Just a quick quesiton. I was wondering on what effects gears could do to the engine in the long run. I currently have 4.77 and have no complains(except sometimes for highway). What are the benefits and disadvantages of gears regarding engine and transmission wear. I know the benefits of the acceleration, but how about the other factors. Thanks

 

Good question anyone know??

 

Your engine will be spinning at a higher rpm when cruising so thats about the only extra wear there really is. When your accelerating with gears vs a stock geared car there are no extra stresses really. Your still going to 9k rpms in either gear configuration so it shouldn't matter.

 

It's really hard to quantify this, as even though you'll be revving higher you may find yourself to have enough torque in a higher gear so you can actually drive at similar RPM's as stock and be ok. Exception is highway cruising in 6th gear.

Since 4.57's are about 11.5% more aggressive than 4.1, you can use that as a roundball figure to how much more "wear" is on the engine. That # does not necessarily reflect the reality of wear and tear on the engine as its dependent on hundreds of factors.

 

According to XVIPER, everything UP from the diff experiences less stress with higher gears. Down from the diff (diff, axles, etc) experiences more stress.

 

The higher final drive ratio should make life a little stressfull for the gearbox, but a little harder on the diff, axles, CV's and tires as NFR2000NYC mentioned IMO.
But... because it is very nice to accelerate all the time.. you may take the little advantage in stress you have away and put even more on the diff, axles, CV's and tires

Once the engine is at operating temp there is little wear, no matter what final drive you have.
Lugging the engine could create a small wear potential, with a higher final drive ratio it will be a little easier for the engine to reach higher revs and provide enough oil flow.

Yes, oil flow.
Because it is the flow that provides the oil to keep the moving parts apart

 

Well....the XVIPERS point was the gearbox, clutch, engine, driveshaft would see less stress with higher gears due to less load, even though they turn over more.