Why don't people do gears in Cobras?
- Thread starter 00GT
- Start date
Well, here we are again. Another mod and 1000 different opinions. You know what's strange? You can have the same car, same mod, and a completely different opinion. Here's the deal....The only true way of knowing if its what you want or what your going to like is to try it. I know that $$$ but its the truth. CODE3SMITH loves his 3:73 while others are convinced that a taller gear is useless. I've been thru this for years in a dozen forums. No, I'm not a "Know it all." Its just plain and simple. We all have our own opinions and preferences. Man......what the hell am I getting at.Dam Jim Beam..I'm gona do 3:73's. We'll see what happens..Just my .02
mblgjr said:
2.73 x 3.33 1st gear is 9.09 overall 1st gear for the 5.0. 3.08 (optional 5.0 gear) x 3.33 is 10.26 overall.
3.55 x 2.66 1st gear for the Cobra is 9.44 overall. The Cobra also outweighs the 5.0 by 400+ lbs. So the only real difference is the 100 extra ft/lbs. of torque.
00GT said:
I'm aware of the gearing difference, I own one of each.
100lb ft. is a pretty good hit.
My point was more towards a modded Cobra, with 470+ Tq @ 4k RPM is a hefty number, even in a heavy car.
I'd still like to have 3.90's so I'd be turning a bit more in 6th on the interstate around here.
Ford should have gone with the Viper T-56 with gear ratios as follows: 2.66, 1.78, 1.30, 1.00, .75 and .50. Then they could have put 4.10s in the Cobra and still had a lower cruising rpm on the highway than with the current trans and 3.55 gears!
00GT said:
That is the setup I have right now, Viper spec trans custom built by Liberty's Gear. 26 input, 30 output, 1350 series yoke, milled output housing, taller OD gears.
The 3.90's will snap your neck in 1st/2nd and the rpm at 80 mph in 6th, @2100....
Do u need to drop your IRS for gear change?
postban said:
That's awesome... Mind if I ask what liberty charged for that?
No way...
No..No...No..
I totally disagree...I have 4.10 gears (475rwhp) & they are GREAT..cruising gears. With 3.55's, 6th is worthless, 60 mph = 1800 (unless you cruise @ 85+).
With 4.10's, 65-80 is right in the sweet spot (2200-2700) & having a .50 6th would bring you back to 1750 @60. Postban has a different situation w/ big Hp, so traction is his concern. I have 3.15 DR's & the car barely spins them in 2nd.
This gear debate is quite funny. EVERYONE who has 4.10's love them...& most people who have never been in a car with them (let alone, lived with them), say they are too much. On the street...they are THE way to go...with the stock trans!!!
00GT said:
No..No...No..
I totally disagree...I have 4.10 gears (475rwhp) & they are GREAT..cruising gears. With 3.55's, 6th is worthless, 60 mph = 1800 (unless you cruise @ 85+).
With 4.10's, 65-80 is right in the sweet spot (2200-2700) & having a .50 6th would bring you back to 1750 @60. Postban has a different situation w/ big Hp, so traction is his concern. I have 3.15 DR's & the car barely spins them in 2nd.
This gear debate is quite funny. EVERYONE who has 4.10's love them...& most people who have never been in a car with them (let alone, lived with them), say they are too much. On the street...they are THE way to go...with the stock trans!!!
Does anyone that went to new gears have before and after track numbers? How much ET and MPH is a set of 3.90's or 4.10's worth?
How much ET and MPH is a set of 3.90's or 4.10's worth?[/QUOTE]
Probably...Nothing....
Very few people are racing 4.10 geared cars, so there is too small a knowledge pool of cars actually "developed" around them.
I'm sure many will tell you about having to shift just before the lights & traction issues negating any advantage.
The best answer is probably 4.10's are more "fun" on the street, & if you are "seriously"(?) racing the car...you can find better places to spend your money if e.t's are what matters to you.
Probably...Nothing....
Very few people are racing 4.10 geared cars, so there is too small a knowledge pool of cars actually "developed" around them.
I'm sure many will tell you about having to shift just before the lights & traction issues negating any advantage.
The best answer is probably 4.10's are more "fun" on the street, & if you are "seriously"(?) racing the car...you can find better places to spend your money if e.t's are what matters to you.
Joe King said:
Probably...Nothing....
Very few people are racing 4.10 geared cars, so there is too small a knowledge pool of cars actually "developed" around them.
I'm sure many will tell you about having to shift just before the lights & traction issues negating any advantage.
The best answer is probably 4.10's are more "fun" on the street, & if you are "seriously"(?) racing the car...you can find better places to spend your money if e.t's are what matters to you.[/QUOTE]
Well.. many WILL pick up ET with a gear change. Just look at how many '05 GT's are breaking 13's stock. 9 out of 10 of these geniuses think that their new 300hp 3v motor must be 'superior' to the 300hp 2v Mach 1 motor... when in reality Ford just fooled them with taller gears. They are going faster on the street and thinking its thier ballzy new retro car lol...
Silver 03 Cobra
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Roddievchicago said:
Push the HS's out of the wheel hubs, remove and drop the differential. I have done six IRS gear swaps. It takes me eight hours working on jack stands.
Silver 03 Cobra
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badcobra said:
I got one of the first 03's in the country delivered on June 8, '02. It got a Bassani catted x-pipe and catback the same day I got it. I installed mods as they came out. I installed JBA headers and a 4.10 gear about two weeks later. Then came the pulleys. I got beat up pretty good by a couple of members on running a gear. I later dropped to a 3.90 gear. I will tell you this, I'd like to see a 3.55 gear beat me in any race with both cars having equal power. I ran some 03's at FFW in Richmond a couple of summers ago with some making quite a bit more power than I and I had the fastest pass for an 03 that weekend running 11.39@122 on a 100 degree day carrying a full tank of pump gas.
I installed a KB this past November. I am relocating to a new job in a few weeks so I was going to wait and race it after I moved but the racing bug hit me. I bought a set of 17 inch ET Streets. It took me a few passes to learn a little bit about these new 17's. I thought I was having traction problems. I wore out two sets of 16" ET Streets on my 03. It turns out that the 17's are very, very unstable with 8 psi unlike the 16's. I ran 8 psi on the 16's with no problems. I found this out after loaning my tires to another 03 Cobra owner with a lot less power and he nearly wrecked going down the track. He wanted to run them. He thought that there was something wrong in my rear end. I haven't had a chance to run them with more pressure. I ran it at Rockingham before I found out what my problem was with 8 psi and I had to get off the throttle in second gear but it ran a 1.64,7.2@103,[email protected] on the first pass with very little cool down and I backed that up with a 11.18@130 with the car at full temp. It appears the 3.90 gear is a perfect gear for 614 rwhp SAE and 569 rwt.
I drove it to Fla from NC this past Christmas and it got 23 mpg running about 5 over the speed limit going down I-85 and mostly four lane the rest of the way. As far as the street, they are a blast. I don't street race so I could care less about traction. I run 315 BFG KD's on 17x10.5 AFS wheesl and they are heavy slugs. In second gear at 60 mph I can give it about half throttle and the car will go sideways and won't quit till I let up. I had to replace my mufflers because the baffles broke loose and were rattling horribly so I had the shop weld in some straight pipes in place of my mufflers till my new mufflers got here. The other day it was a cool day with a cold front passing through. I bumped my boost on the KB from 17 to 19 psi. I took it out and in third gear at 60 mph it was all over the road. I peddled it to 80 psi and them slammed it to the floor. For a few seconds I thought my clutch was slipping until I realized it was getting sideways. When I looked back I had laid down two solid black stripes from 80 to 100 mph. When some turd messes with me I'll pump the throttle rolling the tires like they were on wet pavement and it scares the hell out of most of them.
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Roddievchicago said:
IRS no, pumpkin yes, not that hard though.
Joe King said:
The point of 6th gear is for gas mileage, low rpm, engine longevity, smoothness, and quietness on the highway. So low rpm is nice for those reasons. Gas mileage is becoming more and more important with the f***ing gas prices, lately. :mj: :fm:
Jpjr said:
:shrug: Don't the Machs and new GTs both have 3.55 gears? The new GTs have a taller tire than the Machs effectively cutting their gear ratio to about 3.31. The new GTs and the Machs both dyno very similarly. The GT weighs about 150 more lbs. though and has taller effective gearing.
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