Keep it in 2nd doing the 1/4? Are you drunk? Maybe the 1/8 mile!
Doh! 3rd. Fuel economy is just a side benefit. Not something I don't consider either. Fine don't get. No one cares. Those that have it know and love it. You can argue on the net all you want.
Just curious, has anyone actually documented and proved that the Zetec FD actually gets better fuel mileage? I would think that the few hundred RPM difference wouldn't show that much improvement.
Additionally, has anyone proved that the Zetec FD net's beter short times and 1/4 times? I don't recall seeing any....
In general theory, taller gears (3.84 compaired to 4.06) will somewhat hurt acceleration but will also someshet improve fuel consumption. There are many variables that may change that.
Also in general, running around with gears lower than needed is annoying so the tendency is to raise the gear ratio as low end torque is improved.
One true benefit of the 3.84 gear over the 4.06 if you have increased the power to benefit from it is that 0 to 60 can be accomplished with one shift (1st and 2nd gear) instead of 2 shifts (1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear).
One of the biggest issues in choosing final drive ratios is cam selection. Generally hotter grinds have less low end torque and work best with lower final drive gears. Since we don't have a lot of affordable hot cam grinds available for these engines, this won't make much difference for us.
