quote:Originally posted by JFB #05177:
to me the interesting aspect is the gear ratios, top of ~130MPH.
would be nice to have as a switch out
I think these ratios are what originally were envisioned for the Pantera? Ford had a big concern with the durability of this design. After all, they were the ones that had to guaranty the car.
The ratios we see in the -2 are what Ford compromised on.
I'm not sure if in reality on a US street driven car if anyone needs to worry about only 130mph top speed. It might not even be a major issue on the Autobahn in Germany either?
Just because the car can go 195mph doesn't mean that the driver is capable of that?
I personally would prefer the 2.42 first gear in this rather then the 2.20 first gear.
If this car were being produced today it probably would be a 6 speed with around a 3.25 first gear ratio.
6th gear would just have a lower overdrive ratio, somewhere in the .5 to .6 area depending on the power the engine could make with that kind of an overdrive?
It might need some kind of a supercharger to energize that kind of ratio in 6th? A turbo could easily handle that but a turbo is really not a constant pressurizing device because of the heat build up.
I have one in our Audi TT that blows 27psi. That is not a sustainable boost to run in something like "The Silverstate". I think it would melt the engine down pretty well. It is more of a "temporary" device like a shot of nitrous oxide is. In fact, the nitrous' gives pretty much the same effect.
The entire unit can be seen glowing in the dark and has been known to blow off the induction hoses.
All said, this ZF is the first of it's kind that I have seen and yes, I do find the gear ratios a little strange, i.e., not what I would expect to see.