I have a 68 nova ss 350 motor ,hooker header ,flat tappet camshaft closed chamber heads,anyways the car runs 13;10 at 108 mph on street tires has a muncie wide ratio tranny with the 2;52 first gears.Alot of guys say the car would run quicker with a close ratio 2;20 first gear;any truth to this or does it depend on your combo.by the way it has a 3;73 rear gear.thanks for any help Chris
No it won't run faster with a 2.20 . You will have less torque multiplcation in first, and have to slip the clutch more from a dead stop.
I would disagree. With a high rpm small block with gears like 3.73s and a short tire, you may be blowing through your power band to quickly with the lower 1st gear. Also with a wide ratio trans you could possibly be dropping below the power band while upshifting since the RPM drop is greater with a wide ratio. Rule of thumb is that high rpm engines with low rear gears benefit from a close ratio. While lower rpm engines with a broad power band and higher rear gears (numerically lower) benefit from a wide ratio.
