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Best Gears for 60 miles a day. 25k a year

3K views 35 replies 20 participants last post by  GRREEN 
#1 ·
I have a 2014 v6 auto with the stock 2.73 and have been wanting to upgrade. 3.73 would be great but dont know if the amount of miles i drive should prevent me from getting them. would 3.55s be better? maybe even 3.31s. any input would be appreciated. I already have cai, tune, and roush axle backs.
 
#4 ·
How important is fuel economy to you? Bigger ratio, lower MPG.
 
#6 ·
Get a 3.31 or 3.55 and you can make up the difference with tire height. If you want something steeper just get a shorter tire, that's often times easier than getting a 3.73 and trying to even things out with a taller tire due to space.

We run our v6 with a 3.55 but about a 26" tire on track, which is roughly 2" shorter than stock, so it effectively gives us more gear. Her street tires are a little over 27" though, so it brings it back closer to that true 3.55 ratio.
 
#7 ·
If i were you, I would just keep the gears I have. 2.73 work great for highway driving and you can probably get a little better performance if you just put a good tune on the car.

Gas is fairly cheap right now but as we all know, It will go back up soon.
Ronnie
 
#9 ·
The guy drive 60 miles a day,
I have 2.73 gears and I see no problem. If you ever get to Florida with your car I may just have a surprise for you with my 2.73 gears. Oh, I also have an automatic.
I got 30MPG on my 2,000 plus mile trip and about three years ago I did a 13.3 at Orlando Speed World.
My dyno was 271 at the wheels a few years ago.
Gears are great if your going to race a lot or you just like that very crisp feel they give you, They also give you wheel spin that you don't want and driving 60 miles a day at highway speed is just burning $$$$ for gas you don't need to.
The first gear in the automatic V6 is just perfect with the 2.73 and it holds in 1st. - 2nd. - 3rd. - and 4th. up to red line really well. It does it without spinning the rubber off the tires if your driving properly. My car won't go over 115 because of something in the stock Ford tune. I did do 102MPH in the quarter if I can remember right.
Now if you just want something to go quick from a stop light the lower ratio gears are going to give you that UMPH your looking for but at a cost of your MPG. Fine if your a rich Canadian but here in America most don't have that kind of money to burn.
Everybody has their opinion on this but none are the wrong opinion if that is what you want. Personally, I just like the tall first gear that the 2.73 gives me.
Ronnie
 
#10 · (Edited)
Wow that seemed to have gotten personal, why do you always get so personal??
The "Rich Canadian" was totally uncalled for, with nothing to do with this or any other post and hopefully the mods can get involved because personal attacks are totally uncalled for, and this is not the first time. Am I Canadian, yes what the hell does that have to do with anything? We are Mustang owners regardless of nationally or income!
The Op wanted opinions on an "upgraded" gear, he wasn't asking anything other then that.


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#11 ·
This guy drives a lot of miles. We have the same car, live in the mountains and that's where the S mode and + - shifter come in to play. 2:73's with this trans seem to work OK. Not great for the drag strip, but we don't do that. When we're on a trip on the open road the car gets 30-31mpg @ 75 also with the stock gearing. The MPT tunes we got give all the choices, power and shifting we require. That's what works for us, so good luck on your choices. Get what you think you want and go from there.
 
#12 ·
You know that was just a joke.
I try not to get personal but when i read things like
A tune won't help 2.73s, they are just God awful.
and know for a fact that it is not true I get a little disturbed.

The guy drives 60 miles a day to probably go to work. He already has a tune, A CAI and a good set of mufflers. I just suggested he keeps the 2.73 because if he has an automatic transmission , It is a good highway ratio that if he uses the correct gears when driving brisk, The 2.73 is no problem.
I do like to put out some light hearted posts to put a smile on your face. I'm glad you like them.
Where I used to work, about 40% of our customers were from Canada during Bike Week. I know they were not rich. Now Canada is about in the same mess as America in some places.
I do have some MENTAL ISSUES I like cars tooooo much.
My last sentence said:[QUOTEEverybody has their opinion on this but none are the wrong opinion if that is what you want. ][/QUOTE]
He asked for an opinion and I gave him one. He does not have to accept it.
Ronnie
 
#14 ·
Another thing to consider is that with gas between 1.7 and 2 a gallon if you drive 25,000 miles the difference between 24 and 29 MPG is roughly $300-350 for the total mileage so its not a terrible if you really want the performance. Of course I'm sure at some point it will go back up; if you recalculate it with gas between 3-3.5 a gallon it would be roughly 540-640 more.

I personally like the 2.73's and dont think that they are that bad for street use. Sure down low there not the best but if you learn how to use the power band its a fun car to play with on the street. I would estimate that 90% of my driving is highway so I am planning on keeping them and am kind of in the same situation where I drive a lot. You will eventually learn you have to pay to play and its just a matter of what you want as a balance of MPG/ performance balance.
 
#20 ·
I have to say that
1. There are a lot of Mustang forums
2. From all the ones I visit on a regular basis, this one seems to be the most active.
 
#21 ·
Plus some people need just a little thicker skin. Way to sensitive sometimes, really.
 
#22 ·
I agree, I usually have pretty tough skin but when people Continue to talk about something so off subject for such an extended period of time it just gets very annoying after awhile.


2013 mustang v6 premium package
Powder coated gold metallic wheels
Bama tune
Quarter window louvers
2.73 gears manual

2008 fz1
 
#24 · (Edited)
Here's a little tidbit someone posted awhile back.

0-60 MPH:
Stock - 6.2 sec
MPT Tuned - 5.7 sec
Gears (2.73 to 3.55) - 5.4 sec
MRT catted H-pipe - 5.3 sec

Here's a simulation with a manual transmission. Keep in mind the higher ratio gears end up causing more shifts, which is time lost. Or I should say, you'll notice that the 3.31 was the fastest to 100 MPH because it was still in 3rd gear, while the 3.55 and 3.77 had to shift to 4th gear to get that speed, due to their lower gears(higher ratio).
Text Line Font Number Design
 
#27 ·
The OP had a question that only he can answer based on various input he receives.
Voltwings gave a very good scenario that may or may not apply to the OP goals.
To further help the OP to make that decision, he further asked, "Does anyone have an idea of time differences for 0-60 and 1/4?"
The last couple of responses were directed at that question.
Do you feel we are going in the wrong direction?
 
#30 ·
Keep the 2.73 gears and just add a tune. I've had my 2011 Mustang since May 2010 and have 24,500 miles :) If i were driving 25,000 miles a year, i would be more worried about MPG and not 1/4 mile times.
 
#32 ·
I'm from Philly as well and just swapped 2.73s to 3.73s. I will be doing about the same with 60+ highway miles as well as a lot of local miles visiting clients.

I can say that I wish I did NOT go to the lower gear. I'm at final gear around 60-65 mph. I'm rolling at around 2500 RPM at 80mph on highway which kills gas. Granted the pull away power from a stoplight is a blast. But with that many miles, you'll regret it.

Also, with that steep of a shift in gears you might get the same issue I have which is a slight vibration from the driveshaft above 75mph at times. I'll need to upgrade that soon and have it balanced for the lower gear and high speeds.
 
#33 ·
Phillystang - the vibration you get is likely not the gears. Given the RPM's you are turning it is likely the flywheel. These cars have a dual mass flywheel and I have been told they all vibrate (mine does) when you are decelerating from about 3,000 RPM's downward to about 2400 RPM's. i'm sure you are just feeling it initially when you get off the gas at cruising speed. I'm glad you mentioned this though as I am considering gears (have been for a long time) but had not taken this into account. I have tentatively decided on 3.55 but may need to reconsider 3.31 for this purpose.
 
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