wantgt

When I first started reading about the new 5.0 it sounded like the 3.73 gearing would be a nice overall gear for the car. But now it seems that he 3.55 or 3.31 may be the way to go. If I am using this as a DD and dont plan to track it (need a driver mod) did I go overboard with getting the 3.73?

SirKnightTG

3.73 would be the MINIMUM I'd go. It'll be more fun and won't hurt your MPG at all.

wantgt

Sweet, I was worried there for a min.

QatarStang

Have to remember that a 3.73 in these cars is different than in the 1st gen S197s.

Transmission gearing is a lot different which effects the final drive.

Derf00

3.73 in a 2011 will be more like the 4.10's in the a 05-2010 because of the differences in gearing. 6 speed in 2011 vs 5 speed in 2010.

v8.GT Stang

3.73 in 2011 will be more than 4.10 in the old mustang it will be 4.68 ..

so the right choice will be between 3.55 and 3.31

Ringo01

I think the 3.73s were the right choice... I am driving a 5.0 with 3.31s right now, but have one with 3.73s on the way.

The 3.31s don't feel "fast." The 3.73s will not be too extreme, and the rpm at 70 mph is only ~ 200 more than the 3.55s. Not really a big difference...

The 5.0 gets better mileage than my 07 GT did, so I am not worried if the 3.73s hurt it a bit.

Driver72

The first part is purely subjective. Not sure how needing to shift more often and having higher revs in each gear at any given speed = more fun.
The second part is completely wrong. Your highway mileage will drop about a bit over the 3.55's and a bit more over the 3.31's (a rough guesstimate would be 1.5 mpg worse than 3.31's and 1 mpg worse the 3.55's)

To the OP, the advantage of the 3.73's in DD is that you can short shift or even skip shift more often.
And you could also start out in 2nd easier too if you choose.

So I would not say it's overkill, but if you have no plans on racing the car, whether that be drag, track or illegal street, there was probably little to no reason for you to get the 3.73's.
The 3.31's will do just fine for those not interested in racing in the slightest.
The 3.55's is the best of both worlds and IMHO the best gear ratio for drag racing with the 5.0, especially if you plan to mod the car with 10-40 hp more and don't plan on running DR's or slicks at the track.
It's the ratio I will order mine with.

wantgt

yea I am not that concerened with MPG since the car will be paid off before the new year anyway so I will have plenty of extra cash to throw at gas. I do plan to do a lot of spirited driving, and this is my first mustang and hell my first car where I have had to choose between different gearing. I do a lot of starting in 2nd from or really slow rolls in my current car so maybe that will be better for me. But the car is already ordered and I just found out that it is a 20/80 chance of getting anythign changed on it. Guess I'll just have to suck it up.

Driver72

I noticed you live in CO.
With the altitude there, you may be better off with the 3.73's anyway.
And if you do the spirited driving and starting in 2nd a lot, you probably made a perfectly good choice than. You won't have to "suck up" anything. You will be happy with your choice then. Enjoy and don't worry about trivial little things like changing your gearing ratio.
It doesn't make that big of a difference between the 3.73's and 3.55's anyway. It's like 150 rpms difference.