gears won't affect your top speed because the top speed in a stang is limited by HP not by gearing. this remains a fact even with 4.10 gears.

 

My stock 99 gt cut off at 137..............................out the door brandnew. the only way those things are doin 140+ is with some tuning

 

um, moron, changing a rear gear ratio is a direct item with any speed...it is the same basic thing as 2000 rpms in third gear versis 2000 rpms in fourth gear. a lower gear ratio, no matter what, will slow down a car at the same engine rpm.

 

Redass, no offence, but ask a NASCAR winston cup team what gear ratio they run at Daytona and why, and they will tell you that they need a certain ratio for top speed.

Aerodynamics, weight, engine RPM, tire size and engine power are all factors in top speed. on a FOX body Mustang, there is a 6250 rpm rev limiter built in, I have hit this in first gear. So, if you hit your maximum rpm, you will be faster with a 2.78 gear than with a 4.10 gear. This is not rocket science

 

i think you're missing the big picture. to put it as short as possible, 4.10's will not necessarily lower a mustang's top speed, BUT...it will in fact lower the theoretical top speed of 5th gear, and i think this is where the confusion starts.
theres no way a GT can get to that theoretical top speed due to power, drag, gearing and other variables, but 4.10's put it at a better advantage to attain a slightly higher top speed due to a slightly shorter 5th gear although getting to that "theoretical" top speed would still be out of the question (due to drag, power ect.)
example.. lets say you're riding an 18 speed bike in the hardest gear and you top out at 35 mph even though the pedals are going around very slowly. why? because you simply don't have the strength to pedal any faster. Now ride the same bike in the next easiest gear and may may top out at 41 mph. why?? because you're at a better advantage even though the theoretical top speed would be lower.
Twister your points are correct but i think you're looking at it the wrong way

 

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No go act smart somewhere else Twister.

 

no offense, but it's absolutely idiotic to compare a winston cup car to a stock mustang GT. they are totally different animals. the winston cup cars are aerodynamic enough and have enough power to reach their top rpms in top gear, so depending on which gearing they have, their top speed may change. Unfortunately for your argument, we are not talking about winston cup car, we're talking about a stock mustang. A mustang is not aerodynamicly efficient enough nor is it powerful enough to hit the top rpms in overdrive. A stock mustang is in no way limited by it's gearing, but rather by aerodynamics and HP. if a stock stang was limited by gearing, it could almost get up to 200mph, which it obviously can't even come close.

 

my point exactly!

 

let's see, Ford made 300 Cobra R's for road racing, they spent millions of dollars to create the ultimate Mustang ever, they got a car that could do:

0-60 mph: 4.52 seconds
0-100 mph: 10.46 seconds
Quarter Mile: 12.88 seconds @ 112.77 mph
Skid pad: 1.01g
Braking: 60-0 mph: 109 ft
Top speed: 170 mph

what was the rear gear ratio? a 3.55:1

the engine performance is:

Compression Ratio: 9.6:1
Horsepower: 385 bhp @ 6250 rpm
Torque: 385 lb.-ft. @ 4250 rpm
Redline: 6500 rpm

How many Mustangs are runing around with simular stats?

The 1995 Cobra R made 300hp, it had a 3.27:1

 

I think it's funny that you guys are even arguing this point. Gearing does not affect top speed. Think about it this way, no matter what gear ratio you have, the rear end can always be turned a little faster. Add a couple horsepower, and the rear end turns faster.....top speed is limited by power.