1996 Mustang GT

[Billy8380]

Looking at 4.30's in a pretty much stock 5 spd, just looking for a city gear no track just to kinda put a little pep in first and second, 4.30's gonna be a good choice?

 

[blackfang]

I would do 4.10's. The 96 GT in stock form is a slow dog and you may have more gear than what the car needs. Now if you had some engine work and headwork then those gears may benefit you.

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

I agree. 4.10's, no need to jettison up into the high rpm's where a NPI stang doesn't exactly shine

 

[tank_567]

npi, you dont even want to go above a 3.55 with it. 3.73 and up you'll be in the powerband less and it you'll go even slower than what the car already does. Your better off with the stock gears, Unless you have pi cams/intake.

 

[02nightmaregt]

yea you would have no 1st and barely any 2nd gear

 

[FineLineMtrsprts]

4.30's would be totally pointless. You dont have the power,rpm or trans ratios to take full use of them. 3.73's would be find. if stock gears were better everyone would keep them. 3.55's wouldnt be worth the money.

 

[blackfang]

I was content with 4.10's on my old 97 GT

 

[BurningRubber]

4.10's at the most, 3.90's as a compromise between 3.73's and 4.10's.

4.30's are too much for a PI 4.6 IMO, unless you are racing it 1/8th mile and don't hit the highway.

 

[bhuff30]

I enjoy my stock 3.27s. In fact, a while back I had to rebuild the rear end and had to buy new gears; I stuck with the 3.27s.
You have to slip the clutch a bit to get a good launch, keeping the rpms up, but the 3.27s load the engine harder. On 500 tread wear street tires, I regularly get 2.1 60' times and have gotten a 2.0 when I left the spare and other crap in the trunk. That's basically the limit of traction, meaning shorter gears won't help. The only complaint I have with the 3.27s, is that I end up shifting to 4th between the 1000' mark and the finish line, which hurts.
My stock gears were good enough for a 14.27 with only an off-road H pipe.

 

[blackfang]

The only complaint I have with the 3.27s, is that I end up shifting to 4th between the 1000' mark and the finish line, which hurts.
My stock gears were good enough for a 14.27 with only an off-road H pipe.

You do not have 3.27s then. 3.27's keep you in 3rd all the way through the traps. I didn't even hit redline in my 4v with 3.27's and I have a higher redline than you. 4.10's cause you to have to shift right before the traps.

 

[bhuff30]

I definately have 3.27's. I know because I bought and installed the gears. All the calculations match for mph/rpm and gear ratios to show I have 3.27s.

If I run out 3rd, I end up crossing the line at 5700rpm which is way out of the power band. That's no problem for a PI engine or 4v, but it's way out of the power band of an NPI engine. I normally shift at 5000, and shifting to 4th as normal gives the best ET and MPH.

The NPI engine really doesn't like to rev, which is why I get to 4th just before the finish line.

You do not have 3.27s then. 3.27's keep you in 3rd all the way through the traps. I didn't even hit redline in my 4v with 3.27's and I have a higher redline than you. 4.10's cause you to have to shift right before the traps.

 

[blackfang]

So you are short shifting it then?

 

[bhuff30]

Not short shifting. Just shifting at 5000rpm. The power nose dives after 5000 on the NPI. I've tried shifting at a lot of different rpms, and my best results came from shifting at 5000.

 

[98COBRA281]

Not short shifting. Just shifting at 5000rpm. The power nose dives after 5000 on the NPI. I've tried shifting at a lot of different rpms, and my best results came from shifting at 5000.

very true...

with all my mods & (pi intake & pi cams) my max power (225rwhp) is at 5000rpms, after that it drops off,by 6000rpm i only have 200rwhp....

 

[blackfang]

Yes, but you don't always want to shift at peak power. I am not sure with the 2V's, but the 4V's still breathe after 5800 and it helps us stay in the powerband when we shift higher than peak power being we aren't further down the rpms range in the following gear.

 

[bhuff30]

You definately want to shift a little above peak power. The stock NPI hits peak power at 4500, while the PI hits peak power at 5250.

To find the ideal shift points, you have to get your car dynoed, then plot actual rear wheel torque vs wheel speed. The ideal shift is where the lines cross. I did this on a stock npi and it looked something like this: 1-2 at 5500, 2-3@ 5300 and the 3-4 at 5000. I don't normally run 1st all the way to 5500 because my syncros are very unhappy with powershifting there, but that would be ideal.

Yes, but you don't always want to shift at peak power. I am not sure with the 2V's, but the 4V's still breathe after 5800 and it helps us stay in the powerband when we shift higher than peak power being we aren't further down the rpms range in the following gear.