Another 318 set up

this thread really went off the rails, it's kind of a shame....


anyway, my personal preference for a 90% street driver, I don't like high RPM's on the highway, I've been soothed too much since I started driving in '91 from my duster with it's 3.23's and factory A833OD, 5th ave's with 2.24 rears, my '96 ram which had an OD manual and 3.21's, or my current DD, a 2011 charger R/T with an A580 and 3.07 rear gears.

Also my personal preference for a street driver, I've preferred engines with a fat midrange, that make power from 1500-5500 RPM over something that might make a ton of high end HP, but doesn't really come alive until 4K rpm and that you need to spin to 6500 to get full potential out of it.

I had 3.55's with 27" tires on my old 5th ave hot rod and hated it. to keep up with freeway traffic I was turning 3200-3500 RPM. I was much happier after putting in a 42RH.

While taller (lower) numerically gears do kind of kill the fun, there are ways around that even without resorting to an OD. one would be find a lockup 904/998 (like out of a 5th ave). those have a lower first gear (2.74 vs. 2.45), and if you couple that with a higher stall (like a 2500-2800 RPM) lockup converter, then you can run 2.76's in the rear, but still get the engine higher up in the powerband/torque peak where maximum torque multiplication happens (stall speed), to still have good tire roasting ability and acceleration, while not compromising highway drivability (2400rpm @ 70mph with a 27" tall tire).

or if you build a engine that has a nice flat torque curve between 2000-5000 RPM, an A833OD's gear splits really aren't that bad.