HP and TQ estimates on 340 build?
Inkjunkie, I have been speaking to anybody I can about pros and cons of all the 5 speeds and have gotten alot of insight and different opinions. I've talked to people at Astro, G force, American Powertrain, Liberty's Gears, and Promotion Performance. I won't say who said what but some have seen the internals (gears)from the Mcleod prototype at SEMA(I think) and don't feel that trans will hold up to the torque specs they are claiming, but then again they are the competition. Either way I want to be driving the car before then and don't think I'd be prepared to be a field tester for it.
mshred, I could be wrong and maybe someone with more tech experience could chime in here but wouldn't a 2900 lb fox bodied mustang running 10 seconds be transmitting as much torque to the pavement as a 3400 lb Duster running mid or high 11's? An 833 4 speed is not an option for me since I will be using the car for 1/4 mile as well as 200 or 300 mile trips to car events in southern Alberta and neighboring provinces of Saskatchewan and BC, and with 4:30 gears that won't work so gooder. You are correct about the strength of the 833, I talked at length with a guy at the Portland swap meet this spring who always has a lot of Ford and Chevy rebuilt units at the meet for sale and he said the reason he doesn't do alot of 833's because they are so tough and don't break as often as the others. Kev
Kevin, a 2900lb mustang running 10's will not be transmitting as much torque as your 3400lb duster running 11's...It takes less power to propel a lighter car than it does a heavier car, so that mustang running 10's may only need 500hp but for your 3400lb duster to run 11's it may need the same amount of power (hypothetically, im not saying this is how much power it takes). On top of the power is also the weight of the car which takes a toll on the drivetrain since its more weight to get moving, as well as the way it is geared, how you drive it, what clutch, etc. When your talking racing a stickshift there are so many factors to keep in mind for tranny survival.
Also remember that when you talk to people at certain companies, they are trying to sell you a product. You even said it yourself about the competition and some opinions on the Mcleod tranny (im on the fence with that thing as well). When you call a company to ask them about their stuff, unless they are genuinely thinking it is WAY out of place in your setup, they will do whatever they can to sell you their product..however, i have talked to astro, g-force, and liberty myself all about t5 stuff, and they all said something along the lines of "you are taking a chance with the t5, a stronger transmission would be better for your setup, therefore we can't gurantee you anything since everyone has different results with these transmissions"...This was expert opinion from the makers of the product, which tells you the variedness of expereinces with these trannsmissions and their reluctance to gurantee anything on these transmissions
the opinions you should be after is not those of the companies and all the options they are touting, but of the guys on the ground- all the racers and drivers who have used these products and flogged them, whether they be on the street or strip...you need to find out from them how fast (or slow) the car went, and with what setup (i.e. clutch, shifter, gear, car weight, tire...these are all KEY factors to making t5's live btw, just ask anyone who races them) to get an idea of whether it will work in your situation...check out some mustang forums or racer forums i.e. yellowbullet, nmra forums, umtr stickshift forums...just do a search on there and you will see the wealth of info and just how touchy the t5's are...i cant tell you how many guys i have pm'ed, how many questions i have asked, and how many mustang guys locally (I have TONS around here) that i have talked to about this...i get varied opinons, and the only way i'll know is once i do it myself...but from general consensus, i already have an idea of where the t5 will go once i lay down on it
good luck!