Hey all.I have had my 03 SE for about 2 weeks now,and am very happy.I ran the RPO codes from info on this site(I felt like I was playing battleship with myself!) My final drive ratio is 2.86 . Are these "granny gears" more for milage,not performance? Can someone explain final drive ratio's to me,I'm clueless. Thanks.

Those gears are the standard gears on SE's. The final drive ratio is the same as the rear axle ratio on a RWD Vehicle. For every 2.86 times the pinion shaft turns, the axles spin once. The lower the number, the higher the ratio, and the theoretical top speed, but the acceleration is lower, since it takes more inertia from the powertrain to spin the wheels, but the slower the engine will spin at various speeds versus a numerically higher, lower ratio axle. I hope that rambling makes sense, lol.

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Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

Thanks for the easy to understand reply 00 Beast.(I even printed it!) One more question: When I drive with the cruise control on,there is nothing on the dash that lights up and says cruise on/cruise,is this normal? Thanks again.

Yes, that is normal. Bonnevilles do not have a "Cruise" light. Not sure why, but they don't.

/offtopic.

_________________
Bye Bye:

RIP sandrock

The 2.86 gears are great for fuel economy but not much fun on the performance side of things... The Optional gear ratio for the SE was a 3.05 Ratio, more performance minded... SE's got the 3.05 when ordered with certain packages...

The SLE had the 3.05 as part of the SLE Package..

The other ratio used was a 2.93 and this was for the supercharged cars..