Need help with argument @ work!!!!

**clg82** · 05-04-2008, 11:05 PM

Well to make a long story short I was telling a friend of mine at work (a mercedes S500 freak) that I was planning on swapping out the 3.23 gears in my A4 trans am for some 3.73 gears. He insists that I will SUFFER in fuel mileage, as well as overall driveability of the car. He says that I won't even be able to drive it home ( a 2 hour drive) from where I'm getting it done because he says i will be at 5,000 RPM at 80 mph. Someone PLEASE help me set this foreign car drive straight!!! Let me know how if any of the overall driveability hinders me from driving this on the highway or around town for that matter...and also what are some of the perks.....thanks in advance, chris

**tonyjnjz** · 05-05-2008, 12:06 AM

http://www.f-body.org/gears/

click that link buddy and it will show u what rpm's youll be spinning at 80....send it to your idiot friend as well...your fuel milage WILL suffer though.....he is right there......as to hoow much im not certain......i would guess 3-4 mpg highway u would lose........around town it shouldnt be a significant difference.....driveability willl be fine..he has no clue what hes talking about

**ultra_badass** · 05-05-2008, 12:10 AM

i actully went from 3.43 to 4.10's and my mileage actully went up a bit...(not bs either)..you will only be at 2400 at 70 or like 2650 at 80 its not going to hurt the car in anyway..its going to be like a night and day diffrenance at that it really wakes up a car alot..i have no problem driving mine anywhere so you will be fine

**tonyjnjz** · 05-05-2008, 12:11 AM

looking at that chart im glad i dont own an auto....holy fuck......2300 with 323s and 2700 with 373s.....shit your car must be loud at 80 with the cruise on......with my 342s and 6 speed its only at 1800 at 80mph

**t-rock** · 05-05-2008, 04:44 AM

thats because your 6th gear is .005 not so much your 3.42's.

**stephen02ws6** · 05-05-2008, 07:18 AM

havent driven mine that much on the highway but all around i lost about 1-2 mpg with my 3.73s. at about 70 the rpms are around 2300-2400.

**JohnnyBs98WS6Rag** · 05-05-2008, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by clg82

Well to make a long story short I was telling a friend of mine at work (a mercedes S500 freak)

That speaks volumes right there, LOL.

LSx cars, especially w/ the M6, get better mileage than about any other V8 car out there. I got 28+MPG at 85MPH before my car was even broken in, I've heard of others getting over 30MPG w/ the M6. Name ANY other car that can crack-off a mid-13 1/4-mi then get better than 30 on the highway on the way home.

**clg82** · 05-05-2008, 08:42 AM

Thanks for all of the responces!!! Any other suggestions, or comments would be helpful!!!~Chris

**2001NBMZ28** · 05-05-2008, 08:56 AM

He's also wrong saying you can't even drive it home - speedo will be off though. I went from 2.73 to 3.42 and drove it for a few days before programming it for the higher gears.

**Spaz** · 05-05-2008, 09:15 AM

after you're done you'll get the same milage as your buddy...

**kris6273** · 05-05-2008, 09:44 AM

i have a a4 in mine and went from 2.73's to 3.73's and only lost about 2mpg that i notice most of the time sometimes i get more then i use to but i have a heavy foot lol and at the same times the gears went in so did headers so some of the lost mpg is from them and about 80mph mine rpm's are at 2900-3k

**clg82** · 05-05-2008, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by Spaz

after you're done you'll get the same milage as your buddy...

LOL ain't that the truth, don't get me wrong riding in that thing on the highway gives you the feeling of being in an elevator!! Good for old people, I wouldn't spend 100k on one of those, nothing beats american muscle not even an elevator ride

**clg82** · 05-05-2008, 10:11 AM

Originally Posted by 2001NBMZ28

He's also wrong saying you can't even drive it home - speedo will be off though. I went from 2.73 to 3.42 and drove it for a few days before programming it for the higher gears.

i am going to get the speedo adjusted the day of the install, thanks for the info!!!

**clg82** · 05-05-2008, 11:45 PM

Well after showing him what you guys posted at work tonight.........he still thinks it's a bad idea and heres why..........he says since my car already has 100,000 miles on it that it will only ACCELERATE the time in which the engine will go bad.....or blow up........and that being at such high RPM'S all the time is extremly bad for any car........oh and he also says I will have no traction at all.........what do i say to shut him up now........because he does have a legitimate argument.............it think???? Help me out gearheads!!

**tonyjnjz** · 05-06-2008, 12:24 AM

Originally Posted by clg82

Well after showing him what you guys posted at work tonight.........he still thinks it's a bad idea and heres why..........he says since my car already has 100,000 miles on it that it will only ACCELERATE the time in which the engine will go bad.....or blow up........and that being at such high RPM'S all the time is extremly bad for any car........oh and he also says I will have no traction at all.........what do i say to shut him up now........because he does have a legitimate argument.............it think???? Help me out gearheads!!

the ls1 is an extremely reliable powerplant and once again he dosnt know what hes talkin about.....as far as traction he does have a point...but one sticky tires can quickly take care of ........i think hes just a snobby hater

**JoshieDoom** · 05-06-2008, 12:35 AM

That link proves to me that my tranny is done.. 2200 at 65mph all stock. 323s..

**tonyjnjz** · 05-06-2008, 01:38 AM

Originally Posted by JoshieDoom

That link proves to me that my tranny is done.. 2200 at 65mph all stock. 323s..

so your rpms being about 300 higher than that charge means your tranny is going? hmmm....explain how so? im not arguing but im curious as i have no clue

**JohnnyBs98WS6Rag** · 05-06-2008, 04:57 AM

Originally Posted by tonyjnjz

so your rpms being about 300 higher than that charge means your tranny is going? hmmm....explain how so? im not arguing but im curious as i have no clue

That link doesn't allow you to select the rear gear, which is OK for a stock M6 (they are all 3.42), but I'd bet it assumes a 2.73 rear gear for the A4 f-bods:

2200 / 3.23 * 2.73 = 1859...... 341 RPM lower than 2200.

Originally Posted by clg82

Well after showing him what you guys posted at work tonight.........he still thinks it's a bad idea and heres why..........he says since my car already has 100,000 miles on it that it will only ACCELERATE the time in which the engine will go bad.....or blow up........and that being at such high RPM'S all the time is extremly bad for any car........oh and he also says I will have no traction at all.........what do i say to shut him up now........because he does have a legitimate argument.............it think???? Help me out gearheads!!

Your bud is smokin' crack if he thinks you'll be turning 5000 RPM at 80 w/ 3.73s. Has he not heard of OVERDRIVE?? Does he think that American cars are so archaic that they haven't yet implemented OVERDRIVE?? With 3.73 gears in an A4 you'll be turning less than 3200 RPM at 80MPH. Going from 3.23s to 3.73s is only a 15% increase in RPMs. Will it shorten the time before your engine needs to be rebuilt? Probably a small ammount (~15%). But then again, a rebuild on an LS1 costs about 1/10th of the cost to rebuild a MB engine, so WHO CARES??

As far as traction goes, even IF you don't have ASR / TCS, YOU still have full control of that w/ your right foot. Changing gears doesn't suddenly make the rear tires slippery.

He has NO legitimate argument against 3.73s. He's probably just jealous that HE CAN'T easily swap rear gears in his MB. Does he even OWN a S500??

**clg82** · 05-06-2008, 07:43 AM

Originally Posted by JoshieDoom

That link proves to me that my tranny is done.. 2200 at 65mph all stock. 323s..

I am not exactly sure what this guy is talking about..................

Originally Posted by JohnnyBs98WS6Rag

That link doesn't allow you to select the rear gear, which is OK for a stock M6 (they are all 3.42), but I'd bet it assumes a 2.73 rear gear for the A4 f-bods:

2200 / 3.23 * 2.73 = 1859...... 341 RPM lower than 2200.

Your bud is smokin' crack if he thinks you'll be turning 5000 RPM at 80 w/ 3.73s. Has he not heard of OVERDRIVE?? Does he think that American cars are so archaic that they haven't yet implemented OVERDRIVE?? With 3.73 gears in an A4 you'll be turning less than 3200 RPM at 80MPH. Going from 3.23s to 3.73s is only a 15% increase in RPMs. Will it shorten the time before your engine needs to be rebuilt? Probably a small ammount (~15%). But then again, a rebuild on an LS1 costs about 1/10th of the cost to rebuild a MB engine, so WHO CARES??

As far as traction goes, even IF you don't have ASR / TCS, YOU still have full control of that w/ your right foot. Changing gears doesn't suddenly make the rear tires slippery.

He has NO legitimate argument against 3.73s. He's probably just jealous that HE CAN'T easily swap rear gears in his MB. Does he even OWN a S500??

Yes he owns an S500...........And that is what i thought as well about the over drive, thanks very much for all of your input.........keep the comments and suggestiong coming!

**JohnnyBs98WS6Rag** · 05-06-2008, 07:54 AM

I went back to that link to play a little more, it DOES allow you to input your rear axle ratio, but you have to clear the fields on the right first for it to work right.

'98+ F-body A4 w/ 275-40-17 tires:

2.73 rear turns 2000 RPM at 80 MPH in 4th gear
3.23 rear turns 2400 RPM at 81 MPH in 4th gear
3.73 rear turns 2800 RPM at 82 MPH in 4th gear