Be Rad 13

So before I post why I don't think 4.10 gears are worth the cost, I think it's important to note that I dofinancial risk management for a living, so this type of analysis is fairlysimilar to the way that I think about how much things actually cost.

I wanted to post this for everyone thinking about getting gears, as I always hear gears are a relatively inexpensive mod that adds a huge bang for the buck. However, this in fact isn't correct, and people thinking about getting gears versus other options really need to think about the true cost.

If you make the following assumptions:
1--you put 8K miles on your mustang a year
2--The cost of the gears is $500
3--Your miles per gallon decreases from 16 to 12 after installing gears (which seems common for going to 4.10s)
4--You own your Mustang for 5 years
5--Assume gas costs $3.25/gallon

If you make the following assumptions, the total cost of installing 4.10 gears is $3200 over 5 years due to the lost milage. You may argue that my assumptions are incorrect, but if you only drive 4K miles per year, the cost would be around $1900. Also, if you assumed you only lost 2 MPG versus 4 (which may be the case if you go to 3.73 gears), the total cost would still be the same around $1900.

I was thinking about getting gears, but now that I think about it, it's really not worth the money. Instead, you could argue that a supercharger is a much better use of your $, as it's a much bigger bang for your buck versus gears, as most SCs won't hurt gas milage. I guess I'm now getting a Supercharger!

Of course, if you don't want a supercharger and have money to burn, getting gears is an okay option. I just don't like it when people recommend them because it's an inexpensive option, as they're really not.

Blackdaemon08

People that "performance" upgrade their stangs don't generally care about gas millage. Buying a V8 you should already assume that your getting mediocre gas millage commpared to an economy car.

Humboldt Stang

I disagree.
My mileage hasn't noticably decreased.

smythge

I'll apply your logic tonight as I try to explain to my wife why I am paying $6,000 for a supercharger, I am sure she'll buy it. Anyway I am having my 3.31s put back in my car on Saturday and the supercharger installed on April 8th.

MustangBatman1

1. I get 18 mpg highway with my 4.10's

2. while some people worry about mileage, many realise that modifying their cars will result in less mpg

3. as for superchargers, when your boosting your gas mileage is going to drop

at the end of the day, nothing is cheap, just depends on how you want to waste your money, because thats basically what mods mods are in the long run since you're going to lose value with them, I accept that fact and happily still donate money to my finnancial black hole I like to call my mustang

MustangBatman1

3.31's? I would have at least gone with 3.55's, come on now

mlcrycc

+1. MPG is the last thing on my mind. I would also suggest that the same logic could be applied to the gas mileage when going Forced Induction, from not being able to keep your foot out of it.....

For those of us staying NA for awhile....The first hole shot with 4.10's and the seat of the pants torque multiplication = PRICELESS

ajaibr

If you do risk management and take it all that seriously, you shouldn't even own an '05-'08 Mustang yet... Just consider the hit you're taking on depreciation!!!! You should probably find yourself a nice used Yugo....

STi Rob

Im averaging 17mpg in the city with my 4.10's.

Rob

thewarmachine

I really don't think gears decrease gas mileage, and here's why I say that.

Right now, I have 3.31 gears, and 5th gear is almost useless to me. I only use it when driving faster than 75mph.
If I were to upgrade to 3.90 gears (which I want to do someday ), I'd be able to use 5th gear more often, and maybe even increase my mpg.

Your argument only makes perfect sense if you also assume that our cars have only one gear. Of course, in that case, you will definitely lose mpg by increasing your gear ratio because you have to run higher rpm for the same speed. Since we have 5 gears, the rpm argument is lost since we can just upshift and decrease our rpm.

I want gears because I want more zip in my car.