stock gears vs 3.55 at track

[LethalBite]

I am thinking of putting 3.55 gears in my car. The only thing I question is whether it will lower the 1/4 mile times on an otherwise stock car with street tires. As you all know, traction is a major concern, especially in 1st and 2nd gear. I have a feeling that steeper gears on an already traction limited car would slow the car down for the first 60 feet severely enough that I could not make time up for the rest of the quarter mile.
Has anyone pulled the stock gears, replaced them with 3.55s and run a quarter mile for comparison times?

 

[BigCarrot]

I've wondered the same thing, but I always seem to get different answers.

 

[SMCBUILDERSINC]

What I can tell you is that When I had my 99rt with tubes filters and muffler delete I used to race my buddys 01 gts which had the same mods plus 3:55 gears. Id beat him almost everytime off the line and he couldnt catch me. We are only talking about 1/2 a car length which isnt much but it was due to loss of traction. Now at 70 MPH he would pull slowly, repeat very slowly b/c the gears helped to multiply the torque. He often says hes not sure if he likes the gears b/c theres alot more shifting involved. Personally I wouldnt do it unless I could hook the car up with a sticky tire and was racing alot. For the street I think its a waste of money.

 

[LethalBite]

Thanks for input!

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

This question has been brought up for years. One time somebody listed dragstrip numbers to back it, however the trackers say they come out of the turns quicker.

I do more road course than strip and it's still tempting for me, but I'm going to work on my consistancy before I make the swap.

 

[Ray W]

I have the 3:55's and I enjoy them more than any other mod I've done excluding NOS.

It is difficult to separate fact from theory but this is my
experience based on street tires only.

At the strip: More wheel spin,slower ET,higher trap RPM.

On the road course: Quicker laps but rear breaks loose easier in turns when gas pedal is pushed down too soon or
too quickly. Passing easier out of turns.

On the street: No more lugging. Goes through the gears like a BMW or Porsche.From a roll 1 to 2 car lenths quicker than
a stock Viper.You can use 6th gear on the highway,even for passing.

Tire size also makes a difference I would not go more than
3:55 with stock tires or more than 3:73 with 19" wheels and tires.

Lastly buy the center section complete,this makes it easier
to install and you will less likely to have gear noise.

 

[joe117]

Didn't someone say that with 3.55 you need to shift into 4th when running 1/4 mile?
I changed to 3.55 and I like it. I can use 6th now. better in slow traffic too.

 

[varanus]

if you do a search there is a lot of discussionon this. With traction you should be quicker in the 1/4 mile if you can overcome the time lost with the extra shift if you have more than stock hp

 

[Moundir]

What I can tell you is that When I had my 99rt with tubes filters and muffler delete I used to race my buddys 01 gts which had the same mods plus 3:55 gears. Id beat him almost everytime off the line and he couldnt catch me. We are only talking about 1/2 a car length which isnt much but it was due to loss of traction. Now at 70 MPH he would pull slowly, repeat very slowly b/c the gears helped to multiply the torque. He often says hes not sure if he likes the gears b/c theres alot more shifting involved. Personally I wouldnt do it unless I could hook the car up with a sticky tire and was racing alot. For the street I think its a waste of money.

This is so true, I raced Eldiablo at the track and he consistantly beat me, cause I could get out the hole We have same mods, and same year cream puff and my trap was consistently 1mph higher than his. From a roll, there is no compitition, these gears rock. If your Viper is stock or slightly modded you can still go thru the traps in 4th. I've taken her up to 130mph in 4th So unless you plan on trapping higher than that, I say do them

 

[Motor City Mad Man]

I've run my car at the track several times with a 3.55 gear and with a stock gear. All other mods the same. This is not a scientific study as track conditions and what have you vary, but I ran .1 sec better with my 3.55 gears than my stock gears in the 1/4 for my all time best and my trap speeds were about 1-2 mph more with the 3.55 gears. SOTP feels a lot faster on the street too and if you race someone from a roll the 3.55 will be better than the stock gears too.

 

[FE 065]

Note: I did see a post where a guy took his 2000 or newer GTS to the track, ran a 12 something using 4th, next run, left it in 3rd, and ran 11.90 something at 123mph (I think).. Not bad for an otherwise stock car. (Might have had K&Ns and tubes) But it must have been STRAINING!

 

[Daniel Cragin/DC Performance Inc]

On a stock engine the 3.55 gear can be good for 2 tenths in the quarter.

 

[robntguy]

What's the typical E/T with a higher gear, like 4.10 or so ... on a stock motor ? What's the MPH then .... curious.

 

[2002_Viper_GTS_ACR]

What's the typical E/T with a higher gear, like 4.10 or so ... on a stock motor ? What's the MPH then .... curious.

Totally untrackable ...it wont hook up. 4.10's cross the line on even being remotely usable. But just think about all the high school kids you will impress with your massive burnouts. j/k

3.55's are the highest usable/beneficial, even 3.73 is over kill from what I hear.

-Jon