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Putting highway gears behind a high stall

71_Duster

71_Duster

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I keep wanting to do some longer highway trips in my Belvedere. I have 3.23's which aren't terrible but though maybe 2.76's would be better for a long trip. My concern is my 2800 RPM stall, is this just going to make a ton of heat? I had thoughts on a Gearvendor OD but the same question remains.
 
Put a cooler on it. 2800 isn’t the aggressive IMO. OD would be the same concern like you mentioned.
 
Depends on the convertor, some are pretty tight accept at WOT, others are soft & seem to be slipping at any throttle when below the threshold... With a cooler & running on flat ground you would probably be fine.... Climbing a grade? Pull the trans down into second gear, it'll get the RPM's up to the point the convertor doesn't slip.. The other thing, put a temp gauge on the trans, if it starts getting hot (230+) pull the trans into 2nd
 
Just make your cruise RPM above 2800.

Don't put 2.76 behind that converter. I bought a car like that and it was a foolish combination.
Put 3.23's behind it and it is very nice now. And the converter is happier and doesn't slip so much below the stall speed because the RPM comes up so much faster.
 
I had a 3000 stall converter, 3.91 gears and a Gear Vendors that resulted in an approximate 3.05 final drive.
It S-U-C-K-E-D !! I hated it. It felt slippy and lazy like a boat on the water. I pulled the trans and had the converter cut open. A shop tightened it up slightly but it was still shitty. In drive, the loose converter was okay at WOT but at part throttle under 3000 rpms, it was terrible. In overdrive, it was worse.
A 2.76 in direct drive would be just as bad.
 
Does it have a quiet exhaust?
My cars are both very happy at 3,000 rpm.
They will run for weeks on end like that.
It the exhaust on my Plymouth with headers and 3" flow masters that get annoying after an hour.
That may change next spring.
 
3.23 and a 2800 converter - just run it the way it is. I dont think it is worth changing up for a long highway trip. If you currently had 4.10's it might be worth putting in a different gear set for a trip, but not 3.23s.
 
451Mopar said:
Might be easier to just run a taller tire for highway trips?
Click to expand...
That would be my choice as well. And add an auxiliary trans cooler as well if not already equipped. You can always drop 5-10mph off your cruise and hit the right lane and enjoy the ride. 70mph instead of 80.

What size rear tire currently?
 
I do run a larger aux trans cooler. 255/60/15 on the rear. I just found a complete 489 case in a c body at the wrecker with 2.76's so it got me thinking but I felt it wasn't going to be too happy.
 
I wouldn't change to 2.76s.
Think 255/70s (or 265/75, 30.5 tall), but check for height at the front of the wheel well opening first.
255/70s are my street tires. 29"tall. I have room for.30", but my rearend is moved back an inch.
And like Don says, a QUIET exhaust helps! I drove a rr.with 4.10s daily, on the freeway to work, for years. It was livable only cause the stock manifolds and mufflers/tailpipes were still there, and quiet.
 
Last edited:
The only vehicle I have that this is a problem is the 68 Charger RT. The engine runs best at 3200 - 3400 at highway speed. The 3:23 gears would be no problem even with the 265/60/15's. But not many states haven't gone to the 80 mph speed limit. 2:74 gears would just be asking for trouble with law in forcement.
I have had no problem with transmission heat but it had an oversized cooler to take care of city driving even with 4:10 gears.
 
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