Originally Posted by John V6
Yes they are different. I have the Getrag box which is excellent.
Firstly the ride is different with the 5 link rear.
The seats were recliners & I & swmbo found them less comfortable and also higher.
Clearly there is more torque & power but it is not really generally usable.
6th gear is nice for cruising but then the car seems to like 80 mph and with speedo out of sight I could easily loose my license. I couldn't live with the speedo where it is.


Interesting findings John given I don't have the perspective of familiarity with earlier Roadsters. I do find the Ford box itself on mine excellent allowing very smooth changes. Harking back to the 70's Ford box's were always the smoothest with knife through butter feel whereas their continental counterparts although good always retained a degree of notchiness. Our BMW Mini is the same so it seems little has changed. Problem with the 3.7 Roadster though is the gearing. First is so low as to be useless except for maneuvering or dribbling along in traffic. Sixth is great for fuel economy but too high to overtake swiftly at motorway speeds. I suspect this explains why you mention the car prefers cruising at 80 mph.

I can understand the Mustang origins, given the substancial extra weight, justifying a lower first but sixth must be way too high. I appreciate final drive ratio will impact on this issue but such a wide range box can only exaggerate my criticism at one end of the range or other. The 5 litre V8 Mustang lower ratio's are better with higher first and even second but sixth is higher still at 0.651:1 compared to 3.7 V6 of 0.704:1.

Richard

2018 Roadster 3.7
1966 Land Rover S2a 88
2024 Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450
1945 Guzzi Airone