Any significance to the final gear ratio choices available?

[Chris Horner]

If you look at the production date on Chris Horner's car it would have to be a very early production for a 2013. It's a very common thing in my experience as a Tech to have production changes take place at any given time. I can't tell you the number of times I've received incorrect parts from my parts department due to a change that was made and they needed to refer back to the build date, engineering, or original part number to get what I needed. We work closely with both GM and Ford as a fleet/rental company as we buy huge volumes of vehicles and put a lot of miles on them quickly. There are no less than three different processes that we use in two way communication with the manufacturers to identify problems and defects. Quite often we get cars months before the dealerships to allow the manufacturer to identify and correct issues before they go into full production. I don't think Chris's car is really as unusual as one might think.

Very interesting insights.

Mine is actually a 2012, so maybe they were just running out of parts before the changeover to the '13 design? Who knows. I didn't think it had a PP when I bought it, so what a nice surprise to find out that it did because that's what I really wanted.

 

[jtreber]

This has been discussed elsewhere, and occasionally gets revived from time to time.....

The truth is, at least with this platform only, the 2.77 geared cars have always consistently been the fastest.

Over and over and over again

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While I’ll not dispute the extra gear shift on the PP in the quarter mile puts it at an et disadvantage, not all sho owners track their car. On the street, whether in a dig or a roll, I’d give the nod to the PP car every time.

 

[SHO T1M3]

While I’ll not dispute the extra gear shift on the PP in the quarter mile puts it at an et disadvantage, not all sho owners track their car. On the street, whether in a dig or a roll, I’d give the nod to the PP car every time.

I agree, I still think the shorter gears would provide a faster lap time on a road course.

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[brucelinc]

While I’ll not dispute the extra gear shift on the PP in the quarter mile puts it at an et disadvantage, not all sho owners track their car. On the street, whether in a dig or a roll, I’d give the nod to the PP car every time.

When tuned, there is NO extra shift with the PP in the quarter mile. Both versions shift to 4th before the end.

 

[bpd1151]

While I’ll not dispute the extra gear shift on the PP in the quarter mile puts it at an et disadvantage, not all sho owners track their car.

On the street, whether in a dig or a roll, I’d give the nod to the PP car every time.

I wouldn't. Not at all.

Especially when tuned.

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[brucelinc]

I probably differ a little bit with my friend from the windy city. For a street start - just floor it from an idle with no brake boosting - I would put money on the 3.16 gear to pull ahead through 1st gear and hold a lead for some time. On good pavement, a stock SHO will have no traction issue with either gear. Even tuned, neither will do much more than a solid tire chirp on good pavement without brake boosting. Obviously, bpd1151 has more than just a tune so his car might be different.

Ford put the 3.16 gear in the PP specifically to improve off the line acceleration. The non PP SHO and MKS used the 2.77 gear for CAFE purposes so the fuel economy would support the "power of a V8 with the economy of a V6" advertising. That was widely reported when the Gen 4 SHO was introduced. They likely did not use the 3.16 with tuning or all-out drag strip runs in mind. When you add the power from a tune and then do a drag strip launch, the 2.77 is great as all of the timeslip results prove.

 

[6500rpm]

Well, since I got the answer I was looking for in regards to PP and gear ratio, I'll play too. In my younger days in the 1980's I ran a bored, balanced, and blue printed 396, 67 Camaro. Muncie 2.5 Trans and a 12 bolt posi w/4:88's. With 31"x11w slicks I could consistently run mid to high 10's in the 138mph range. Low gearing and tall tires allowed me to get a great launch and still have good high end speed (It was always fun chasing bikes down and passing them at the traps- nothing worse than having something leave you by several car lengths at the start and having to play catch up).
The AWD SHO is a different animal, but with the available tuners I'd think by playing with tire sizes just a bit you could offset either gear choice and possibly change up the springs to keep it from looking goofy. I never looked at this full bodied thing as a racer, just a fun daily driver to keep my old blood pumping but I guess it has a lot of potential.

 

[John Mercer]

Totally agree. A SHO with PP was my first choice when shopping. Somehow I ended up with an MKS...doh!

I did the same thing. But I live in Michigan, so insurance rates make a huge difference. More than $1200 a year, extra for a SHO. The Lincoln is a very nice car, though.