Rear Gears - Summit vs. Richmond

[billscamaros]

I'm currently running a 3.73 rear gear in my GM 8.5 10 bolt with a Turbo 350 trans. I'd like to swap these gears out for something closer to 3.23 .... my daily commute is 60 miles each way and I want to drop my rpms a bit to make this an enjoyable drive.

My question is in regard to quality ... the Summit Racing gears (and install kit) are significantly more affordable than the Richmond gears (and install kit). Is this an example of 'you get what you pay for'? How do the Summit gears compare, and will I be happy with them?

Thanks

[realcoray]

The thing with Summit brand parts is one of that one of summits name brand places makes their brand. There is a decent chance Summits ARE Richmond (or motive).

[billscamaros]

That thought crossed my mind. But I thought that I would toss it out here and see what insights I get.

[samckitt]

I bought a brake proportioning valve a few years ago that is a summit brand, when I got it I took the summit sticker off 7 it was a Wilwood part.

[ErikLS2]

When I bought my gears I called Drivetrain Specialists who I've had good luck with before. They said they've had the best luck with Motive's "Performance" line. These are a little more $$ than the regular Motive sets you get at Summit and Jegs. Not on the road yet but the setup was easy and the pattern is spot on.

[69x22]

Good luck with any of them. With aftermarket gears it is a hit and miss on whether they will be whisper quiet or not. Most of the time you can hear them.

[Zspoiler]

I would n`t either. I have a 8.5 10 bolt in both my 1979 Z-28 Camaro (Supercharged Small block ,Super T-10 four speed) , 1981 El Camino SS ( 290 HP Crate engine ,Turbo 350 Trans) I run Factory GM 3:42 gears . Both cars have been my daily drivers at one time. Both cars run around 2500 rpm with a 26 tall tire. get around 20-24 MPG. The gears are very strong and are`n`t noisy. Like the Richmond gears .I got this recommendation from the owner of shop I had my 10 bolt rear end rebuilt at.