'08 GT w/3.73 first gear question

01yellerCobra said:

Weren't the stock gears 3.55's? AFAIK there isn't anything between the 3.55 and 3.73. Plus it wouldn't be worth the swap for that small of a change.

Just give it time to get used to the new gears. I went from 3.27's to 3.90's in my 01. Even with a T-56 I was shifting fairly quickly. But damn, when I floored it, it moved quick.

Click to expand...

Pretty sure I went from 3.31's to 3.73's. It was quite a change.

'05-'09 was 3.55 for all manual trans GT's and 3.31 for all auto GT's.

Just to add, '05-06' came standard with 3:55 for all manual trans-GT's and 3:31 for all auto GT's. Beginning in 2007, all manual trans-GT's came standard with 3:31 while 3:55 became optional. 3:31 remained unchanged for all Auto GT's as standard.

Gringo said:

I changed my rear end to 3.73:1 because I wanted a little more oomph at red lights, and I was not happy having to downshift to 4th on the freeway. And the change fixed a lot of that, except now 1st gear feels almost useless. It moves the car from a dead stop well enough, of course, but I need to shift into 2nd almost immediately. Like half way across the intersection. 1st is still handy on hill starts.

... What do you do? Keep using first and shifting immediately ( losing ground to the guy next to you) or start in second and worry about the clutch wear later?

Click to expand...

Can't have it both ways without changing the transmission (which might then cause another axle gear change).

My advice - learn to drive the car the way it is now. Shift it when you want to shift it and stop worrying about the guy next to you at the light. There's plenty of cars you won't "beat" no matter what you do with your car's drivetrain from the flywheel back.


I run shorter than stock tires on my '08 year round, short enough with the track set that with 3.55's the car feels about the same as it would with OE-height tires and 3.73's. I'm not ever going back to 27" tall tires. Or ever intentionally start up from a full stop in 2nd.


Norm

Gringo said:

Would going to a heavier clutch make starting in second easier?

Click to expand...

Missed this the first couple of times . . .

I wouldn't, as that will slow your acceleration in every gear. More so in lower gears (1st, 2nd) than in higher gears (4th, 5th), and would be working directly against your reason for getting 3.73's in the first place.


Norm

Yeah, when I had 4.10's in my other car, I was always hitting 2nd gear fast. That's when I was wondering if I should have just went with 3.73's. But at the time I had 3.42's so going from 3.42 to 3.73 wasn't that big of a deal. I guess it depends on the existing gearing of the transmission. But out of the hole you should launch hard on people with that lower gear.

Ford Mustang Hill Start Assist Not Available:
https://www.car-auto-repair.com/ford-mustang-hill-start-assist-not-available/

Just what does Hill Start Assist, Not Available have anything to do with the thread topic being discussed? Nothing!

06 T-RED S/C GT said:

Just what does Hill Start Assist, Not Available have anything to do with the thread topic being discussed? Nothing!

Click to expand...

YEA!!!