3.73 to 4.88 Gear Swap Problems **RESOLVED, STEEDA TUNE FIXED ALL ISSUES**

[L0566Bullitt]

Been about a month so wanted to make a follow up post.

Overall still incredibly happy with the feeling and occasional 4th gear chirp. No issues with the tune whatsoever. No faults have come back. Cruising RPMs are just right for the 55 - 60 MPH roads around here. My only thought is if you live in Texas or somewhere where speed limits are 80 - 85, you may want to consider 4.56s instead of 4.88s. I'd personally never go higher than 4.88, but if you're in say South Dakota or Texas where everything is faster and don't want to cruise around 3,000 rpm, maybe consider something has high has 4.56s. But for around here with roads generally 55 MPH (or 65 at most), I prefer the lower 4.88s and are absolutely perfect in my opinion.

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[Hi-PO Stang]

Good to hear all is going well with the swap. Updates are always appreciated .

 

[Fly2High]

Jon,
Congrats on getting everything sorted out. Always good to hear when mods work.

Forgive me if you already mentioned it but what is your intent with the car? Drag racing? Autocross? Or What? have you met it? What other mods are you planning based on its current state/shortcomings?

How long have your drives been and has the rear diff temps been affected? Did you need a diff cooler?

you indicated that you can spin tires in 2nd and get chirping in 4th on your street tires. Are you still running the 275 size tires that the Bullitt came with or did you step up to a different size? Which tires are you running?

If you can break traction in 2nd and 4th, do you think the 4.88 is overkill being that you are showing that you can exceed the traction capability of the car? You suggest 4.55 but is it not possible that those also will be too much?

have you broken anything yet? New noises?

 

[L0566Bullitt]

Jon,
Congrats on getting everything sorted out. Always good to hear when mods work.

Forgive me if you already mentioned it but what is your intent with the car? Drag racing? Autocross? Or What? have you met it? What other mods are you planning based on its current state/shortcomings?

How long have your drives been and has the rear diff temps been affected? Did you need a diff cooler?

you indicated that you can spin tires in 2nd and get chirping in 4th on your street tires. Are you still running the 275 size tires that the Bullitt came with or did you step up to a different size? Which tires are you running?

If you can break traction in 2nd and 4th, do you think the 4.88 is overkill being that you are showing that you can exceed the traction capability of the car? You suggest 4.56 but is it not possible that those also will be too much?

have you broken anything yet? New noises?

Intent: just a daily driver and enjoy the car. Really no intent other than that.

Drives are usually 35 minutes to work. Did not notice an increase in diff temps and have not added a diff cooler (may be wise though).

All tires/wheels are stock. When it was warm out it'd only do third gear chirps. Now that it's cooler, I've noticed two 4th gear chirps.

I live under the mentality that even if I was breaking traction in 6th at 120 mph I still wouldn't have enough power , but that's just me. Everyone is different. So no, I absolutely do not think it's too much. I love how torquey it is.

Have not broken anything yet. The gears have always growled/hummed a bit since installation, but it's never gotten worse so I'm assuming it's okay. As the drivetrain breaks in I do notice more overall play in the drivetrain, but obviously that's to be expected as everything breaks in and wears.

 

[Fly2High]

did you use an app yet and if so what is your 0-60 and 1/4 mile times?

 

[gismo4]

Been about a month so wanted to make a follow up post.

Overall still incredibly happy with the feeling and occasional 4th gear chirp. No issues with the tune whatsoever. No faults have come back. Cruising RPMs are just right for the 55 - 60 MPH roads around here. My only thought is if you live in Texas or somewhere where speed limits are 80 - 85, you may want to consider 4.56s instead of 4.88s. I'd personally never go higher than 4.88, but if you're in say South Dakota or Texas where everything is faster and don't want to cruise around 3,000 rpm, maybe consider something has high has 4.56s. But for around here with roads generally 55 MPH (or 65 at most), I prefer the lower 4.88s and are absolutely perfect in my opinion.

From texas. Don't tell me how to live. If I want 4k rpm while cruising at 80mph, then I'll want 4k rpm at 80 mph! just playing

I owned an rsx type s and other Hondas, so I'm used to close gear ratios. 4k rpm in 6th isn't new to me. But this car has such terribly long gears and no low end power. I'm anxious to get my hands on a 4.88. Glad to hear everything is still running smooth. Post up some times when you're able.

 

[L0566Bullitt]

From texas. Don't tell me how to live. If I want 4k rpm while cruising at 80mph, then I'll want 4k rpm at 80 mph! just playing

I owned an rsx type s and other Hondas, so I'm used to close gear ratios. 4k rpm in 6th isn't new to me. But this car has such terribly long gears and no low end power. I'm anxious to get my hands on a 4.88. Glad to hear everything is still running smooth. Post up some times when you're able.

I felt the same. Hated the no low end power. 4.88s will completely change that. Promise.

 

[FreePenguin]

I felt the same. Hated the no low end power. 4.88s will completely change that. Promise.

I can only try to imagine how that car would feel like.

 

[L0566Bullitt]

I can only try to imagine how that car would feel like.

It feels like limited traction in 2nd, and 3rd/4th gear chirps . Also, if when they break loose in 2nd, they continue to spin into 3rd.

 

[Fly2High]

I understand the OP was mostly looking for improved 'butt dyno' sensations and not an improvement for any one type of driving. Looking at the gearing calculator, it seems your 2nd gear tops out at 59 mph. So, if we assume you need 1/2 a sec to shift, you have added a second shift to reach 60 mph adding time to whatever improvement you have gained.

Not sure you have actually improved your 0-60 time because of this. The car is already 0-60 of 4.3 or thereabouts. Unless you improved the time by more than 0.5 sec (or more than 12%), your extra shift will result in slower times to 60.

I wonder if you also added a shift or two to reach the 1/4 mile.

It would be interesting to see if the added stress of a 4.88 final drive actually yielded much when comparing the numbers. Of course this is all dependent on the kind of driving you do. Autocross and track is very different from drag. Even for track work, I wouldn't be surprised that some gear ratios are better than other for certain tracks.

I did not check the 4.56 gear but it could be that 4.56 will not need the extra shift and in the end be faster than the 4.88 to 60 mph. It still might not be the best for 1/4 mile.

Correction: the 4.56 will get to 64 mph so 4.56 will be faster than the 4.88. It could be that there will be less wheel spin too which would also improve times.

Also, if the wheels are spinning, you are going nowhere and that is time too. It may be fun to spin tires until you need to buy new ones. I have a feeling that a 4.88 is leaving stuff on the table that could be used for better times.

 

[L0566Bullitt]

I understand the OP was mostly looking for improved 'butt dyno' sensations and not an improvement for any one type of driving. Looking at the gearing calculator, it seems your 2nd gear tops out at 59 mph. So, if we assume you need 1/2 a sec to shift, you have added a second shift to reach 60 mph adding time to whatever improvement you have gained.

Not sure you have actually improved your 0-60 time because of this. The car is already 0-60 of 4.3 or thereabouts. Unless you improved the time by more than 0.5 sec (or more than 12%), your extra shift will result in slower times to 60.

I wonder if you also added a shift or two to reach the 1/4 mile.

It would be interesting to see if the added stress of a 4.88 final drive actually yielded much when comparing the numbers. Of course this is all dependent on the kind of driving you do. Autocross and track is very different from drag. Even for track work, I wouldn't be surprised that some gear ratios are better than other for certain tracks.

I did not check the 4.56 gear but it could be that 4.56 will not need the extra shift and in the end be faster than the 4.88 to 60 mph. It still might not be the best for 1/4 mile.

Correction: the 4.56 will get to 64 mph so 4.56 will be faster than the 4.88. It could be that there will be less wheel spin too which would also improve times.

Also, if the wheels are spinning, you are going nowhere and that is time too. It may be fun to spin tires until you need to buy new ones. I have a feeling that a 4.88 is leaving stuff on the table that could be used for better times.

All very valid points. I do notice I have an extremely hard time getting to 60 with no wheel spin and I have to get a bit into redline which I do not like, so for 0 - 60, 4.56 would probably be the way to go for sure.

 

[Fly2High]

All very valid points. I do notice I have an extremely hard time getting to 60 with no wheel spin and I have to get a bit into redline which I do not like, so for 0 - 60, 4.56 would probably be the way to go for sure.

The next question I have is , does the 4.56 also spin wheels and in which gears?

That was why I asked if you had plans on changing tires.

Not sure going to wider is the solution too. It depends on what you are after. i had read something from Michelin that the Cup2 and PS4S has similar grip. The Cup 2 put it in a way to improve lateral grip while the PS4S was designed more for longitudinal grip.

Changing width also changes the orientation of the contact patch. Wider might improve longitudinal and hurt lateral again.

I also believe the area of the contact patch doesn't change. All you are doing is changing its orientation. Of course there is also tire pressure to play with but that has other impacts to deal with.

Going to wider tires also means that your wheels will get bigger increasing weight and rotational mass is not a good place to add it. That will slow you down too.

You might then think of going to a smaller diameter tire but that will also change your gearing. My GTPP2 results in a final drive equivalent to a 3.94 used with the PP1 275/40 tires even though it comes with a 3.73. Tire diameter affects gearing.

No free lunch.

The more I read , the harder it is to improve the car. It is not as simple as, change some gear to go faster.

 

[Sivi70980]

The next question I have is , does the 4.56 also spin wheels and in which gears?

That was why I asked if you had plans on changing tires.

Not sure going to wider is the solution too. It depends on what you are after. i had read something from Michelin that the Cup2 and PS4S has similar grip. The Cup 2 put it in a way to improve lateral grip while the PS4S was designed more for longitudinal grip.

Changing width also changes the orientation of the contact patch. Wider might improve longitudinal and hurt lateral again.

I also believe the area of the contact patch doesn't change. All you are doing is changing its orientation. Of course there is also tire pressure to play with but that has other impacts to deal with.

Going to wider tires also means that your wheels will get bigger increasing weight and rotational mass is not a good place to add it. That will slow you down too.

You might then think of going to a smaller diameter tire but that will also change your gearing. My GTPP2 results in a final drive equivalent to a 3.94 used with the PP1 275/40 tires even though it comes with a 3.73. Tire diameter affects gearing.

No free lunch.

The more I read , the harder it is to improve the car. It is not as simple as, change some gear to go faster.

I DD my car and will never go to a track or strip. I don't do smoke shows or weave in traffic. I'm usually found in the right lane on the freeway going 60ish. However, the 2 lane fun roads on my commute sometimes have their speed limits doubled or tripled as I go to redline in 2nd and/or 3rd. This is why I'm considering 4.09s. It's not that I'm chasing anything specific, I just wanna feel the car move more in those 2nd and 3rd gear pulls. When I get used to it, I'll do something else. Eventually if the budget likes it, I'm thinking twin turbo. But again, it's just for those few pulls a month, not like I'm lining up to race Dominic Toretto or anything lol.

 

[Dave2013M3]

I had 2k worth of engine work done including rental. Service advisor knew car had been E85 tuned. Do you really think Ford is out to get everyone with a tuned car?? Your a Moron. Next...

Calling someone a moron when you don't even use the word "your" properly is priceless. It's you're a moron..

 

[gismo4]

Calling someone a moron when you don't even use the word "your" properly is pricelss. It's you're a moron..

Quick, it's "priceless"

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