Reply to "Ricardo"

Hi Dave,

The other thing that you have to be careful about on the Ricardo is the differential final drive ratio. I believe it is 3.31 or something crazy like that. With the power of the GT motor, it is not as big an issue as if you had something that was not as powerful (i.e. 650 HP with 600 ft/pounds of torque). There is a 3.90 final drive ratio offered, but that is quite pricey at $7,000; just for the kit! Most Pantera ZF's have a 4.22 final drive ratio -- so they can really go off the line!

That is the bad news, the good news on why you would want such a thing is that this transaxle has triple synchros on first thru third gears, then it has double on the rest. This means that this transaxle will shift like butter, everytime. There will be no notchy feel, and with the cable shift, it will be spot on until it needs to be adjusted like everything does. I do not know for a fact, but I thought I heard that the ZF was used on the prototype cars and they never intended to use it on the production cars -- they went with Ricardo because of the newer technology, and I am sure, for the production requirements.

Joules, have you ever driven a Ford GT? I have not, just curious if you have any first hand knowledge of what it is like to drive such a thing. I am hoping for a smooth shift and light clutch pedal -- this is what I have read anyway, so we shall see..... I am looking for gas, key, and go. I have enough other cars to work on all of the time.....

Mark