Gear Change ? for Jim G and others

[davisfire]

I am wanting to change gear ratios in my 06 automatic.

I was reading thru the threads today and am getting a little confused. Daily driver mostly in town and no other mods right now except the necessary tune with the gear change. Not planning on going to a supercharger but may do exhaust and torque converter one day.

Will I have too much tire spin with the 4.56 or is that only on supercharged ones? Also have they got the tune issues worked out for the 06 yet?

Thanks for any help.

Jim

[Double-L]

Originally Posted by davisfire

I am wanting to change gear ratios in my 06 automatic.

I was reading thru the threads today and am getting a little confused. Daily driver mostly in town and no other mods right now except the necessary tune with the gear change. Not planning on going to a supercharger but may do exhaust and torque converter one day.

Will I have too much tire spin with the 4.56 or is that only on supercharged ones? Also have they got the tune issues worked out for the 06 yet?

Thanks for any help.

Jim

Well it takes more than just a super charger, You would have no problems with wheel spin, Maybe after you get the super charger, Headers, Hi-Flow cats,Cam, Rockers, Rpm kit, Tranny redone with t/c and then a good tune you might get to much wheel spin, From what I have seen the 5.3's have a lot more trouble with wheel spin than the LS2's with mods

[2005SSR6Speed]

If you don't plan many changes and don't drive on the freeway much you can go with the 4.56 gears. If you want to still make long runs on the freeway and plan more modifications at a later date then you can go with the 4.10 gears.

I do believe that the 6 Speed SSR don't have as much of a traction problem as the Automatic SSR's. I do not believe it has anything to do with the year as it does the transmission and 14 Bolt Rear axle.

[davisfire]

Originally Posted by Double-L

Well it takes more than just a super charger, You would have no problems with wheel spin, Maybe after you get the super charger, Headers, Hi-Flow cats,Cam, Rockers, Rpm kit, Tranny redone with t/c and then a good tune you might get to much wheel spin, From what I have seen the 5.3's have a lot more trouble with wheel spin than the LS2's with mods

Rats! Please tell me it won't still go chirp chirp when you stomp on it with 4.56 gears!

Why would the 5.3's have more problem with wheel spin?

[davisfire]

Originally Posted by 2005SSR6Speed

If you don't plan many changes and don't drive on the freeway much you can go with the 4.56 gears. If you want to still make long runs on the freeway and plan more modifications at a later date then you can go with the 4.10 gears.

I do believe that the 6 Speed SSR don't have as much of a traction problem as the Automatic SSR's. I do not believe it has anything to do with the year as it does the transmission and 14 Bolt Rear axle.

I work at home so mostly 15-30 minute trips. I did just go down to Palm Beach, a 4 hour drive and it seemed like it was idling at 80 and 90. The auto has the Torsen rear end but I don't think it is the 14 bolt.

[2005SSR6Speed]

The 14 bolt rear axle only comes in the 6 speed SSR's. If you go with the 4.10 gears and the Yank TT3000 torque converter you will be set back in your seat. Remeber that the 4.56 gears will definately effect gas milage, where as the 4.10 will not effect it as bad. I would do the Yank TT3000 and the 4.10 gears if it was me. You can also further fortify the transmission with Billet Servos and the aluminum accumulator piston. There are others on the site with these and similar modification, you should talk with them.

[2005SSR6Speed]

The 14 bolt rear axle only comes in the 6 speed SSR's. If you go with the 4.10 gears and the Yank TT3000 torque converter you will be set back in your seat. Remember that the 4.56 gears will definitely effect gas mileage, where as the 4.10 will not effect it as bad. I would do the Yank TT3000 and the 4.10 gears if it was me. You can also further fortify the transmission with Billet Servos and the aluminum accumulator piston. There are others on the site with these and similar modification, you should talk with them.

[JimGnitecki]

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

[Double-L]

Originally Posted by davisfire

Rats! Please tell me it won't still go chirp chirp when you stomp on it with 4.56 gears!

Why would the 5.3's have more problem with wheel spin?

Yes it will go chirp when you stomp it, But there is a big diff. in chirp, chirp and coming around with you in 2nd. at a high rate of speed.

I don't know why the 5.3's have more wheel spin than the 6.0's but is that way in the SSR's auto's and 6 speeds and the GTO's that I have seen and raced

[Mike in AZ]

I would hazard a guess that the Torque Management software in the 6.0 is more aggressive than the 5.3. The engine HP went up dramatically, but the tranny stayed the same. I suspect also that they may have learned a few lessons on what HP was acceptable through the tranny on the 5.3. There was also a significant computer system and software change between 04 and 05.

My 2 cents,

Mike

[hdflstf]

Originally Posted by JimGnitecki

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

A couple of other thoughts on the 4.56 (not saying good or bad..), with the 4.56 you lose a grea tooth on the pinion 4.10 - 10, 4.56 - 9. This is part of why the 4.56 is noisier. Also, the 4.10 can be obtained from the GM factory supplier which will be quieter than an aftermarket set. The 4.56 is only available through the aftermarket suppliers.

[davisfire]

I read a post somewhere that the guy used Yukon gears and got no noise. Has most of the people used Motive gears? I already have a little whine at 45 mph.

[ssr 05]

I drove from AZ to Calif. Last Monday to have 410 gears put in my 05 auto. Joe did the computer for me. A little over 400 miles each way. I am very pleased with the results. The truck feels faster and the gas milage didn't change. I got 4/10ths of a gallon better on the way back at the same speeds. Could have been a tail wind.

[davisfire]

Originally Posted by ssr 05

I drove from AZ to Calif. Last Monday to have 410 gears put in my 05 auto. Joe did the computer for me. A little over 400 miles each way. I am very pleased with the results. The truck feels faster and the gas milage didn't change. I got 4/10ths of a gallon better on the way back at the same speeds. Could have been a tail wind.

Love that louvered hood and lake pipes! The route 66 sign doesn't hurt either!

Does your SSR run cooler with the louvers? Do you know how much time the 0-60 thing improved?

[hdflstf]

Originally Posted by davisfire

I read a post somewhere that the guy used Yukon gears and got no noise. Has most of the people used Motive gears? I already have a little whine at 45 mph.

The gears I used were from American Axle. They are the people who make the gears for GM. They are quiet. Of course they are the 4.10 ratio. If you go to 4.56 you'll need gears from Motive , Richmond, etc. They are cut a little different and the pinion has one less tooth for the 4.56 compared to the 4.10 so they will make some noise.

[azriel71]

I am planning on putting 4.56 gears and a High Stall Torque Converter in my SSR, will a Hypertech Programmer help me to tell my car's computer of the changes?

Any ideas from where I can order the gears, high stall torque converter and the hypertech programmer. I have looked in the internet and do not seem to find it for a SSR 2004 model.

Any ideas?!

[hdflstf]

Originally Posted by azriel71

I am planning on putting 4.56 gears and a High Stall Torque Converter in my SSR, will a Hypertech Programmer help me to tell my car's computer of the changes?

Any ideas from where I can order the gears, high stall torque converter and the hypertech programmer. I have looked in the internet and do not seem to find it for a SSR 2004 model.

Any ideas?!

J&S Gear in Huntington Beach can send them to you from the left coast. Aren't there a couple of speed shops right there in Orlando?

[azriel71]

Is very hard to find a performance shop in the Orlando Area and when you do some of them are jerks. If anyone could point me to the right direction if they know of any performance store that will install as well in the Central Florida area.

[JimGnitecki]

azriel71: Dennis Reinhart has a shop in Florida, and is familiar with our SSRs. He supplies the MMC driveshaft that has solved the nosie problem for so many of us.

You can find his contatc info on this forum by doing a search using "Dennis Reinhart".

Jim G

[azriel71]

Thanks Jim G

[azriel71]

Orange Park, FL is 3 hours from my house . I will keep on looking in the Central Florida area.

But thanks for the info

[blueroadster06]

I will let you know about the gear change next week...The Roadster is going into the shop Monday to install the 4 56 gears and tune....
I have a automatic so this will be interesting to say the least

Blueroadster