Smaller instead of taller gears?

[Mikes SS]

Is there anyone out there or any interest in say a 3.08 rear gear? I am sure that a lot of people out there will scoff at this question but where I live it is mostly 35 and a couple of 45 and 55mph zones back and forth to work. At 35 and 55 there really isn't and optimum gear 3rd or 4th to be in it's either bogging the engine or revving too much for the area. A 3.08 rear gear for the manual transmission would work out pretty good and hell I might as well say it be better gas mileage too.
3.45 rear
35mph/4th gear=1400 rpm's
35mph/3rd gear=2000 rpm's
55mph/4th gear=2200 rpm's
55mph/5th gear=1900 rpm's
3.08 rear
35mph/3rd gear=1800 rpm's
55mph/5th gear=1700 rpm's

[Mikes SS]

nobody?

[DarkObsession]

I find 35 to be completely fine in 4th (or sometimes 5th even) for casual driving and 45 is good in 4th or 5th as well. I don't see a need for a gear swap like that

[Mikes SS]

At 35 in 4th gear you are only running at approximately 1400 rpms and 1200 rpms in 5th. That is horrible for the gas mileage I would think because of the engine bogging and too low for the weight of the vehicle in my opinion.

[Milk 1027]

Originally Posted by Mikes SS

At 35 in 4th gear you are only running at approximately 1400 rpms and 1200 rpms in 5th. That is horrible for the gas mileage I would think because of the engine bogging and too low for the weight of the vehicle in my opinion.

1400 is perfect for gas mileage

[zebra]

it would hurt your stop & go mileage because the engine's having to work harder to get moving, but the cruising mileage will go up

that's why most GM trucks swap from 3.23/3.42 to a 4.10 & pick up mileage in town

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by zebra

it would hurt your stop & go mileage because the engine's having to work harder to get moving, but the cruising mileage will go up

that's why most GM trucks swap from 3.23/3.42 to a 4.10 & pick up mileage in town

This. We have had more than one customer who drive mostly in town and when they put 4.10s in their SS they gained 2-3 mpg. In town lower gearing will help mileage because you will get up to speed quicker and with less effort, a higher ratio like the 3.08 you mentioned would be helpful if you did all highway miles because you will run a lower cruising rpm.

Keep in mind, if you are thinking of swapping gears for fuel mileage it will take a very very long time to recoup the $1200 or so you will have invested by the time you get the gears and have them installed.

[zebra]

yeah... spend that money on mods to make your engine more efficient like headers

[Mikes SS]

I wasn't thinking of doing it solely for gas mileage, I just don't feel like I am doing my engine a favor running around in city traffic in too low or too high rpm range every day.

[zebra]

1400's nothin.
i cruise the truck @ 1400 with no problem - sometimes less if i don't have to give it any gas

[coolman]

Originally Posted by Apex Chase

This. We have had more than one customer who drive mostly in town and when they put 4.10s in their SS they gained 2-3 mpg. In town lower gearing will help mileage because you will get up to speed quicker and with less effort, a higher ratio like the 3.08 you mentioned would be helpful if you did all highway miles because you will run a lower cruising rpm.

Keep in mind, if you are thinking of swapping gears for fuel mileage it will take a very very long time to recoup the $1200 or so you will have invested by the time you get the gears and have them installed.

This guy is awesome. He always offers sound advice. The car is right at home in fourth or even fifth gear at 35 or 45 mph. I don't know what your talking about when you say yours bogs down. If your going up a hill or needing to pick up speed you need to down shift.

[proj3ktpat]

35 is fine in forth, and I will even go into 5th at 35 sometimes if the road is flat and I don't have to accelerate. At 55 6th gear should be perfect and you should see really good gas mileage. If a big hill comes up, or you need to accelerate quickly just drop it down a gear or two, and then go back when you're done. I highly doubt a gear swap like that would be worth your while, not to mention you would be hurting the performance of your car a little. If you're looking for better mpgs maybe try some hypermiling techniques.

[fielderLS3]

The Camaro's gearing as already a little too tall. I've driven them before, and taking off in first gear seems to require a lot of clutch because of how tall it is. Plus, in 6th, it is already only running at 1400 rpm at 60. Going even taller would basically make 6th unusable.

If your usual cruising speed is 55 mph, I'd say go with a slightly lower gear ratio and move up to 6th instead of going taller to stay in 5th. You'll be more likely to find the perfect gear for any given speed making use of all 6 ratios instead of limiting yourself to 5.

[speedster]

Originally Posted by Mikes SS

I wasn't thinking of doing it solely for gas mileage, I just don't feel like I am doing my engine a favor running around in city traffic in too low or too high rpm range every day.

Remember that GM spent a lot of research time developing the engine/transmission/rearend ratio/tire size for optimum all-around driving conditions. Hence, it is hard combination to beat. Lower (and/or higher) rpm does not necessarily mean higher efficiency or less wear. These motors have fairly large ports and require a certain level of airflow for a higher volumetric efficiency. Just my < .02.