Lets start a list of anyone having issues with 4.10 gears

[caverman]

So it was mentioned from ADM's group that 4.10 gears could possibly break under heavy usage (I assuming mostly with the M6). He recommended staying away from any of the aftermarket 4.10 gears and to go with GM's 3.70 gear.

I want to go 4.10 but not if their is going to be an issue. Especially with the $1,400 installed price tag.

So I would like to know if anyone has any first hand experience with 4.10 gear failure or was his an isolated issue?

[camaro1]

where are you finding gm 3.70's,, or are you talking about the lingenfelter AAM 3.70's??

[caverman]

Originally Posted by camaro1

where are you finding gm 3.70's,, or are you talking about the lingenfelter AAM 3.70's??

When I talked to Andy at ADM about gears he uses the GM 3.70 gears. Can't remember if he said 3.70 or 3.73 but I believe Pat's post said 3.70 gears.

[camaro1]

there are no gm 3.70's,, nothing you can buy from a gm dealer

richmond gear has 3.73 and 4.10's

motive gear has some gears coming out this fall, 3.90 and 4.10??

AAM(the company that makes the camaro rear diff) have 3.70's,, but so far i have not found a AAM dealer that can get them,,, so far the only way i have seen them for sale is from lingenfelter and his dealer network for around $800

[4xchamp]

What's wrong with Richmonds ?
No issues after 1000 miles and a lot of hard driving .
With enough power and abuse anything will break .

[KungFuHamster]

Originally Posted by caverman

So it was mentioned from ADM's group that 4.10 gears could possibly break under heavy usage (I assuming mostly with the M6). He recommended staying away from any of the aftermarket 4.10 gears and to go with GM's 3.70 gear.

I want to go 4.10 but not if their is going to be an issue. Especially with the $1,400 installed price tag.

So I would like to know if anyone has any first hand experience with 4.10 gear failure or was his an isolated issue?

i believe this was the post you were referring to:

Originally Posted by freemaSSon

Anyone considering a 4.10 with a clutch needs to examine QWKSS's picture very closely.

Some 4.10 sets are failing with the teeth shearing off the pinion. I did it to my set but I'm a bit aggressive. WELL ALOT AGGRESSIVE If you plan to abuse your car then steer clear of the 4.10's. The pinion is so small in this gear set that the pinion construction is weak. I was on the street with Nitto NT05 street versions in 315/35 20 and an aggressive launch created an earth shattering BOOM! I told my BRIDE that I just snapped a half shaft. I limped to a side street and crawled under the car to see the half shafts in perfect shape. After making a few phone calls it turns out several 4.10 sets have failed and it is going to be COMMON with this gear set no matter who makes it. The pinion is just too weak in this set for JACKASSES like me. If you have a clutch and you plan to ABUSE the car then I CAUTION you to go with the GM 3.70 gear set and avoid the aftermarket gears all together.

This is my choice.

QWKSS's picture of the stock 3.45 pinion in comparison to the 4.10 pinion and it illustrates my point and it is clearly evident the smaller can never provide the strength the stock pinion offers. The further you go down in gear the smaller and smaller the pinion is. The 3.70 GM gear set offers the best strength with also offering a better ratio. I'm so looking forwards to a Strange or Moser 100% bolt in 9" solid axle to kill this IRS crap altogether and get my 3.90's and call it good!

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by 4xchamp

What's wrong with Richmonds ?
No issues after 1000 miles and a lot of hard driving .
With enough power and abuse anything will break .

There haven't been any wide spread breakages but I have heard about three. All three of those occurred either at the drag strip or when the driver admitted they were placing the drive train under extreme load on the street (I think you know what I mean). Can you break them with enough power and abuse, of course. Rear ends going the way of the hand grenade has been happening since the dawn of automotive history, I just watched it happen on Pinks the other night. Does the average Joe have much to worry about? No.

[Ovenmitt]

The rears in these cars are infinitely stronger then the 10 bolts in the last generation. Add 400+rwhp to 4000 pounds of fat pig, throw in M6 shock and traction and it's unsurprising that the pinions are exploding. Problem is, properly (tightly) set-up, the 4.10s are going to make noise. A lot of people don't like that, so compromise is made and the gears are setup slightly looser and you lose tooth engagement. Another issue is pumpkin flex, and hopefully that will be addressed sometime in the future. While the new gears have less teeth, so the bulk of the gear is smaller, they aren't a finer pitch tooth then the factory pinion and are not less strong because of this (the teeth themselves). It's also possible that the first batch of richmonds had an improper heat treat causing issues, it's hard to say without an up close examination, but blaming breakage on the fact that they're 4.10s is blasphemy. It is not a 'weaker' gearset.

[AG454]

I've had my 4.10's for about 2000 miles now. No problems or whining. When you go around launching the car hard, especially with high HP mods and DR's, your chances of breaking something go up tremendously. I just don't understand abusing your car like that, take it easy. Slip the clutch, go with a roll out start. I love my car, I'll pull her hair, but I won't bitch slap her.

[Camaro_Corvette]

Originally Posted by 4xchamp

What's wrong with Richmonds ?
No issues after 1000 miles and a lot of hard driving .
With enough power and abuse anything will break .

This is the harsh reality.

[72Rookie]

Im sure Im showing my ignorance here but what gearing does the Corvette have? isnt this the same LS3 motor? are they geared the same way or is this something completely different, like not interchangeable?

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by 72Rookie

Im sure Im showing my ignorance here but what gearing does the Corvette have? isnt this the same LS3 motor? are they geared the same way or is this something completely different, like not interchangeable?

The Corvette has a totally different setup. Here is the bottom of a 2010 Mustang. It has a similar drive train lay out as the Camaro.



Its a pretty typical set up, engine is to the right of the picture with the transmission bolted to the engine followed by a drive shaft that leads to the rear differential at the far left.

Here is the Corvette drive train.



Again, the engine is at the right of the picture but you notice it doesn't have a transmission bolted to it. It had a "torque tube" that leads back to a transmission/differential unit located towards the rear of the car.

Its a different animal all together. Corvettes are geared higher than the Camaro anyways so there would be no gain there even if it was interchangeable.

[camaro1]

i sure hope my camaro doesnt look like that under side pic!

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by camaro1

i sure hope my camaro doesnt look like that under side pic!

That is a 2010 Mustang with the Track Pack. The Camaro isn't dramatically different though.