What about 4.11 gears on a 2000 Lightning?

[Lightning01SVT]

I have a friend who has a red 2000 lightning and he just upgraded his gears to 4.11's and i was telling the guy I was gonna buy the chip from, and he said that those gears are very bad for Lightnings because I forgot the whole explaination leading up to messing up the transmission. I would like to know from you'll to see what you have to say on this respect. Please get back to me, you know, just before my friend kills his own lightning. David.

 

[Lightning Bob]

Lightning2001

Sounds to me like you need to find a new chip guy. Myself and many other Lightning owners on these boards are running 4:10 gears in their Lightnings with no ill effects on the transmission. When the Gen 2's first came out, some of the chip manufacturers did not know how to code the chip for the 4:10's, and this was an issue. But, I thought by now all of the major chip suppliers could accomodate the 4:10 gears in their programs. There are issues with 4:10's such as less traction on the street, and reduced miles per gallon but you learn to live with these as the price for the quicker acceleration. I do use a aftermarket trans pan with increased fluid capacity which I think is a important mod to promote transmission longevity.
Hope that helps.

Lightning Bob

 

[roger]

I have to agree with Lightning Bob. I've had 4.10's in my 99 for over a year and they rock. My main purpose was for around town grunt and autocrossing (I run in 2nd when I autocross).

They must not hurt too much on the dragstrip either, since I just won the Lightning class at the KC Fab Ford Weekend at KCIR last weekend...

But YES, you definately need a chip tuner who understands what to do because besides the speedometer error they need to correct, there can be an issue with shifting points. Especially with the smaller diameter of ET Streets and rpm's at the traps once you get some mods done. For example, I'm currently hitting 55-5700 as I go thru the lights. That's the absolute top rpm I want to hit. Hopefully the Nitto 18" drag radials will cure that. SVT must have thought the 99-00's needed a bit more gear or they wouldn't have bumped to 3.73's for '01.

Any of the tuners that hang around here and F150 Online can handle it with no sweat.

Oh, almost forgot, regarding gas mileage. With my 4.10's installed, a bed full of gear (including slicks) and two passengers I did an 800 mile run at 70-85 mph with the A/C on and averaged 15.5 mph for the trip. Personally I can live with that because I didn't buy this thing for it's mpg performance <G>...

 

[reality1]

I too have to agree with Lightning Bob and rwalke10. I also get about 16mpg with 4.10s and JDM street program.
With 28" tires I'm at 52/5300 at the traps.

Jim

 

[acerbas]

4.10s rock. But you must have a chip because the factory ECU cannot be programmed for gears lower than 3.99. (Hmmmmm, I wonder how they do it for the 4.10s in the Focus?) But I digress. The chip could create potential warrantee problems if you blow up your motor, or something. Just be advised.