[Mike_D]

It has been quite a while since I last posted...but anyway on Thursday, my shifter went a little funky, having a normal notch into 1/3/5th gears and a short, no-notch throw into 2/4/6th....it got me home but on the way to school in the morning, luckily only 1/4 mile from my house, it took a crap on me again and locked itself up. So, stuck in 4th, I got it back home. I look at it today and after some tinkering noticed that the white "collar"(looks like a soda bottle cap) that holds the cable to it's bracket on the trans came loose. So after some more tinkering, I realized that it SCREWS on. I tighten it up snug, then crank one more time and it skipped the thread, then I was able to snug it again by hand. A few things popped into my mind at the same time. The fact that this trans is only rated for 155ftlbs and that the Mini owners are breaking them, and Ford is probably designing parts specifically so that will break BEFORE you can stress the Syncros and/or other delicate tranny internals before you can break them. Look at the factory shifter base, shift cables and bushings. Also, the 6spd was/is a gimmick to sell the car(an MTX-75 w/ a Torsen LSD would have been fine by me) and never should have been used(also siting it's tall gearing and its' aformentioned fragility for points against it). And the fact that they had to/wanted to use/design a dual-mass FW, which also caused many SVT owners time/money/hassle and some of them i'm sure lost their hair over the whole ordeal with their dealers. So in short, it's a gimmick that could at least handle some hard driving w/o taking a dump.

 

[biker16]

It has been quite a while since I last posted...but anyway on Thursday, my shifter went a little funky, having a normal notch into 1/3/5th gears and a short, no-notch throw into 2/4/6th....it got me home but on the way to school in the morning, luckily only 1/4 mile from my house, it took a crap on me again and locked itself up. So, stuck in 4th, I got it back home. I look at it today and after some tinkering noticed that the white "collar"(looks like a soda bottle cap) that holds the cable to it's bracket on the trans came loose. So after some more tinkering, I realized that it SCREWS on. I tighten it up snug, then crank one more time and it skipped the thread, then I was able to snug it again by hand. A few things popped into my mind at the same time. The fact that this trans is only rated for 155ftlbs and that the Mini owners are breaking them, and Ford is probably designing parts specifically so that will break BEFORE you can stress the Syncros and/or other delicate tranny internals before you can break them. Look at the factory shifter base, shift cables and bushings. Also, the 6spd was/is a gimmick to sell the car(an MTX-75 w/ a Torsen LSD would have been fine by me) and never should have been used(also siting it's tall gearing and its' aformentioned fragility for points against it). And the fact that they had to/wanted to use/design a dual-mass FW, which also caused many SVT owners time/money/hassle and some of them i'm sure lost their hair over the whole ordeal with their dealers. So in short, it's a gimmick that could at least handle some hard driving w/o taking a dump.

Ford didn't have thie own MMT6 design ready before the SVt was launched. The MMT6 much like he MTX75 is used in the high torque diesels as well as gas motors.

 

[eman242]

the six speed, close gear ratio is a great idea, just poorly put together. How many mustang owners want the change their pinion ratios to make the car accelerate faster in the low end. Wait... is the svtf a four banger? yes, and it doesn't have much top end, so ford wanted to take advantage of what power they had. Otherwise, not to offend. I think the drive train has problems but the close ratio is good

 

[greystealth]

the six speed, close gear ratio is a great idea, just poorly put together. How many mustang owners want the change their pinion ratios to make the car accelerate faster in the low end. Wait... is the svtf a four banger? yes, and it doesn't have much top end, so ford wanted to take advantage of what power they had. Otherwise, not to offend. I think the drive train has problems but the close ratio is good

It doesn't have much top end? Where do you get this? My SVT and the other ones i have driven in have crazy top end...maybe thats why they threw 6 gears into the car?

..If anything, the car has no takeoff. I would mainly say that mostly because of the Dual mass FW. Overall though, the SVTF is a great car despite all its weak points in Cheap Ford Manufacturing, but if you don't rape the car, it's a pretty good car IMO.

 

[snobrdrdans_sedan]

SVT sucks out of the hole!
1st gear is way too tall

 

[BLrDFCS07]

6spd tranny=Better fuel economy; raises the average for the company and a lot of times its a sale-gimmick.

 

[OmniFocus]

6spd tranny=Better fuel economy;

No sir. The SVTF 6th gear is shorter than the MTX-75 5th gear... So the OTGR advantage goes to the 5 speed.

 

[eman242]

I believe that the 6 speed, close ratio drivetrain helps take advantage of power. close gear ratios help to accelerate quicker than the tall gears.

 

[blueovalbaboon]

close gear ratios help you to stay in your powerband easier, because each gear has a more narrow speed zone in which it has to work. Not necessarily accelerate any faster.

the MT285 is a piece of garbage, IMO. I wonder if the MMT6 will swap over?

 

[snobrdrdans_sedan]

6spd tranny=Better fuel economy; raises the average for the company and a lot of times its a sale-gimmick.

Hmm...

Then why does the SVT get crappy fuel economy compared to a stock Focus. The SVT is rated at like 21 & 25 or something (I forget). A stock Focus gets like 30 & 35 or something (I forget that too).
A Corvette does just as good, compared to the SVT. Not a Vette fan, but just saying.

 

[Penguini66]

Also, the 6spd was/is a gimmick to sell the car(an MTX-75 w/ a Torsen LSD would have been fine by me) and never should have been used

I don't know about anybody else but all things being equall, off the lot I would take a limited slip MTX-75 any day over a non LSD Getrag.

But I think you're right, the 6 speed was chosen because it could be used as a marketing tool and offered a direct noticable difference to the consumer. Many consumers probably barely know what a limited slip is/does and wouldn't recognize it on the street and certainly wouldn't want to pay extra for it. If they can't see it, it doesn't really help sell the car. It would make the salesman's job too difficult to actually have to describe and demonstrate how a limited slip actually benefits you.

Its a sad car market we live in. I was watching some silly car show on PBS over the weekend and they had some GM exec. on. It was amazing how centered they are around image and appearance. Substance means nothing. Only appearance. In other words, you don't have to make a good handling fast car in order to sell it as a 'sporty' car. You only have to make a car that looks like it is fast and handles good. They think that the average consumer is dumber than a pile of bricks when it comes to cars, and they're probably right.

In 20 years, we'll all be driving 'sporty' 75hp economy cars that came standard with heavy 20" wheels, fake racing seats, 100 pounds of ground effects that nearly drag on the ground, fake blow off valve sound makers, 3' high top fuel drag wings and stickers all over the side. 25 seconds in the 1/4 mile will be considered fast.

 

[lowlifestyle]

I think the weak low end is because of that boat anchor of a flywheel they put in it. As for durability, anyone who abuses a transmission can kill it, some will just last longer than others. I have a hard time believing(in spite of ford) that these transmissions are problematic. Getrag makes the transmission, it's used in the mini cooperS and they have a BIG reputation to uphold. As a mechanic I can say most trans problems are caused by the drivers. Regardless of how cheap ford tried to be, Getrag is not going to risk their image so ford can save money, they have plenty of other clients and as reknowned as they are, they could easily tell ford to take a hike instead of agreeing to build an inferior transmission when they are regarded as one of the best out there, especially since ford is not using their transmissions in any other product and the SVT was limited production. They did not get a major production contract with them anyway. Besides, the cooperS is selling fast enough to easily cover any cost of a good transmission and I'm sure BMW was WELL aware of that.