Just got my first pony
 

Hey everyone,

I just bought my first Mustang.

It's a used 2000 GT convertible stick with leather, cobra rims, and very, very black.

I love the looks I get, the sound of the thing as it spins up, and the sun on my face and wind in my hair.

I was, however, expecting more low end kick. Granted I've been driving pick-ups for years, so I'm used to a decent amount of torque right off the bat.

Is there any easy way to get more low rpm punch out of the 4.6 without spending too many thousands of dollars?

Thanks,

xto

Gears... 3.73....
Get them...

Hey Buddy, you ever wonder why you made that FAQ? LOL

Hammer, Thanks man.

95mustanggt, what FAQ did I make? I dont understand...

-xto

The sticky thread at the top of the forum.
The title is: Forum FAQ... Read This First... ;)

Oh, I thought 95 said that I made a FAQ.

Anyway...

I've never messed around with tuning a car before, mainly beacause I've never owned a car worth messing with.
So I still need some help, if you got the time:

When you say 3.73 gears, does that ratio refer to a gear in the differential? Or somthing in the gearbox?

The FAQ mentioned somthing about not choosing this ratio if you don't plan on making any engine mods. At the moment I don't. Is this still a good idea?

Also, what is the ratio for a stock GT?

I am really interested in doing this, because right now, it really doesnt seem to launch much better than my moms saturn. I mean, it sounds a heck of a lot better, but I don't feel that much more of a kick.

Could there be somthing wrong with it? It sounds great and seems to run smooth, but since this my first mustang, I cant compare with anything.

Should I get it timed at the local drag?

Thanks again for any and all help,

xto

It refers to the differential.

There will be debates until the end of time about the best gears for a modular street-stang... just do a thread search on gears and you'll find out.

I personally find 3.73s are the best gear for a daily driver street stang. Others swear by 4.10s....

A modular Mustang's power is not made down low. Even though you don't feel it, I bet the stang would beat your mom's Saturn by 3 seconds in the quarter. It's deceived many a driver...

Get the right gear ratio and a short shifter. You'll be fine...

The (relatively for a V8) small displacement 4.6's don't have nearly the low end of a 5.0, so to launch a stick car you need to rev it up a bit and slip the clutch off the line to get it going without bogging.

Thanks again for all the info.

Does anyone know what the stock gear ratio is? ('00 GT Conv.)

Also, I am quite the newbie, so I was wondering:

Is the gear ratio measured input/output, or output/input?

-xto

The stock gear ration is 3.27.

I am going to second the 3.73 ratio as a good all round gear. however, I think the 4.10 gear would be better for performance. Even though my 2002 is rated at 260 HP and my 95 is rated at 225 HP, my 95 "feels" faster. The 4.6L needs 3000+ RPM before it starts to build power, IMO. The 5.0 started before that, but died out around 4500 (stock).

The gear ratio for rearends is the number of revolutions of the driveshaft per revolution of the axle. So for 4.10:1 gears the driveshaft turns 4.10 revs for every rev of the tire.

Thanks for the numbers.

I did some quick calculations, and if I go to a 3.73 in the rear, I should redline just shy of 60 mph in second gear.

Does this sound right?

(I wouldn't want to come out of second gear doing much less than 60. It'd make merging on to highways a bit of a pain.)

-xto