Is a 3:90 gear the lowest you can go. I know there are 4:11s and higher, but does anyone make 3:73 or 3:42s or somethign that would be better for higher hp cars?

 

A 'lower' gear is a higher number. Also the word steep means the same thing.

I think that 3.90 was the highest stock gear.

 

What makes them better for higher horsepower cars? Are you going for a land speed record or something? If you have enough money you can get a set custom made or swap it out for a Cobra rear end via the Jimlab conversion.

 

those lower gears are over kill for cars with 550+ rwhp. They accelarate faster which in high hp case means more wheels spin. So a 3:42 liek in a c5 would be awsome to cut down on wheel spin.

 

start off in second gear

 

All going with higher gearing is going to accomplish is to increase the time spent at low power (assuming large single turbo given your hp #s). It will reduce the actual power put to the wheels at higher rpm, but guess what? You can accomplish the same thing by reducing the boost!

Utterly pointless, IMO.

 

the only reason i can see for changing your gears to a lower number would be if you were running out of gear in the 1/4 mile. Since our cars rev to past 7.5k rpms, our 4th gear doesnt run out till around 140 or so (assuming a slightly bigger tire needed for traction). So unless you are trapping over 140, it is pointless to change your gearing.

Now assuming we are talking top speed, or fuel economy, then go with the lower number gears. But you mentioned more hp, so im assuming you race the car.