what does changing the gears do to your car? and what changes will you notice?

Question

i wanted to change the gears on my camaro rs but i really dont know what i'm doing and if i REALLY wanted to do so. help please

Answer 1

I'm assuming you are talking about changing the rear-end gears in your Camaro. In a nutshell, changing the rear-end gears is just like changing the transmission gears, except that whatever you choose is fixed and added to the transmission ratio for all the transmission gears. A fairly high ratio like 4.11 (four-eleven as the lingo goes) will give your vehicle lots of power and torque off the line and maximize performance in the 0-80mph range. This will be at the expense of gas mileage and top end speed because you are using higher engine RPM because of the higher gear-ratio (might also cost lots for tires as you burn them off from every stop!). A lower ratio like 2.73 is good for gas mileage and top-speed, but will be slower in the 0-60mph range (unless your engine has lots of low-end torque, then it could be faster).

If your engine is a high RPM screamer and you want more power off the line, then going with a higher ratio will get you more performance. If you want higher top-end and better gas mileage, go with a lower one. Typically, something in-between is a good tradeoff.

Also realize that you will have to change the speedo gear in the transmission if you want your speedometer to be correct after you make a change. It is just a little nylon plastic gear that isn't too expensive and easy to change, you just need to figure out how many 'teeth' you need on the gear to get your speedo ratio correct with your new axle ratio. You may also want to go with a limited-slip or "Posi" spindle if you change the rear-end ratio to send power to both rear-wheels, otherwise you may be doing burn-outs with only one rear tire, not cool and also slows you down with half the traction.

Answer 2

You're talking about the rear end gears? You will notice increased acceleration and lower gas mileage if you go with the 4.11 or the 4.56 gears. You will have lower top speed too. Going the other way you will get more mileage but the acceleration will slow some, but there will be less engine noise and the engine will turn slower for the same speed. Good luck.