3.91s, cruising at 60mph on the highway the car is at 3100rpm.
 
saabfan9 said:
awesome guys thanks for all the help ..still really torn but looks like the 3.23 might be the better choice...i'm 75 miles round trip to work and drive her 3 times a week (weather permitting)
Click to expand...


Again, which motor, how is the engine built, what rpm does the power drop off. My 340 coud use a larger cam, a 7,000 redline works good for 3.91's...so say 6,500 it be 3.55 and 6,000 I would use the 3.23

Gasoline isn't getting cheaper, $5 a gallon gas might be here soon, in that case 3.23 or even 2.94's you might want to get. If i drove my car 75 miles every 3 days, I be broke, lol
 
What is the car geared at right now? Or have you ever drove the car with the gears you have. Another words if I have 3.23 gears and go with 3:55 I'm not really going to feel a difference or see much of gain or loss on gas mileage. Bottom line however is really up to you to decide because it depends on what you use the car mostly for. Sounds like you would benefit with the 2.94 like previously mentioned.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top