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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: SomeCarGuy]
#320876
05/18/09 01:00 AM
05/18/09 01:00 AM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 21,318
Manitoba, Canada
DaytonaTurbo
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 21,318
Manitoba, Canada
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Quote:
Sure an OD is the way to go if you want to drop that amount of coin in your car. Or you can buy a high gear for a few hundred and spend the other 3 grand or so on other things.
It doesn't have to cost all that much. A 518 can be installed behind a small block for dirt cheap and put behind a big block with a help of a $300 JW ultrabell. A far cry from 3k, but still costs $ over doing nothing. All depends on how bad you want that steep gear and highway driveability. 
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: SomeCarGuy]
#320877
05/18/09 01:08 AM
05/18/09 01:08 AM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 18,157
Mass
DAYCLONA
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 18,157
Mass
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Quote:
Sure an OD is the way to go if you want to drop that amount of coin in your car. Or you can buy a high gear for a few hundred and spend the other 3 grand or so on other things.
Well,.....you know the old sayin,.."Speed cost money son,...How fast do you want go?" 
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: DaytonaTurbo]
#320878
05/18/09 01:15 AM
05/18/09 01:15 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,078
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Dartman75
master
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,078
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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3.55's and find a set of OD gears for your current manual or a swap to one that has an OD. 3.55's are a reasonble ratio, but still a bit of a screamer at highway speeds without the OD.
I had a 2.94 which was actually quite nice for the highway, still a bit tall but not bad, but on a stock motor it was a bit sluggshg betting up and going. 70MPH was about 2700-2900 RPM and ideal kick down RPM range for the motor as it'd upshift at 80. From that I switched to a 3.55 and the RPMS get into the 3500+ range which was quite annoying and no downshift from that speed. I added a GV OD which is roughly 0.78 ratio. Makes the 3.55 feel like a 2.76. Now that is the best of all worlds. 2600-2700 highway RPMS, really strong kickdown range (2nd gear with the OD on) with lots of room to mile it up before it shifts. But the Gear Vendors overdrive is a very pricy change if you're on a tight budget.
If you have a low gear set in first(no idea on mopar ratios) you can probably do quite nicely on 3.23's or even somethign isn the high 2.X range. If the tires go up easily just on motor torque, you dont need more gear advantage. 440 is a torque monster and as a non sligh wearing street car it will do nicely with taller gears that most will recommend from the performance crowd.
Greg
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: 70RT Charger]
#320880
05/18/09 06:52 PM
05/18/09 06:52 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 21,345
Marysville, O-H-I-O
70Cuda383
Too Many Posts
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Marysville, O-H-I-O
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when you get to it, consider the TKO over the GV. my TKO has a 5th gear OD of .64, much lower than the OD in the GV. with a 28" tire, and 3.21s, I was idling down the freeway, doing 75mph at 1800 rpm. Not good for me because the speed limit is 65, and if I drove that slow, my RPMs were low enough that the motor was getting choppy, lumpy, surging, etc. on the cam, since the cam I have doesn't really smooth out till 1800 rpm. Off the highway, where speed limits are 55mph? forget about trying to use 5th gear! so, I went "extreme" and put some 4.56s in the rear end. I haven't driven it yet, but the math says that I can do 65mph at 2200 RPM in 5th gear, or 75mph at 2600 RPM. hmm...4.56s for hard launches, and still turn less around 2500 rpm while cruising down the highway 
**Photobucket sucks**
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: 70Cuda383]
#320881
05/18/09 07:10 PM
05/18/09 07:10 PM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 21,318
Manitoba, Canada
DaytonaTurbo
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 21,318
Manitoba, Canada
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Quote:
hmm...4.56s for hard launches, and still turn less around 2500 rpm while cruising down the highway
Sounds great, so long as your motor will turn enough rpm to make it down the 1/4 mile before hitting redline in 4th!
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: DaytonaTurbo]
#320882
05/18/09 07:48 PM
05/18/09 07:48 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 21,345
Marysville, O-H-I-O
70Cuda383
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 21,345
Marysville, O-H-I-O
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Quote:
Quote:
hmm...4.56s for hard launches, and still turn less around 2500 rpm while cruising down the highway
Sounds great, so long as your motor will turn enough rpm to make it down the 1/4 mile before hitting redline in 4th!
I guess we'll see! 500 hp, 4200 lbs, aero of a brick...redline with that cam is probably 6200-6500 or so, on the engine dyno, power started to fall off at 6200 though.
6,000rpm in 4th gear, at 1:1, is about 109 in the 1/4. if my truck does a 109, I'd be happy with that, since it should put me into the 12s.
if I find that it's redlining way too soon, I always have 5th gear!
**Photobucket sucks**
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: 68Bullit]
#320884
05/18/09 09:14 PM
05/18/09 09:14 PM
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Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 21,345
Marysville, O-H-I-O
70Cuda383
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 21,345
Marysville, O-H-I-O
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Quote:
Not saying it hasn't been done, but definitely way harder to justify a TKO for someone already running an automatic, ESPECIALLY for someone watching their coin. I did look into a TKO a good bit before I made the decision for the GV. Cost of a total conversion was a big deciding factor.
I like my GV, but I do wonder how much I could have saved by considering a good 518 with a little extra strenghtening 
This is true...if you're already set up for an auto, you're gonna have to get EVERYTHING! (Flywheel, bell housing, clutch disc, pressure plate, gear box, shifter, clutch pedal, clutch linkage and or hydraulic lines, throw out bearing, clutch fork unless it's a hydraulic throw out bearing....
if you're already running a manual gear box, you can skip most of that and get just the gear box and driveshaft.
I basically did an "auto to manual" conversion, because I was putting a big block, TKO combo into a V6 Dakota, so all I had in place that I could use, was the clutch pedal, none of the V6 stuff was the same.
I spent $4K on my set-up, which included shipping to my door.
but it sure is worth it! 
**Photobucket sucks**
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: 68Bullit]
#320885
05/18/09 11:38 PM
05/18/09 11:38 PM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 21,318
Manitoba, Canada
DaytonaTurbo
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 21,318
Manitoba, Canada
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Quote:
I like my GV, but I do wonder how much I could have saved by considering a good 518 with a little extra strenghtening
Biggest expense would be the JW Ultrabell, which costs a little over 300 bucks, that and having your driveshaft shortened a few inches. Not a bolt-in deal though, some models need floor surgery and/or torsion bar crossmember modding. Plus you have to chop up your auto trans crossmember and fab it to hold the 518 up. If you're willing and have the ability it could be done for a fair price. And rebuilding a 518 doesn't cost much more than doing a 727. The .7:1 4th gear would sure be nice.
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: 70Cuda383]
#320886
05/19/09 12:08 AM
05/19/09 12:08 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,078
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Dartman75
master
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,078
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Quote:
when you get to it, consider the TKO over the GV....
Ditto that. For the price of the GV and work to get it mounted on a manual you can go with with a full TKO tranny. GV really only makes sense on an automatic unless there is a special circumstance.
In the mean time the 3.23's will work well for you. And when if you do get a TKO some day that 3.0ish range low gear will make that 3.23 come alive a bit more and make first gear useful and you'll have a nice tall crusing RPMS' in the 2000 range like any modern car.
Greg
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: SomeCarGuy]
#320888
05/19/09 03:32 AM
05/19/09 03:32 AM
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Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,347
Today? Who Knows?
1_WILD_RT
Management Trainee
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Management Trainee
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 27,347
Today? Who Knows?
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Quote:
I asked about a 518 swap in a truck that I looked at and most seemed to think the OD unit would fail behind a 440 pretty easily.
How about running a 2.76 rear gear and spending the extra money for an OD on a supercharger or better heads or...
Theres an awful lot of Cummins powered trucks around with O/D Torqueflites that live just fine...
Thats a 618 but the parts from a 618 & a 518 are interchangable...
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear? 3.08 nice and simple
[Re: 1_WILD_RT]
#320889
05/19/09 05:23 AM
05/19/09 05:23 AM
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,949
land of 10,000______'s
BDS871Cuda
top fuel
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top fuel
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,949
land of 10,000______'s
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I had a 66 Charger 383 auto. 8 3/4 rear posi with
3.23 gears and 295/50/15's. It was ok for 55 to 65
mph hyway driving, but for the freeway no way!
My 68 Chevy CST pickup has a 383 stroker (350)and
400 auto trans. No need for high dollar O.D. stuff.
3.08 gears with a 32" tire and 80 mph is as easy
as 2600 rpm.
At 4600 RPM, well, you do the math, let's just say
were flying!!!
Snap your neck, mega G-force launch, is all I want!
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: 1_WILD_RT]
#320890
05/19/09 11:49 AM
05/19/09 11:49 AM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 21,318
Manitoba, Canada
DaytonaTurbo
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 21,318
Manitoba, Canada
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Quote:
Theres an awful lot of Cummins powered trucks around with O/D Torqueflites that live just fine...
Thats a 618 but the parts from a 618 & a 518 are interchangable...
 The 518 will survive just fine behind most street or street/strip performance cars. Unless you're dumb enough to engage the lockup converter or the overdrive gear while you are nailing the the throttle! The o/d and lockup should be setup to automatically disengage any time you are raping on the throttle. The o/d functions should be used for cruising only.
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: 1_WILD_RT]
#320891
05/19/09 01:08 PM
05/19/09 01:08 PM
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,209
Someplace you aren't
SomeCarGuy
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,209
Someplace you aren't
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Quote:
Quote:
I asked about a 518 swap in a truck that I looked at and most seemed to think the OD unit would fail behind a 440 pretty easily.
How about running a 2.76 rear gear and spending the extra money for an OD on a supercharger or better heads or...
Theres an awful lot of Cummins powered trucks around with O/D Torqueflites that live just fine...
Thats a 618 but the parts from a 618 & a 518 are interchangable...
The truck guys pretty much said to use the 618 parts- but there is more money.
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Re: Whats the best cruising gear?
[Re: stumpy]
#320894
05/19/09 08:26 PM
05/19/09 08:26 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,078
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Dartman75
master
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master
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,078
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Gas mileage, noise, heat, wear and tear on the motor, and face it when people pass you on the highway and your car sounds like it's about rev'd the the RPM limit, they look at you like there is something wrong with you. And lets face it, there is something wrong with us, but lets not let outsiders know  Besides on the highway, when you need to accelerate up a hill like you're on the level, just down shift because second gear on a tall rear is probably about where drive is on a 4.10 geared car, and having that extra drive gear ready won't limit your top speed for rounding that top attempting to lauching into near earth orbit Greg
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