I recommend the 4.56 except POSSIBLY if you do BOTH a supercharger and a high stall torque converter. Then, it may be better to go 4.10 (I am still researching this personally
). If yu do only ONE (superchareger or torque converter), I still say 4.56.
Gas mileage is not significantly adversely affected by going 4.56 versus 4.10. In "the old days". it would have been, but not with today's computer controlled engine management. My penalty for going 4.56 versus the stock 3.73 was 7.4% reduction in fuel mileage, tested under scrupulously careful testing conditions. For anyone driving a $45,000 "fun" vehicle, that seems like a pretty minor factor, even when gas costs $3 per gallon or more.
Do not forget: a 4.56 ratio no an SSR is not as dramtic as most people think. They forget that with tires that are 29.25 inches in diameter, this is equivalent to putting 4.05 gearing onto a typical performance car. The stock 3.73 gearing is about equivalent to 3.28 on a typical performance car. The SSR needs more gearing than that to be at all responsive, because it weighs about 1/3 more than a typical performance car. The 3.73 gearing makes it labor under even moderate acceleration.
There is one other negative associated with the 4.56 though: it is more likely than the 4.10 to raise the driveline nosie level to a point you might find objecitonable, due to the unfortunate sound properties of the stock driveshaft. This can be reduced or eliminated by changing to the driveshaft offered by Dennis Reinhart (do a search on his name or on "MMC driveshaft") to SSR Fanatics. That driveshaft is so superior in quality to the stock one that I reocmmend it for ALL SSRs, even those with stock gearing. You won't beieve the difference.
Jim G
