If you're looking to improve your Mustang's acceleration and off the line performance,
stepping up to a numerically higher gear ratio is a great way to do so.
Now the Ford Performance 3.73 gear and install kit will be from one of the most trusted names
in parts, of course, for your '10 to '14 V8 and your '11 to '14 V6 Mustang and with that
solid 8.8 rear end.
Now this kit will include a brand new ring and pinion, along with everything you need
to get them in place.
Price point for the five star rated kit will be in the mid to high $200 range, and the
install will not be for the timid or inexperienced mechanics out there because this does involve
a fair amount of work.
So let's call it a full three out of three wrenches on the difficult meter, with a little
more detail to come later in the video.
Now with the exception of the Track Pack cars and the might Boss 302, most V8 and V6 S197s
were equipped with a number of different gears: a 331, a 315, the abysmal 273, and in some
cases a 355.
Now the Track Pack and Boss 302, on the other hand, was equipped with a 373 rear gear that
we just so happen to be talking about here today, and as a Track Pack owner I can attest
the simple gear change alone was enough to make these cars feel completely different
when it came to acceleration.
And with that in mind, a great way to increase the off-the-line acceleration and low-end
grunt without increasing the horse power is to install a numerically higher gear ratio
or a shorter gear, as it's sometimes described as.
Now this will not only help your car get up to speed a little bit faster, but it's also
going to go through the gears a little bit quicker, with the only drawback maybe being
the slight hit in fuel economy depending on how aggressive you go with your ratio.
But in the days of overdrive manual and automatic transmissions, it's not nearly as bad as it
used to be with the old four speed cars.
Another big thing to keep in mind here, guys, is that gear selection really is dependent
on what your goals are for your car and what you're gonna use it for.
Now, for instance, if you're building a big power, forced induction stick car with an
MT82, a 373 might not be the best choice as it will force you shift into fifth on the
drag strip.
On the other hand, if you're looking to make your lower ratio daily driver car a little
bit more fun to drive from point A to point B, but without taking a huge hit to economy,
then the 373 is a great choice.
But getting into the kit that we are actually talking about here today, let's talk about
the construction and it's pretty basic, guys, but really nice stuff, as you might expect
from Ford Performance, including strong forge construction, CNC cut, of course, along with
the lapped teeth, and all finished in the black oxide coating.
Now the gears have been made in the USA and Ford Performance is gonna claim some of the
quietest gears available for your 8.8 rear.
But on the topic of noise, it is worth mentioning that a lot of times the noise from a gear
install doesn't necessarily come from the gears themselves, but rather the installation
or set up, which leads us to the next part of our kit here, and that is the install kit
from Ford Performance.
Now even though I don't have every single part on the table with me for this video,
this kit does include everything you need to get the new ring and pinion set up and
install it in your 8.8.
And that does of course include brand new bearings, seals, shims, crush sleeve, your
pinion nut, and the gear marking compound and brush to check your pattern in depth,
your diff cover gasket, and even 2 quarts of the 75-90 gear oil, in addition to the
3.8 or 4 ounce of your friction modifier which, by the way, is required in these particular
rear ends.
So, again, a very complete kit, to say the least, and one that will be beneficial for
you or our mechanic when it comes time to get everything installed.
Speaking of the installation, listen guys.
Getting gears installed and set up properly, including your backlash, your depth, all that
good stuff can be a bit of an art form and does involve a decent amount of work using
some specialty tools.
So because of this, we're going to call this a full three out of three wrenches on the
difficulty meter here.
Maybe a day or less in the garage depending on your expertise and how many sets you've
done in the past.
Listen, guys, if you haven't done this one before and you don't necessarily want to start
with this, I recommend shopping around to some of your local establishments.
They'll probably charge you somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 for the labor for a gear
install, give or take.
On the other hand, if you've done a few sets of these in the past, you know what to expect,
and it will definitely save you some money on some labor at the end of the day.
Another big thing to keep in mind here, guys, is that after changing your gear ratio, especially
ones that are a drastic change, your speedometer will more than likely be off considerably
and, at that point, you can either fix it through a handheld tuner or a tune or you
can even look into a recalibration box from Ford Performance, for instance, for around
a couple of hundred bucks.
So wrapping this one up, guys, if you're looking to really improve the off-the-line grunt and
acceleration on your V6 or V8 powered S197, the set of 3.73s from Ford Performance would
be an excellent choice and you can grab yours right here at AmericanMuscle.com.