Headers Or Gears????

[Camvill]

Hey i have a 94 camaro z28 daily driver with magnaflow exhaust and an intake and some other stuff but anyways lets get down to what i wanna know! I wanna either do headers or gears one or the other the ups and downs are

Headers:
20-30hp
$650
better sound

Gears .373
$900
Better acceleration
worse gas mileage on highway.

Let me know if you guys have done either of these to your lt1 and what u would recommend remeber:i want to do only one so please help me out ! thanks! ~Cam

[bad64chevelle]

I did both on my Camaro, and I noticed ALOT more out of the gears. Went from 3:23 to 3:73 and a tune and never looked back. I gained from the headers also, but felt alot stronger after the gears.

[ryanfx]

headers without question

[Savage_Messiah]

4.10s.

[Brando56894]

of course you would say that, im still debating on if im gonna get 3.73s or 4.10s, i think im gonna go with 4.10s cuz 3.42s to 3.73s isnt that big of a jump

[Savage_Messiah]

4.10 is fine for a daily driver... I did it for what, a year?

[Camvill]

now i dont do too much highway driving but with these gas prices how much would 373's or 410's cost more a year on gas.

[bubba428]

well at 60mph on stock speedo you be going 56-58...not that big a loss so figure 10-15 miles less per tank

[deadtrend1]

Go with gears. LT1 manifolds dont flow TOOOOOO bad. Gears will wake that car up. I wouldn't put in more then 3.73's in the stock 10 bolt....

[bubba428]

Go with gears. LT1 manifolds dont flow TOOOOOO bad. Gears will wake that car up. I wouldn't put in more then 3.73's in the stock 10 bolt....

yup....now why are the gears $900??? I can get an eaton posi at advance auto for $500.

[ttpctsv]

both don't be cheap i just spent 2 grand in suspension ,ground control coil overs 650 600 springs, 12 adjustable shocks and bigger sway bars

[jeff wilson]

3:73s w/ a 3200 converter would be the best money spent. took over one half second of my ETs

[deadtrend1]

yup....now why are the gears $900??? I can get an eaton posi at advance auto for $500.

still a high price for an Eaton posi ..... and 7.5" gears are nowhere near $900.00

[NJSPEEDER]

gears are a way better bang for the buck and will not mess up mileage, that is jsut an old wives tale. most people will see the same or in some cases even slightly better highway mileage. your mileage around town will change if you like messing around, but that is up to how you drive more than the gears.
i would also suggest looking for a better shop to do the gears, 900 bones to put in 3.73's(you shoudl do 4.10's) is crazy

[Teds89IROC]

I noticed a huge difference on my car with gears, I went from 2.77 to 3.42. I also noticed a huge difference with headers too. I voted for headers and after rethinking, they're both good :lol: I say do whatever is in your budget first. But definitely do them both at some point.

[Camvill]

SO CONFUSING either way they sound awesome and if i got gears i would be getting 373's and i would install them myself so whats a good place to buy them??

[Savage_Messiah]

Have you ever done a gear install before?

[Camvill]

actually i lied i thought i was gonna do them but just looked at what it takes to gett hem done so prolly around 900 with install?????any suggestions on whos good to get them done at

[procamaroz28]

toms auto hes good, fast, and doesn't over charge he's near englishtown raceway park

[Mike]

900 is high for a gear install.......and if you buy gears, buy a new aluminum differential cover to add a little strength

[procamaroz28]

o and id go with headers first before gears that way when your car is performing better you shouldnt need to go w/ the higher 410 gears and i feel that 410's are very anoying around city (maybe its an m6 thing could work out better w/ a4)

[Camvill]

anywhere around central nj that does them cheap??

[procamaroz28]

that is in central nj

[Mike]

i have no problems with my 4.10s on the street, and i like the fact that 6th gear is now useable

[Camvill]

i have a 4 speed auto though :-(

[bad64chevelle]

Well, do what you want to do i did my whole rear (posi, gears, TA girdle, install kit, and some other things for under 900) but there was no cost to installing them. 900 is WAY too high. Headers are worth the money also, maybe I didnt see as much of a difference because i had mids, but when i got the gears it was night and day.

[Jersey_TA]

I'd say headers since the price of gas is retarded.

[Savage_Messiah]

i have a 4 speed auto though :-(
so do i. and less power so its better for yoyu, just f****** man up and get some 4.10s.

[Jersey_TA]

i have a 4 speed auto though :-(

You shouldn't go any higher than 3.73s with an auto. 4.10s are for the manual guys.

[Jersey_TA]

gears are a way better bang for the buck and will not mess up mileage, that is jsut an old wives tale. most people will see the same or in some cases even slightly better highway mileage. your mileage around town will change if you like messing around, but that is up to how you drive more than the gears.


I drove with the cruise set for 928 miles(one way when I drive home to IL) when I was stock and got 310-315 miles per tank. I added 3.73 gears and that mileage went down to 290 +-5. If you think about it like that if you only drove on the highway to work and back you would cost yourself roughly an extra $1.50 per fill up(if the price of premium is $3.12). Multiply that by an average fill up of 3 times per month x 12 months = $54 if you just drive normal on the highway. It's all roughly estimation though ;) Since he just drives around town he's going to fill up more in theory. It all depends on the rpm he's at now compared to the rpm he will be at with 3.73s.

[njfastestcamaro]

id would put 4:10 and an aftermarket tran cooler so u dont burn up the trans

[Rafterman]

go with the gears. this will be more of an improvement on the car than just the nice flow of headers.

[JSPERFORMANCE]

If you are set on keeping the ten bolt I wouldnt reccomend going any higher numerrically than 3.73's. The main strength issue with 10 bolts is the pinion and when you go to real steep gears the pinion gear gets real tiny and that creates more heat and stress on less surface area. Plus with your lt1 and auto you make your power considerably lower than ls1 cars so to use it you want to be going through the traps between 5800-6300 so that you do not nose over before the stripe. For a proper gear install you are looking to spend around 350-400 in parts and $300 for the rebuild.

[Tru2Chevy]

Since he just drives around town he's going to fill up more in theory. It all depends on the rpm he's at now compared to the rpm he will be at with 3.73s.

On the highway, most people will lose some mileage, but if you can keep your foot out of the go pedal, you should actually improve mileage around town. This is because you're basically giving the car more leverage to get moving from a stop, which places less load on the engine.

- Justin

[Camvill]

can u guys post some links for gears and shops>>>??

[firebirdcrazy]

I posted a thread earlier that SLP will have headers for for lowered F bodies by the end of the summer. I took off my old headers will wait for these new ones.

[NJSPEEDER]

I drove with the cruise set for 928 miles(one way when I drive home to IL) when I was stock and got 310-315 miles per tank. I added 3.73 gears and that mileage went down to 290 +-5. If you think about it like that if you only drove on the highway to work and back you would cost yourself roughly an extra $1.50 per fill up(if the price of premium is $3.12). Multiply that by an average fill up of 3 times per month x 12 months = $54 if you just drive normal on the highway. It's all roughly estimation though ;) Since he just drives around town he's going to fill up more in theory. It all depends on the rpm he's at now compared to the rpm he will be at with 3.73s.

that would equate to about 1-1.5 gallon every other tank. so for somewhere in the $3-5 very other tank you get better et's and a much more fun car to drive.
i could live with that for the extra tenth that the 4.10's are worth over 3.73's.
you have also told me the average and peak speeds on your trips, far from typical highway travel speeds buddy. :p

[BonzoHansen]

As a former 3rd gen owner for when decent headers didn't exist (at least under $800), gears really lit my car up.

[Jersey_TA]

that would equate to about 1-1.5 gallon every other tank. so for somewhere in the $3-5 very other tank you get better et's and a much more fun car to drive.
i could live with that for the extra tenth that the 4.10's are worth over 3.73's.
you have also told me the average and peak speeds on your trips, far from typical highway travel speeds buddy. :p

I don't mess around on my trips home. I've driven home 9+ times and there were only 2 times that I actually messed around. The other trips were with the cruise set at 73 mph all through pennsy, west virg., ohio, indianna, and IL. ;)

[Camvill]

idk im kinda leaning towards pacesetter longtubes i cant really afford this gas thing and i can install these myself.

[Squirrel]

i wish i had the 94+ trans in my car when i still had it...cuz when i eventually did do gears 4:30's were gonna be the min, most likely 456s

[WildBillyT]

i wish i had the 94+ trans in my car when i still had it...cuz when i eventually did do gears 4:30's were gonna be the min, most likely 456s

I would think 4.30's or 4.56's would have a short life in a 7.5" 10 bolt. That's a small pinion gear...

[NJSPEEDER]

the thing that kills the 7.5 is not the gears or the carrier itself, it is the case. the casting is thin and can easily distort in stock form, causing the carrier to shift and pull the ring gear away from the pinion. this can be easily overcome by using a cast cover with bearing supports and welding the axle tubes to the center section.
it is in no way going to take the kind of power a 12bolt or 9inch can, but plenty of people have made pass after pass in ful weight cars without failure using a properly preped 7.5 that costs a fraction of a 12bolt.

[JSPERFORMANCE]

ehhhh WRONG the housing size does not allow for decent sized gears or bearings which is where the deflection is. You can weld the whole rear into a gigantic block of metal and it will still break. The cover is more bling than anything else because it only holds the carrier in place and does nothing to keep the pinion from driving into the ring gear and chewing it up. Either way the smaller the gearset the weaker the unit will be. Therefore the 10 bolt is junk ... period. I dont reccomend using them in anything faster than 11.80 with an auto or 12.0 with a stick. Wanna see proof? I have a load of broken 10 bolt parts at the shop from rears that were "built" (most of them are even my own) There comes a time when you just have to accept the fact that you need to replace the rear in these cars if you want to put any kind of serious power to the ground.

[NJSPEEDER]

the case deflects and distorts. that is how the ring runs away from teh pinion gear and shreds the teeth. the ring gear could be a foot thick and ten feet around and it wouldn't make a difference, because once the case starts distorting, only a fraction of the teeth are making contact.

for a daily driver like this application, a little beefing up of the housing and a set of 3.73 or 4.10 gears will be fine.

[Squirrel]

when referring to gears, the object is to reach in your pants and see if your balls are there...if said balls are present, go 4.XX...if not, 3.XX are for you

[Savage_Messiah]

when referring to gears, the object is to reach in your pants and see if your balls are there...if said balls are present, go 4.XX...if not, 3.XX are for you

QFMFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JSPERFORMANCE]

Its not the rig gear moving away from the pinion its the pinion that is the problem.. Everything is reletive when you go from a 7.5" ring to an 8.5" or better the pinion size grows with it as well as the bearings and other hardware. That is where you gain your strength.

[WildBillyT]

when referring to gears, the object is to reach in your pants and see if your balls are there...if said balls are present, go 4.XX...if not, 3.XX are for you

Well if the strength isn't there your rear axle is going to suffer from a "premature ejaculation" the first time you do a high RPM dump. :lol:

[JSPERFORMANCE]

Well if the strength isn't there your rear axle is going to suffer from a "premature ejaculation" the first time you do a high RPM dump. :lol:

:rofl: :rofl: premature ejaculation :rofl: :rofl:

[Camvill]

now i just need a shop thats cheap and fast

[JSPERFORMANCE]

:rolleyes:

[Savage_Messiah]

I think you want to say, "inexpensive, good quality, and fast turnaround"

[98tadriver]

gears will always have the faster effect! soild tenths dropped!