Was this SHO just cold or does the PP make a big difference?

[GotGrip?]

I've had two 2016's. Leased a non-PP, then turned it in and bought a PP. It seemed like an important performance upgrade at the time, but it is often said on this forum that the non-PP is just as fast once tuned. In stock form I think there's like .2 or .3 seconds 1/4 mile difference, nothing dramatic.

I'm fairly sure you have only two options when it comes to upholstery- leather, or leather w/alcantara inserts. You sure the '16 was an SHO? If it was remarkably slower than your other test drive then it probably has something wrong.

The Non-pp and PP packages run the exact same in the 1/4 in terms of time I think the non-pp has like 1-2 mph "faster". The "PP" is closer to a "tow package", comes additional cooler for the trans and a few small cosmetic items and sensors that's about it no actually performance gains. Due to the gearing though, the Non-PP is faster than the PP mod for mod typically.

 

[Majestic]

Sure. The PP was for towing.

 

[GotGrip?]

Sure. The PP was for towing.

More or less

 

[stripSHO]

The Non-pp and PP packages run the exact same in the 1/4 in terms of time I think the non-pp has like 1-2 mph "faster". The "PP" is really just a tow package, comes additional cooler for the trans and a few small cosmetic items and sensors that's about it. Due to the gearing though, the Non-PP is faster than the PP mod for mod typically.

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, and their own definition of faster.
For the dragstrip, 3.16 gears have the superior net mechanical advantage, albeit by a small margin. BUT if the rest of the car is ill equipped to handle and capitalize on the available launching torque, then it does become a wash. 1st gear is so dang short to begin with!

For everything else, you have to consider the other components too (shocks, brakes, advancetrac control, etc.) before declaring one or the other faster. Which one wins out at autocross? On a big circuit track? 60-130 mph? Many have this huge misconception that the non-PP dominates at high speeds, but that's really not at all the case. Most don't consider that both versions have enough gear for 200+ mph, so running out of gear isn't a thing. So it becomes a back and forth battle for supremacy at different speed ranges, and what is fastest would largely depend on the average speed of the course. All else held equal, here's the tale of the tape as I see it:

0 - 33 mph: PP
33 - 62 mph: non-PP
62 - 104 mph: PP
104 - 122 mph: non-PP
122 - 148 mph: PP
148 - 170 mph: non-pp
170 - 200 mph: PP
200+ mph: non-PP

These are based off the factory stock torque curve. Tunes and mods may shift these numbers around, but the back and forth will always exist. You can see easily that a stock SHO would spend most of a 1/4 mile drag in speed ranges that favor the PP, but any and all mods allow the non-PP to use up 4th gear to it's advantage. If people start hitting 130+ mph at the strip, the PP will again become the better choice again. But again, it's all more or less a wash except at the starting line.

 

[Honz24]

I believe with a PP, and after a tune, the steeper gearing requires the car to shift into 4th gear before the end of the 1/4 mile, while a non PP holds 3rd gear through the end of a 1/4 mile. So strictly for 1/4 mile times, a tuned non PP is faster than a tuned PP

 

[76FoMoCo]

My car shifts into 4 at 115 ish pp tuned right before the end of the 1/4, but each tuner can pick shift rpm. Some 5800 other 6200.

 

[shoblock]

The internals between the stock and PP are different, starting with the piston rings. PPs are engineered by Ford to idle in 10 degree weather for 1/2 hour, then go to full throttle for the duration of an 'average' police chase without issues. Promise.

 

[stripSHO]

I believe with a PP, and after a tune, the steeper gearing requires the car to shift into 4th gear before the end of the 1/4 mile, while a non PP holds 3rd gear through the end of a 1/4 mile. So strictly for 1/4 mile times, a tuned non PP is faster than a tuned PP

Tune only, both cars finish in 4th. The "extra shift" argument doesn't even enter the arena until you're running like 12.0 or faster, and even then it's pretty much nonsense. My tuned PP initiates a 5th gear shift at 112 mph (probably too early). I cross the finish line at 112 mph. For me any impact from a shift would be measured in nanoseconds. Heck, I could shift to neutral all the way back at the 1000 ft and only lose like 0.1 second. What happens at the top end has very, very little significance on e.t. unless you're jamming the brakes.