Yea the gearing definately makes a huge differance. I remember when I had my 97z I test drove 2 new 98 TA's to find out what the whole houpla was w/ this new LS1 lol. One was a 323 car and it felt great....the other was a 273 and I couldnt believe what a dog it was down low...I was comming from a stalled/gear'd LT1 but still....Definately throw some 373's in there and it'll be a whole new car