True top speed -- 5th gear vs 4th gear /3.27 vs 3.73 vs 4.10

I know this has been discussed here before, but I can't think of any search terms relating to it that won't pull up hundreds of hits. (3.73, 4.10, top speed, etc. all being fairly common words here, I would think.)

The discussion I remember involved one of our members with more open flat highway than I've got available experimenting with the ACTUAL top speed of the car in 4th and 5th gears. I *believe* that that individual, or another similarly lucky individual had the luxury of trying the comparison with more than 1 rear end ratio.

The conclusion was that with 3.27 rear gears, your true top speed will be lower in 5th than 4th, and I think it was also demonstrated that with either 3.73 or 4.10 gears, 5th could achieve higher speeds than 4th.

If anyone has any *firsthand* info on this, or could point me to the thread in question, I'd appreciate it.

The reason I ask is so I can participate in a discussion elsewhere regarding how to get a higher top speed in 5th than 4th. I'm not posting the thread in question only because it seems that cross-forum flames spring up often when we do that. (And the topic that led to this question would almost definitely do so. :smile: )Neither will I claim the info as my own, though.

Here, however, is the final question in case I haven't been clear:

"What do you guys think it would take to get the overdrive 5th gear in a cam/stang to actually hit higher speeds than the 4th gear....like a large amount of high revving horses or more torque?"

Thanks!
Joe