MRGTX

It seems like there are no statistics out there on the 3.55 geared '11 GTs! Am I just looking in the wrong places?

How would it stack up against the 3.31s and the 3.73s in the standard 0-60/.25mile measurements?

I test drove a 3.31 car three months before picking up my car with the 3.55s...so I can't realistically compare the two...but each felt plenty quick.

MRGTX

There has to be someone out there!!

Driver72

My car will be here next week and I ordered 3.55's as well.
Eventually I'll hit up a track and get times.

The 3.31, 3.55, and 3.73 geared cars will all be within .2 seconds and 1-1.5 mph of each other but I (and others) feel with the edge going to the 3.55 geared cars.
I feel that simply because the 3.73 cars are hardest to launch without as much wheel spin, will have the most wheel spin going into 2nd and on a good track requires a shift to 5th to finish the 1/4. All 3 hurt times.

The 3.31 cars have the least wheel spin at launch and at the shift points and can finish the 1/4 in 4th, but have the least acceleration when IN each gear when the tires aren't spinning.

The 3.55 offers the best of both. A bit trickier to launch than the 3.31's without wheel spin but easier than the 3.73's. Less wheel spin at the shift points than the 3.73's but still accelerates harder than the 3.31's when IN each gear. And the 3.55's also allow you to finish the 1/4 in 4th just like the 3.31's but you'll be about 150 rpms higher up in the rpm band and accelerating a bit harder as you cross the 1/4 mile stripe.

The 3.55's also offer the best of both when it comes to fuel economy. A bit better than the 3.73's but a bit worse than the 3.31's (but personally there is probably only 1 mpg variance between the 3.31's and the 3.73's and that will be mainly on the highway where the lower rpms of the 3.31's will save you about 1 mpg over the 3.73's

StuckInNYForever

AMEN!

MRGTX

I hope you're right... this is basically the exact logic I used when opting for the mid range gears.

Interesting that nobody has come forth with performance data though!

jedikd

They don't vary enough from eachother for the results to be meaningful. Driver skill, temperature, elevation, and variations from car to car would account for much more of a difference than rear-end ratios.

2011_STANG_GT

Question on the gears... What is the STOCK gears that all STOCK 2011 5.0's come with?

Driver72

3.31 in the U.S. (for the higher gas mileage ratings)
3.55's in Canada

2011_STANG_GT

Thanks Driver.

MRGTX

All the points made in this old thread remain valid...
...but has anyone seen a road test for 6MT/5.0 cars with gears other than 3.73?

The Sheriff

The closest thing I've come across was the Consumer Reports test of the GTs. The GT Premium Coupe they tested was equipped with 3.55s & produced 0-60 times of 5.1 seconds. However, they were running 87 octane in the car & had 18 inch all-season tires on it at the time.

I chose 3.55s for my car based on the advice of someone that is light years ahead of me, where automotive knowledge is concerned (Sam Strano). He informed me that 3.73s couldn't get to 60 mph without shifting into 3rd, that sealed the deal as far as I was concerned.

MRGTX

Thanks, Sheriff!
I'll look for that review...but those numbers being offset by the lower octane fuel are a bit frustrating. I guess if CONSUMER REPORTS was able to get a 5.1 0-60, the car must not be lacking for performance. IIRC, they're not known for extracting every scrap of performance out of a car.

Really, it's just curiosity. I'm happy with my 3.55s...but sometimes it's hard not to imagine how different the car would be had I chosen otherwise.

I think some of Sam Strano's discussion that I read somewhere (on these forums??) influenced my decision too. Sometimes longer legs net better performance... and I thought this was the case.

hawkeye18

IIRC Ford offered the various gears for specific reasons...

3.31s offered best fuel economy
3.55s offered quickest 0-100km/h (0-62mph) times
3.73s offered quickest 0-60mph times. The 3.73s can't reach 62mph in 2nd gear, and just barely reach 60mph right at the limiter.

pony racer

wish i had 3.55's.. uninformed decision... i thought the tranny was a tremec when i placed my order in feb 2010 and based 3.73's off that.. by the time i figured out the gearing of the new mt-82 it was too late VIN was already up and couldnt make anymore changes.. if i had the 3.55's i wouldnt have bounced off the limiter in 4th for about 300' in my last pass at the track..

Driver72

Don't stress MrGTX.
The 3.55's are still the gear ratio of choice for the 5.0, ESPECIALLY if you mod it.
You can get to 119-120 mph in 4th. With intake, tune and a few other minor engine mods, that still allows 1/4 mile times in 4th gear. And with the additional power of the mods, you still easily spin the tires into 2nd and 3rd gear. With 3.73's you just can't get the power down as well.

I too wish some independent magazine would test a 3.73 vs 3.55 car at a drag strip AND at a road course.
I'd put money that in both cases the 3.55 car will beat (though not by much) the 3.73 car.
Less shifting on the road course means better times.
And no need to shift into 5th on the drag strip should = an equal to slightly better time for the 3.55 car too.
Again, there is a reason they put the 3.55 gear on the more powerful GT500 remember?
And for anybody thinking or responding, "well they put the 3.73's on the SVT Package of the GT500" I remind you, they do so ONLY because the 20" wheels and tires are TALLER than the 19's so Ford had to put the 3.73's on so it would EQUAL the 3.55 gears on the regular GT500.
And there's a reason guys like Sam recommend the 3.55 gears on the 5.0 too.

Driver72

Once again, as for the 3.55 vs 3.73 debate, this quote from Inside Line says it all:

'Between the GT's wide power band and its low final-drive ratio, there's ample flexibility on the road course. We found ourselves experimenting with 2nd or 3rd gear in certain corners but usually settling on the higher gear just to save a shift and, hopefully, some time in the process. With a broad shelf of torque starting at about 3,000 rpm, there's no reason to fear falling off the torque curve even if you find yourself a gear too high."

They are basically saying, they drove around in a higher gear than they probably SHOULD have just because you have to shift too much in the 3.73 gears.
They were "hopeful" this would save them time. This was the same thing, and the same "hope" that the professional driver in the Motor Trend comparo of the 5.0 GT vs the M3 stated.

But the fact of the matter is, in both cases they probably would of done better (ie: FASTER) in the 3.55 geared car and kept it in the lower gear. They would NOT have had to shift as often as the 3.73 geared car, and therefore they could of been in the lower more powerful gears more often.
Fact of the matter is, 3rd gear at say 6500-7000 rpms in the 3.55 car will pull A LOT harder than 4500-5000 rpms in 4th in the 3.73 geared car.

So if they could of gone around the track in 2nd and 3rd in the 3.55 car without the need to shift to 4th at all, they WOULD have gone FASTER and in less time than the 3.73 car in 3rd and 4th.

It's a shame even the car mags order their test cars with the 3.73 gears, because like so many others, they think, "it's got the lowest gearing, it must be the fastest"
only to be put in the hands of the professional drivers who realize, "**** it sucks I have to shift into 5th right before I cross the strip in this 3.73 car" (at least if you are at a sea level track that allows the proper 111+ mph trap speeds....Fontana where Inside Line tests sucks, it's DA's are often 3,000 feet and the track runs UPHILL by 4 feet over the 1/4). Then the pro drivers get to the road course with the 3.73 geared car that the magazine's asked for and realize, "**** I find myself needing to shift too often and then often it's a second or so BEFORE the braking area."

Bet the pro drivers are saying, "if Ford had these cars geared just a bit taller, we could go faster at the strip AND on the road course." Enter the 3.55 gears.

fake

I like my 3.31's. I can break the rear lose even in 3rd gear.

Joe_in_Naples

Excellent write up Driver.

going for broke

What about the 3.19 in the auto's??