Gear swap and tune question?

[Mr. Man]

Been giving serious thought to doing a 4:30 rear gear swap. I rarely use the car on the freeway so not to worried about that. I have an SCT 3 from Lidio that has his 3:55 and 4:10 performance tunes which obvioulsly won't work. If the SCT 3 is still supported I guess I'd send it to Marty to get a 4:30 tune. Concern for me is what happens when I need to put the stock tune back in for state inspection? Will the speedodometer be the only thing off or are there other perameters that will be affected? Can the stock tune be adjusted for 4:30 gears and leave the rest of the stock settings as they are to get through?

Enlighten me fellow Marauder peeps. :)

[justbob]

Marty could get you a tune with plenty of umph for 4.30’s and also be emission friendly. I loved my 4.30’s!


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[offroadkarter]

Marty can keep it emissions compliant, the reason why the Lidio tunes never passed inspection in NJ is because lidio used to turn the secondary O2 sensors off (for whatever reason).

I'd also say that the difference between a 4.10 and 4.30 isn't going to be that radical performance wise, and keep in mind the driveshafts on our cars already suck. With 4.10's my DTR used to get bad driveline vibrations starting at 105mph. With 4.30's you might hear rumblings before you even hit a 3 digit speed.

[WhatsUpDOHC]

Yo, Eric!

I'm going through this right now. Driving through the Ford driving cycle with my MartyO tune and 410s.

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[WhatsUpDOHC]

Just occurred to me that if you drive less than 3000 miles per year, you can get a Collector Vehicle inspection sticker. There is no inspection, you only have to come in every 5 years to prove that you haven't exceeded the mileage and you get a new sticker.

https://www.state.nj.us/mvc/vehicletopics/collectveh.htm

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[Grimrepairman]

I'm happy with the 4.10s in my car. Has plenty of torque and great throttle response.
I did have my driveshaft re balanced while the trans was out.
My first thought is that 4.30s might be a bit much.
Mr. Man, if you want you can drive my car and see what you think.

[Mr. Man]

Thanks for the responses. I don't drive fast :rolleyes: much anymore. It's more about stylin' these days :cool:. I push it on my private road when I go out to a large Ford gathering event once a year. More about stop light smiles.

I had thought the NJ collector inspection was every other year like regular inspection, they just confirmed mileage and you were on your way. Need to get in touch with Hagerty to see what's up there. Need the collectors insurance before the NJ commies will allow for a triangle.

Thanks Grim for the offer. I have driven a 4:10 swap before and the difference between the 3:55's is quite noticeable. I was contemplating 4:56's then reality set in. Somebody has 4:56's in their car in YouTube videos. I was impressed, but I think the rpm whine might get old.
I have a tune for the 4;10's. My thought process for the 4:30's is since 4:10's were Steve Babcock's initial choice for the MM 4:30's would be the logical choice for an upgrade. That and perhaps a proper torque converter.

I've got some 4:10's for Ms.D's car that have been taking up space for a few years. Maybe I'll get her car organized then make a decision. Need to figure out why her charging system is under performing first. Battery is newish and the alt was replaced a few years back. Thinking it might be corrosion on the terminal points, at least it's a place to start. Then a load test I suppose.

[Grimrepairman]

Had charging issues with mine too. The battery is only a few years old, did the alternator recently.
Upgraded the negative cables, haven't had time to make the upgraded positive cables yet.

[decipha]

I would highly recommend keeping the gears you have and just tossing a 4k stall converter in her.

[sailsmen]

With a TQ it's all in the Tune.

A higher gear ratio results in more torque to the rear wheels.

[crouse]

I'd also say that the difference between a 4.10 and 4.30 isn't going to be that radical performance wise, and keep in mind the driveshafts on our cars already suck. With 4.10's my DTR used to get bad driveline vibrations starting at 105 mph. With 4.30's you might hear rumblings before you even hit a 3 digit speed.

I agree with you.

[justbob]

Naysayers...


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[offroadkarter]

Just occurred to me that if you drive less than 3000 miles per year, you can get a Collector Vehicle inspection sticker. There is no inspection, you only have to come in every 5 years to prove that you haven't exceeded the mileage and you get a new sticker.

https://www.state.nj.us/mvc/vehicletopics/collectveh.htm

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If you have the Ford build certificate that shows the build # of your car, that will make it way easier to argue your case for a collector car registration as one of the requirements is to prove its a unique car (if its newer than a certain year limit IIRC). Years ago my friend Martin had to get a signed letter (I believe from Mary actually) stating that the Marauder was a limited production vehicle, as Ford didn't offer those back then. This met the criteria of "a head of a car club or organization vouching for the legitimacy of the collector status".

I looked into this at one point when I was having trouble getting through emissions but never pulled the trigger.


I'm happy with the 4.10s in my car. Has plenty of torque and great throttle response.
I did have my driveshaft re balanced while the trans was out.
My first thought is that 4.30s might be a bit much.
Mr. Man, if you want you can drive my car and see what you think.

The problem isn't the driveshaft balance but the length and the material. This is why in 99-00 Ford did the Alcoa Metal Matrix driveshafts for P71's that had 3.55 gears (in those years I think they all did but not every car had the AMMX as it was a rolling change). This car would have really benefited from a 2 piece driveshaft stock.