Hey guys, new member but long-time owner. I've had #079 for a little over a year. Love the car, biggest surprise has been how comfortable the car has been (limited visibility notwithstanding). Please bear with a short analysis, I do have a simple question at the end. Great forum by the way, glad to be here!
Recently I had the occasion to compare two cars, the Ford GT and the new Porsche Turbo S, regarding 2nd gear acceleration. It's a fair and interesting comparison, I think, MSRP's are similar (for the "S" Turbo). I'm comparing 2nd gear acceleration as a measure of (straight line) street performance, more meaningful I think than 1/4 mile.
As we know, motor Torque is multiplied by the appropriate gear ratios and finally translated to Force through the radius of the powered tires. Here's the comparative specs :
Ford GT Torque : 500 ft-lbs
Porsche Turbo S Torque : 457 ft-lbs
(we'll make the approximation that torque is flat across RPM's of interest)
Ford GT, 2nd gear ratio : 1.71
Porsche Turbo, 2nd gear ratio : 2.05
Ford GT, final drive ratio : 3.36
Porsche Turbo, final drive ratio : 3.44
Ford GT tire radius : 1.21 feet (315/40ZR19)
Porsche Turbo tire radius : 1.04 feet (295/30ZR18)
Few observations : Ford GT Torque wins ... at the motor. But those large diameter tires are certainly not your best friend for torque multiplication. In fact, the corresponding forces at the road/tire surface are :
Ford GT : Force (2nd gear) = 2374 pounds
Porsche Turbo : Force (2nd gear) = 3099 pounds
Ultimately, of course, we must factor in weight (mass) to determine acceleration resulting from this force. But there's little doubt which car will plant your butt in the seat when you stand on it in 2nd gear.
Now I know the GT is not designed for drag racing. But the chosen gearing is a bit questionable, to say the least. OK ... 0-60 times look impressive, largely due to being able to reach 60mph in first gear (no shift lag). But I respectfully submit that the gearing in this car is just not optimized for street use. Heck you can drive all day, at speeds far in excess of any posted speed limit, without ever reaching higher than 3rd (probably 2nd!) gear. The car is just geared too darn tall!
Finally my question :
Is a rear gear swap possible in this transmission? Say, something in the ~4.50's?
I know there's some exciting new discussions of pulley swaps and blower upgrades, but I think the car doesn't need more power ... just shorter gears!
Anyway, thanks for listening. I've searched, but nobody seems to discuss this 'dark secret' of the GT. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Again, thanks in advance, great to be here!
Recently I had the occasion to compare two cars, the Ford GT and the new Porsche Turbo S, regarding 2nd gear acceleration. It's a fair and interesting comparison, I think, MSRP's are similar (for the "S" Turbo). I'm comparing 2nd gear acceleration as a measure of (straight line) street performance, more meaningful I think than 1/4 mile.
As we know, motor Torque is multiplied by the appropriate gear ratios and finally translated to Force through the radius of the powered tires. Here's the comparative specs :
Ford GT Torque : 500 ft-lbs
Porsche Turbo S Torque : 457 ft-lbs
(we'll make the approximation that torque is flat across RPM's of interest)
Ford GT, 2nd gear ratio : 1.71
Porsche Turbo, 2nd gear ratio : 2.05
Ford GT, final drive ratio : 3.36
Porsche Turbo, final drive ratio : 3.44
Ford GT tire radius : 1.21 feet (315/40ZR19)
Porsche Turbo tire radius : 1.04 feet (295/30ZR18)
Few observations : Ford GT Torque wins ... at the motor. But those large diameter tires are certainly not your best friend for torque multiplication. In fact, the corresponding forces at the road/tire surface are :
Ford GT : Force (2nd gear) = 2374 pounds
Porsche Turbo : Force (2nd gear) = 3099 pounds
Ultimately, of course, we must factor in weight (mass) to determine acceleration resulting from this force. But there's little doubt which car will plant your butt in the seat when you stand on it in 2nd gear.
Now I know the GT is not designed for drag racing. But the chosen gearing is a bit questionable, to say the least. OK ... 0-60 times look impressive, largely due to being able to reach 60mph in first gear (no shift lag). But I respectfully submit that the gearing in this car is just not optimized for street use. Heck you can drive all day, at speeds far in excess of any posted speed limit, without ever reaching higher than 3rd (probably 2nd!) gear. The car is just geared too darn tall!
Finally my question :
Is a rear gear swap possible in this transmission? Say, something in the ~4.50's?
I know there's some exciting new discussions of pulley swaps and blower upgrades, but I think the car doesn't need more power ... just shorter gears!
Anyway, thanks for listening. I've searched, but nobody seems to discuss this 'dark secret' of the GT. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Again, thanks in advance, great to be here!