I was thinking of putting one on my 03 f150 and was wondering if anybody here has one. I've seen them on the TV shows and if it does what I think it says everybody with a c4 should have one. The thought of driving the car on the street with 4.88 gears or higher sounds pretty cool. If I do get it and I like it the Mav is next she's almost on the road. Any opinions on gear ratios would also be cool. Thanks
As far as overdrive goes, it is the only way to get decent mileage and reduce wear on your drive train and engine. I have a T5, and it makes a big difference in the driveability of the car, and gas mileage. My car went from 18 or so mpg on the road to 24 or so. Costly, but the car is much better on the road, and much more fun to drive.
The Gearvendors unit has been around for over 30 years. Very well built, handles a lot of power, and very expensive. Also is big and takes up a lot of room in the tunnel. Because the driveshaft is shortened so much can cause angular u-joint problems in some vehicles.
GearVendors only gives .78 to 1 reduction, so a 4.88 would only reduce to a 3.80 for highway use. A T-5 and AOD has a .68 to 1 reduction and possibly lower, depending on model. With those, a 4.88 would be a 3.32 for highway use.
I believe he wants an automatic I noticed he said that he had a C4 in his car so he probably wants an automatic the gear ratio's are different then the T5. From what I can find the final gear ratio of an 4R70W (1993 and up ford overdrive transmission) is 0.70:1 therefore giving him a slightly different final drive with the automatic if the ratios are the same for the AOD. None the less it would definitely be cheaper for him to put a built AOD in his car (if he want to keep the automatic) then it would be to put the gear vendors in. As for the truck it depends on his application. Looking at the fact it is an 03 f150 I would be careful if you do it, I have a friend that has one on his truck and it is for Highway towing only even with a diesel. And with a current overdrive transmission and the overdrive of the gear vendors it might react the same way that my cj7 does, it came from the factory with a C5 and 282 gears in the rear, unfortunitely this combination leaves it very anemic and it can't even maintain speed going on an overpass on the freeway. So look at what you want it for and if you have the money to extend/cut driveshafts (if you have a 4 wheel drive) possibly new exhaust, you might have to moove the fuel tank I know on the dodge 4wheel drives and some of the fords you do, possibly modify the tunnel and change the gear ratio's on your axle or axles if you have two. (Yes these are all things he had to do to his truck to get the gear vendor to work) They are definitely good units and are worth the money if you have a good use for them.
Badmf, There are many aftermarket over-drive units that can be used with your C4 trans mission. Some will bolt to the C4 while others have to be mounted separately. There are different ratios and choices of manual and electric operation. Some are strong enough for use with performance engines and others are not. The Gear Vendors units are very strong but you do have other choices available. Check a few more out and look at the options. I am not recommending or discoraging the use of any of them - just letting you know that costs and strengths vary a lot and you should check out more of them before spending your money on any of them. Remember that any overdrive puts more load on your C4 and it will need added cooling and possibly more clutches fitted to use with an overdrive unit. (unless you really are using 4.88 gears in your rear end.) I do like the idea of using the C4 with an after market O/D, It will give you the best in performance and mileage with a moderate amount of labor and fuss.
