Recomended Gear Ratio?

Two questions, what gear ratio came stock in 1972 gs's? And secondly whats a recomended gear ratio for350 with a 4sp stick. It wont being seeing a ton of high way its mainly for cruising and cooking some rice. I just wana know how far i should dare into the numbers

 

3.73 is always a good number. Going into the 4's with a stick is kind of a pain in the a**. I used to have a camaro with a stick and 4.56 gears, ripped from light to light, but when driving in the city I would usually skip 1st and 3rd cause I was constantly shifting gears (heavy clutch.....ugh)

 

72 GS 455 came standard 3.42 with a 4 speed and 3.08 standard with a turbo 400. A 72 stage 1 had a 3.42 with either trans.


In 72 a GS 350 came standard with a 3.08 with either the 4 speed or turbo 350 trans.

If I remember correctly the 72 8.5 inch rear has 3.31 option which is what I would like as I like the 3.23 ratio in the 68-70 8.2 inch rear. It is not going to be but a click or so faster with a 3.73 and it will be terrible on the highway.

 

ya, but when i say this car isnt gonna see highway it isnt, i can get to anywhere i need to go without the speed limit hitting above 55. Ive got a truck for highway trips and crap like that. But when u said the camaro with the 4.56 rear end, what did u mean by it being a pain witha 4spd. I was leaning towards a 4:11 maybe. But id like ta hear the down sides of a stiffer gear though.

 

Our first GSX has a 4.78.

 

The pain with a 4.56 in a 4 speed is that you would always be shifting. I'd say stick in the mid 3's. 3.23-3.42 or around there. What is the final reatio for that 4 speed? If it's 1:1 you'd be turning about 2600 with 4:11's and about 2200 with 3.42's On the whole Buicks don't need those really big (numerically) rear ends. A lot of people will tell you anything at or above 3.73 is almost exclusively for the track. Not to go off on a tangent but a guy on this board ( D Berry) switched his 3.42's for 2.56 and ran only slightly slower.

 

I ran 4:33's in my 4-speed for awhile with no down sides except highway. But then, I always kinda liked getting 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear rubber easily.
I never minded all the shifting... that's why I wanted a 4-speed in the first place.


BTW that rearend is for sale.

 

My advise is to stay in the 3's. Buicks don't live well with high rpm's. :3gears: unless built for it (found out the hard way). Miss a shift :3gears: with big gears and kiss motor goodbye. :ball: There is also the extra wear factor and mileage to consider. You can always ad complimentary parts to get more output,Headers,Intake Carb. etc. and still have fun. Just my .02

Bill

 

I think 3:42's are a good compromise if you are running a fairly short tire. Mike D.

 

I've run 3.31, 3.73 and 4.11 gears in my 4 speed conv. I must add it is a 455 car so the low end torque is a bit better than the 350. I prefered the 3.73 for all around driving. I have used both gear ratio muncies with the 2.52 and 2.22 1st gear. The more gear you have the easier it is to get it moving from a dead stop.

 

71 4bbl 350 skylark ratio?

I just bought a 71 skylark with a 4bbl 350 and a/c. What ratio should this car have come with originally? Was a traction lock diff even available on these cars?