- Aug 25, 2006
- 4,436
Well; I regularly share that which I have come to know as the result of personal experiences as well as personal opinions from time to time.
In the case of the later I shared some time back my initial feelings regarding the alternate transaxle gearing as was to be offered by Stillen. At that time I shared that it was my opinion that integrating alternate gearing in a gal that was stock would likely produce some nice results however for the gals that have a Whipple or a Twin Turbo setup the benefit would be less.
Now a couple months later I had the opportunity to massage a gal that has both the alternate gearing and Stillen’s clutch system integrated into her. Typically I do not drive another’s gal however I was asked to and to share my thoughts; this request came from the gal’s owner as well as a formal request from Kyle Stillen.
So under the cloak of darkness very early one morning I rolled the gal out truly not expecting very much. Up until this moment I had moved her around the facility and noticed the clutch feel was different but had formed no opinion. Initially it took me a couple clutch engagement cycles to get a feel for its operation and from that point forward I accepted the operation as if OEM. Immediately I noticed that it produces a much better release; meaning the typical somewhat stiff operation of the transaxle (particularly while cold) seemed to be all but gone and then add to this the clutch felt precise. The soft, at times uncertain engagement of the OEM system was gone and had been replaced with a clutch operation that instilled the confidence that it was in fact fully engaged. The engagement is quicker and yet smooth and still allows for a dead stop to roll out without having to throttle modulate once you get the feel of the new system however let me reiterate; you know when and that it is engaged which I liked very much.
** The gal that I drove/exercised is in stock trim **
Now this brings me to the alternate gearing; seamless and as if there from day one are the initial thoughts that come to my mind. I was surprised that within the first dozen or so shifts I not only recognized the difference but also liked it. For me and the way that I drive, first gear is little more than a soft roll out; the point in which I get all systems moving in the right direction so it being a bit shorter was of no concern to me because I never stretch the gal’s legs in first however traveling through second, third, and forth was a totally new Ford GT experience.
I have to say that even though changing the ring gear does not change the gear spilt (meaning the spacing in-between the gears) it felt as though it did. I suspect that this is because by moving everything down a few hundred RPM it placed the gearing into the operational range allowing the gal to remain/play in the torque field rather than as with the OEM gearing where she would spend little time in this area unless her legs are truly stretched. I drive her in excess of 50 miles during which I spent time traveling on local roads where I found myself looking forward to the next gear change; both up and down and then I also spent time on the highway cruising. The gear set was quiet and as stated earlier seamless. At 65 MPH she was spinning under 2000 RPM and felt relaxed and happy.
So how do I feel about this offering by the Team at Stillen; mechanically speaking I think that it is a winner; now having said this I am compelled to add a few things to this comment.
1. I like the clutch because I like the fact that I can tell that it is fully engaged; yes it is grabbier and some would refer to it as “on or off” however it is not; it simply takes as I stated a few operational cycles to get used to it and this is only because it is different than the operation of the OEM assembly however after a few operational cycles it will feel and operate as if OEM. The Stillen clutch does not have a long slow progressive engagement as OEM which IMO is a good thing because the longer it takes for a clutch to engage the more heat and wear that results. Furthermore because of the torque that these gal’s produce the OEM engagement process which is the direct result of the pressure plate design and the friction material used sets the stages for easily destroying a clutch with as little as one less than stellar engagement process. Now do I encourage all to run out and have this system installed; no but rather I encourage you to consider it as a viable option when the time comes for your gal to need a clutch. The only exception that I would consider is for those folks that exercise the gal in a spirited manner all the time and or spend time on the track because in this case the benefits of the Stillen clutch would be recognized and enjoyed immediately.
2. The alternate gearing significantly changes the manner in which the gal moves through the gears; I like it. As I stated; early on I expected very little with most of the benefit to be best suited for the gals in OEM trim however my opinion has changed. I think that in OEM trim the gal will be much more enjoyable to drive; the key word here is “drive” meaning that for the normal get in the gal and travel through town or cruising down the highway she will feel much more integrated; meaning the shift points and the associated power will feel seamless as one move her through the gears. With the alternate gears you will no longer find yourself having to wind the gears out so far to enjoy and appreciate the torque and resulting horsepower that these gals have waiting to be unleashed; in fact with the alternate gearing I suspect (as I did) that you will find yourself wanting to change gears much more with each event producing a smile.
Now this brings to my opinion about the alternate gearing when associated with a Whipple or Twin Turbo gal; my first comment would be that if they were integrated then fricken “HOLD ON” because I suspect that the transformation will be such that it would be akin to being shot out of a cannon. Will traction become even more of an issue; absolutely however as the driver you have command of the go pedal and under the right circumstances the experience would be border-line if not totally scary; I think that I like the thought of this feeling being accessible. The Whipple integrated gals will benefit because extreme sensations will be able to be experienced much earlier in the pull and at lower MPH however the Twin Turbo IMO will benefit to some degree even more so because the by-product of the alternate gearing will be bring the Turbos on line (so to speak) much earlier as such the sensation of extreme power/speed now felt in the 3500 -4000 RPM range will happen at a much lower RPM because the alternate gearing will allow the gal’s heart to ramp up in RPM much quicker as such the Turbo spooling will do the same.
Now let me be very clear that the “Team at Stillen” are not aware of this post nor am I in any way materially involved with their project or products. I am simply sharing my feelings based on some wonderful seat time in a gal that had these systems integrated into her.
BTW: I have discussed with Kyle Stillen the idea of integrating these systems into my gal and considering that she has a Whipple the mere thought of it makes me smile.
All the best and takes care
Shadowman
In the case of the later I shared some time back my initial feelings regarding the alternate transaxle gearing as was to be offered by Stillen. At that time I shared that it was my opinion that integrating alternate gearing in a gal that was stock would likely produce some nice results however for the gals that have a Whipple or a Twin Turbo setup the benefit would be less.
Now a couple months later I had the opportunity to massage a gal that has both the alternate gearing and Stillen’s clutch system integrated into her. Typically I do not drive another’s gal however I was asked to and to share my thoughts; this request came from the gal’s owner as well as a formal request from Kyle Stillen.
So under the cloak of darkness very early one morning I rolled the gal out truly not expecting very much. Up until this moment I had moved her around the facility and noticed the clutch feel was different but had formed no opinion. Initially it took me a couple clutch engagement cycles to get a feel for its operation and from that point forward I accepted the operation as if OEM. Immediately I noticed that it produces a much better release; meaning the typical somewhat stiff operation of the transaxle (particularly while cold) seemed to be all but gone and then add to this the clutch felt precise. The soft, at times uncertain engagement of the OEM system was gone and had been replaced with a clutch operation that instilled the confidence that it was in fact fully engaged. The engagement is quicker and yet smooth and still allows for a dead stop to roll out without having to throttle modulate once you get the feel of the new system however let me reiterate; you know when and that it is engaged which I liked very much.
** The gal that I drove/exercised is in stock trim **
Now this brings me to the alternate gearing; seamless and as if there from day one are the initial thoughts that come to my mind. I was surprised that within the first dozen or so shifts I not only recognized the difference but also liked it. For me and the way that I drive, first gear is little more than a soft roll out; the point in which I get all systems moving in the right direction so it being a bit shorter was of no concern to me because I never stretch the gal’s legs in first however traveling through second, third, and forth was a totally new Ford GT experience.
I have to say that even though changing the ring gear does not change the gear spilt (meaning the spacing in-between the gears) it felt as though it did. I suspect that this is because by moving everything down a few hundred RPM it placed the gearing into the operational range allowing the gal to remain/play in the torque field rather than as with the OEM gearing where she would spend little time in this area unless her legs are truly stretched. I drive her in excess of 50 miles during which I spent time traveling on local roads where I found myself looking forward to the next gear change; both up and down and then I also spent time on the highway cruising. The gear set was quiet and as stated earlier seamless. At 65 MPH she was spinning under 2000 RPM and felt relaxed and happy.
So how do I feel about this offering by the Team at Stillen; mechanically speaking I think that it is a winner; now having said this I am compelled to add a few things to this comment.
1. I like the clutch because I like the fact that I can tell that it is fully engaged; yes it is grabbier and some would refer to it as “on or off” however it is not; it simply takes as I stated a few operational cycles to get used to it and this is only because it is different than the operation of the OEM assembly however after a few operational cycles it will feel and operate as if OEM. The Stillen clutch does not have a long slow progressive engagement as OEM which IMO is a good thing because the longer it takes for a clutch to engage the more heat and wear that results. Furthermore because of the torque that these gal’s produce the OEM engagement process which is the direct result of the pressure plate design and the friction material used sets the stages for easily destroying a clutch with as little as one less than stellar engagement process. Now do I encourage all to run out and have this system installed; no but rather I encourage you to consider it as a viable option when the time comes for your gal to need a clutch. The only exception that I would consider is for those folks that exercise the gal in a spirited manner all the time and or spend time on the track because in this case the benefits of the Stillen clutch would be recognized and enjoyed immediately.
2. The alternate gearing significantly changes the manner in which the gal moves through the gears; I like it. As I stated; early on I expected very little with most of the benefit to be best suited for the gals in OEM trim however my opinion has changed. I think that in OEM trim the gal will be much more enjoyable to drive; the key word here is “drive” meaning that for the normal get in the gal and travel through town or cruising down the highway she will feel much more integrated; meaning the shift points and the associated power will feel seamless as one move her through the gears. With the alternate gears you will no longer find yourself having to wind the gears out so far to enjoy and appreciate the torque and resulting horsepower that these gals have waiting to be unleashed; in fact with the alternate gearing I suspect (as I did) that you will find yourself wanting to change gears much more with each event producing a smile.
Now this brings to my opinion about the alternate gearing when associated with a Whipple or Twin Turbo gal; my first comment would be that if they were integrated then fricken “HOLD ON” because I suspect that the transformation will be such that it would be akin to being shot out of a cannon. Will traction become even more of an issue; absolutely however as the driver you have command of the go pedal and under the right circumstances the experience would be border-line if not totally scary; I think that I like the thought of this feeling being accessible. The Whipple integrated gals will benefit because extreme sensations will be able to be experienced much earlier in the pull and at lower MPH however the Twin Turbo IMO will benefit to some degree even more so because the by-product of the alternate gearing will be bring the Turbos on line (so to speak) much earlier as such the sensation of extreme power/speed now felt in the 3500 -4000 RPM range will happen at a much lower RPM because the alternate gearing will allow the gal’s heart to ramp up in RPM much quicker as such the Turbo spooling will do the same.
Now let me be very clear that the “Team at Stillen” are not aware of this post nor am I in any way materially involved with their project or products. I am simply sharing my feelings based on some wonderful seat time in a gal that had these systems integrated into her.
BTW: I have discussed with Kyle Stillen the idea of integrating these systems into my gal and considering that she has a Whipple the mere thought of it makes me smile.
All the best and takes care
Shadowman
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