Diff gear upgrade.

[steveyc]

Finally close to having saved the $990 I've been quoted to supply and fit some 3.46 diff gears. Before I go ahead and do it, I just wanted to see if anyone else has put 3.46s in a 4 speed auto. Not the SV6, just the regular 175kw. I've done plenty of reading on here and other sites, but most people who have upgraded to 3.46s seem to have SV6s and I wanna know if I'll feel much of a difference from the 3.08 gears. I'm hesitant to go 3.7s cos I drive about 50ks of highways to and from work every day and it's the family car so I don't want issues with too much tyre spin in the wet but I still wanna get rid of some of the sluggishness off the line.

Cheers.

 

[steveyc]

Now I've posted this I've found several posts that ease my mind after weeks of searching and reading -_- sounds like 3.46 will be fine.

 

[greenacc]

Yes it's a good idea for you with the less powerful motor the lower gearing will help it get off the line quicker and boogy LOL!
Something like 15% better just by comparing the ratios.

 

[steveyc]

Yeah the lower gears combined with the Mace manifold insulator I have and the exhaust/tune I plan on getting down the line should make a good difference. I'm not looking for anything big, it's just the daily drive. But at least it'll be a bit more fun.

 

[vr304]

Different car I know but in my old vr club sport 5 litre manual I swapped out the 3.08 gears for some 3.45s and it made a big difference definitely worth while and cruising at 100kmh was about 450 - 500 rpm higher

 

[Benboy]

Don't forget that your speedometer could be affected as will fuel consumption figures. Good luck.

 

[vr304]

Don't forget that your speedometer could be affected as will fuel consumption figures. Good luck.

Speedo can be recalibrate easy enough on a dyno if the Ecu has been unlocked, fuel economy round town is actually better due to the motor being under less load, will be slightly worse with open road cruising

 

[steveyc]

My boss has a Tech 2 so he should be able to recalibrate it, so I just have to make it to work the next day without getting a ticket haha. As for fuel, I run on LPG so it won't make too much of a difference to my wallet. Good to know someone could notice a difference even if it was a manual.

 

[greenacc]

Auto or manual won't make a difference both will get a boost with the lower ratio.
Just don't put it in upside down LOL, I did that once on a vintage thing, my Boss was like wtf 4 reverse gears
LPG, now we know why you've got no power

 

[steveyc]

Hahaha, I like that. Nah I'll be getting a pro to do it. Not something I could do I don't think.

Yeah had LPG when I got it off my old man, I like how cheap it is to run but it has zero balls.