samseed101

Well that seems to hold true for me and it seems to be the case with everyone that I talk to that runs that transmission. I have never heard anyone say otherwise.

samseed101

actually, many shift kits even advertise the fact that their shift kits will allow you to shift into OD at full throttle. If OD was just a normal gear and you could shift into it at WOT normally, why advertise that "feature?"

Sidewayz6.0

Thats odd. I've personally never heard of it. However, I've never owned an automatic Mustang. Of the 3 Mustangs that I've owned/own, they were all sticks. Although every car I have owned that was an Automatic shifted into 4th at WOT.

samseed101

I'm not 100% sure of the reason because I never talked to Ford directly. But everyone I talked to said that it's more like a lock-up than a gear and is really only designed to be used to get the RPMs down and save gas at cruising speeds. The band is weak and can't really take the hard and frequent shifts into and out of OD. That is why they give you the option to shut OD off with the click of a button... to save it or extend its life.

MikeHawke

thanks for the info on the shifting into OD at WOT [sm=smiley20.gif] I didn't know Ford did that. That's gay LOL.

The second part about the 3.73s VS. 4.10s only being maybe a 10 mph difference is helpful information as well. That was the point I was trying to make is that there is next to no difference between the RPMs in the 2 gear sets. Now the author has all the information he needs to make an informed decision.

Thanks dude.

samseed101

Yeah, it really is gay. I found out the hard way when I had my first mustang that was auto (an 88 5.0) It's hauling *** and gets to the redline, but doesnt shift. I finalyl did some research and found out that it is designed that way and it's a weak band. Also learned that frequent shifting into and out of it in any condition can weaken the band. That is why many people elect to shut it off using the button when driving around town.

True 10 MPH may not make a huge difference. But when he starts getting a badass car with some major rwhp.. at the end of the 1/4 mile it's gonna suck to be stuck at 108 or so... either that or force it into OD and hope for the best. The upside... you get to 108 much quicker than you would in 3.73s. The downside... you're stuck at 108 as opposed to 118 or so.

If you come off the throttle a bit, it will shift into OD and then you can slowwwwly accelerate and get into the higher numbers.. And like you said, you will never reach that therotical number for the redline in that gear.. which is 202 MPH in 3.73 or 161 in 4.10s.

I wish Ford would do something about it and give one more "true" gear that you could treat just like 1 - 3... Well I guess they did do something... it's called "manual." But I was hoping for a better solution.

I know most people probably won't be pushing past 108 at WOT anyway.. but I was at 115 at WOT this past weekend... 3rd was damn near maxed out ;(

Anthonyandmarisol

hwat does your stang top out at being that you have 3.73's? and when your crusin at 65 does it have a good take off or is it **** poor

samseed101

With my 3.73s, if I am cruising at 65 MPH on the highway (meaning I am going to be in OD) then my RMPs are 2,126. If I all of a sudden floor it for acceleration, it's going to drop me into third at about 3,173 RPM. Depending on how hard I get onto it, it may even put me in second at dump me into second at 4,664 RPM before going back to third. So I stil have plenty of room to play and it will pull away nicely. If I stay at WOT, I can go all the way to 120 at which point, I am redlined in 3rd. Once I got off the throttle a bit, it would shift me back into OD and if I were still doing 120, I would be at 3,925 RPM. Of course, as you go higher the numbers become theoretical (gotta have enough power to get to that speed.) But you can easily be going 65 in OD and shift down to third or even second for some power.

Keep in mind you CAN do this with 4.10s. You just lose a little off your top speed and the RPMs will be a little higher.

TeflonDon

I've been following this thread real closely since i'm in the midst of purching gears as well. The biggest question between mustang drivers seems to be gears. I'm not a reall big car engine or performance guy, so a lot of the things that are said here confused me, like that quote above. I just purchased a 2002 GT a few months back, and it's an automatic. The only reason I really got it was to drive it cruising town maybe here and there, since I already have a car. The more I drove it and saw other mustangs, the more I wanted to upgrade it. I have a stick in my current car, (not the mustang), and seeing you guys talk about the gears for automatics, is like me reading french or something, i have no CLUE what's going on. What's WOT? The quote above, does that mean that if i were to purchase 4.10 gears the car would top off at 108? If you have an automatic, are you supposed to have O/D on or off? I keep it on, it's that button by the shifter right? I know i probably sound like an idiot, but like i said, this is really not my world, and i'm just now starting to learn things here and there. The thing is, where i live no one really drives cars like this, and knows what to do, or get, that's why i have to come online. Everyone drives BMW's and Mercedes and that type stuff. No one does, there own work, just send it to the dealer. If someone could please explain that quote, and the whole 3.73 vs 4.10 thing just a little bit better, it would be greatly appreciated.

TeflonDon

Oh yea, I have 3.73 gears here, that i haven't installed yet, because i haven't found anyone to do them yet. Should I keep them, or get 4.10?

part 2 to my question earlier