hotrodstang

Fairly new to the Mustang scene. I just got a 02 GT vert, it came with a MAC cat-back and o/r h-pipe, short throw shifter chrome Bullits, 17X8 and 17X10.5 with a 315 rear tire, and 4.30 rear gears, I just added a BBK cai, i love the car, but it seems like it has too much gear. I plan on more bolt-on type mods in the future, and it is a daily driver. Should i replace the rear gears, and if so what ratio? Or will future mods respond well to the gears? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Stone629

Is it an auto? If so, 4.30s are still pushing it. They are way too much gear for a 5spd 2v. Go 4.10s for the automatic, and 3.73s for a manual.

USMCrebel

i wouldnt bother changing the gears honestly. on a all N/A car i've seen 4.56's on a few of them. IMHO i would leave them, there is only a 300rpm diffrence between 4.10's and 4.30's so your not losing much of MPG with it, and you can run through the gears and get up to speed quickly. keep em, you wont regret it.

*the 4.56's were on a track car

USMCrebel

im assuming it's a 5sp "short throw shirter".

whether 4.10's or 4.30's 1st is useless in a race, unless you got stickies and are on a track.

hotrodstang

Thaks for the quick replies, yes it is a 5-speed and it does seem like first is fairly useless. Gas mileage doesn't seem to be too bad, but with the o/r pipes on the freeway it's pretty loud. What about the hand held tuners, I guess I need one to get the speedo to work correctly, are they all pretty much the same or is one better than the other? I am looking at the Diablo and Granatelli on Ebay, are there better/cheaper ones?

USMCrebel

well generally better isnt cheaper, but from all the reading and talkoing to other owners, the SCT series of hand helds are pretty good.

Stone629

You can go real cheap and get a DallasMustang Speed Cal. They're $100. I've got one and they work fine, although if you're planning on turning you CEL off, or any other tuning, don't waste you time..just get a handheld.

chrismartintx

my speedcal was DOA which i have found to not be uncommon from searches... returned it for a superchips x3. 400ish dollars to swap them buys a good amount of fuel. so if the noise on the highway bugs you i would change them, or get some highflow cats... any offroad pipe is loud.

SINISTER

Seeing as how I'm the only one with 4.30's and a 5-speed GT that is responding, you may want to listen to my advice a little more than the others'.
The 4.30's are a great gear for a N/A car. First is not useless if you know how to drive, and even more useful if you get some decent tires. I drive highway every day and do not have any issues with gas mileage. On a road trip that is all highway, I still get 22 mpg (and that was before opening up the intake and exhaust, so I may have picked up a little more, although I'm sure nothing drastic).
I cross the traps towards the top of 4th at around 102 mph. These gears are great from a dig, but still do good from a low roll. The highway roll "races" are pointless though, because 4th tops out around 108 with my tire combo.
A nice thing, however, is that if you are cruising on the highway at around 60 or 70, you don't have to downshift to pass someone in a hurry. 5th gear pulls pretty strong, even at 80 mph.

So, in sum, my suggestion is to keep the gears, and get some good tires. You won't regret it.

USMCrebel

^ see he agrees and he has them.