The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk rear end gear change

Looking for any info on rear gear change for better drivability and gas milage @ lower rpm. any pointers would be greatly appreciated.oh by the way it's for my 58 chevy cameo with 3:90 gear ratio thanks in advance. Big Dave

go to www.randysringandpinion.com and play with their calculaor. it can give your the idea for ratios and tire size and rpms. ron

THANKS RON I APPRECIATE THE INFO, WILL CHECK IT OUT.

This is my favorite one:
http://www.drivetraindirect.com/t_gear_calculator.htm

Grigg

I also have a 3:90 rear, but I wanted to keep my low end grunt and so opted for a Gear Vendors O.D. It truly gives you the best of both worlds. I work the truck and tow a boat sometimes, so it was a no brainer.
My second choice would be to swap to a T-5.
The only way I would get a higher geared rear is if I didn't drive it much and just wanted to cruise or if I mostly drove on flat freeways.
P.S. I can drive it at 80 mph @ 2800rpm in 4th over. I can also split 3rd and 4th which is perfect for the sm420.

Same here on the OD tranny.I am using a 700R4 OD tranny with my stock 3:90 gears,and a 350 Small block.It performs nicely and it gets me 20 MPG all day long.If ya wanna stick with a 1 to 1 tranny go up to at least a 3:42,or better yet a 3:08 gear.

do a search
i have a T5 w 3.43 rear

http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=013926#000000

http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=013343;p=1#000002

http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=013357#000000

http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=013146#000000

thanks for all the advice i really appreciate it.

If you are happy with your present tranny, I would also suggest going to an overdrive. I have a Hone-O-Drive overdrive in my 55 396 powered Cameo that I installed in 1970. I have used it for towing and hauling a camper over most of North America and never had a problem with it. For the longest time, I ran it with a 4:57 rear end but the best combo was with the 3.73 rear end that I am running right now. It took all 350+ hp ( and wide tires :-) ), with no problem, in direct and in overdrive. I will actually be going back to the original 3.90 rear end when I convert back to 2WD, but the truck will still have an overdrive. I need to get my garage built before I redo the truck one more time.

Bob

Bob