Ford GT Transmission Upgrade

[MarkH]

Just wanted to post a status on the transmission M2K Motorsports has been working on over the last several months. If you will notice, we had the entire back part of the case milled out of a solid piece of billet to house all the new gears and solenoids. Sorry I don't have great pics of the piece but hopefully this will show enough to prove the hard work and dedication in trying to make this piece a great addition to the Texas Mile GT.

 

[CJ428]

Impressive !

 

[SteveA]

Looks a little like a Lenco. Very cool!

 

[Indy GT]

Looks very nice and obviously much work involved.

Not being disrespectful here, but Why?

What did you find deficient in the OE transmission?

 

[MarkH]

No disrespect taken trust me. No doubt this is not for everyone and more than likely not for anyone other than ourselves in trying to do what we are doing. During some of the big mph runs in the mile we noticed the car getting a little unstable when the driver had to take one hand off the wheel for shifting. For safety measurements, it's always better if you can keep both hands on the wheel at all times and with the track in the condition its in, the bumps really seem to upset the car during the passes. We are, for lack of words, making this transmission a paddle shifter in order to allow the driver to keep both hands on the steering wheel at all times thus we hope reducing the risk of "lane changes" during the shifts. Now what we have learned in doing this is a way to fix the transmission as well. I know there are a lot of transmissions out there with broken gears and such and we have been working with a supplier for parts for the transmissions that can not be purchased from Ford since Ricardo does not have any on the shelf and no plans to make any at this time. A lot of times, people have been breaking either the 2nd or 3rd spider gear and with the applications we have been working on will hopefully produce replacement parts for those that are in need.

 

[nautoncall]

Mark, just for kicks, what would this cost if someone wanted to upgrade?

 

[mmlcobra]

Very nice!

 

[MarkH]

In regards to price, it is a very difficult question to answer. This is a one off piece with tooling for this design. No doubt, if more than just a prototype was done I am sure the cost could have been substantially decreased. I can tell you at this point I have over $25K in the transmission design not including any other modifications to the car itself. As you can see, the project is not over thus the final tally on the build has not been calculated as of yet. I am guessing when it is all said and done we should be south of $50K give or take but this is truly made for the application we have at mind, Texas Mile Racing... But as we all know, lots of good ideas are developed off of proven racing designs and thus we hope to be able to provide fixes/repairs to the transmission in the future.

 

[FENZO]

Save some time/money - I volunteer to ride shotgun and perform the shifts on the high speed runs. My considerable ballast will also help plant the car. Solution!

Seriously nice work and shop.

 

[MarkH]

Fenzo, you are the first I had to volunteer to "ride along"... Would be an interesting ride for sure...And by the way, we still have a passenger seat in the car, no seat belts though..

 

[Indy GT]

Thanks Mark for the amplified explanation!

Makes perfect sense now.

Be safe out there, especially above 200 mph...

 

[Specracer]

Also in the videos you have posted, the drivers have used long durations when shifting, I sure on purpose, as missing a shift would be disastrous, so a faster shift time wont hurt top end any im sure.

 

[sahlman]

HS Stability and Bumps

No disrespect taken trust me. No doubt this is not for everyone and more than likely not for anyone other than ourselves in trying to do what we are doing. During some of the big mph runs in the mile we noticed the car getting a little unstable when the driver had to take one hand off the wheel for shifting. For safety measurements, it's always better if you can keep both hands on the wheel at all times and with the track in the condition its in, the bumps really seem to upset the car during the passes. We are, for lack of words, making this transmission a paddle shifter in order to allow the driver to keep both hands on the steering wheel at all times thus we hope reducing the risk of "lane changes" during the shifts. Now what we have learned in doing this is a way to fix the transmission as well. I know there are a lot of transmissions out there with broken gears and such and we have been working with a supplier for parts for the transmissions that can not be purchased from Ford since Ricardo does not have any on the shelf and no plans to make any at this time. A lot of times, people have been breaking either the 2nd or 3rd spider gear and with the applications we have been working on will hopefully produce replacement parts for those that are in need.

Mark,

Improving the shifting and maintaining both hands on the wheel on your very high speed runs makes good sense. At the same time it seems improving your high speed stability and ability to navigate the bumps better will help your safety and speed. I can't recall-are you running stock aero or modified? The stock configuration makes 500 lb of downforce at 180 mph. That doubles at 250 mph to just under 1000 lb. I assume you are not running stock springs, shocks and bumpstops. Is the car lowered from stock? Do you mind saying what spring range you are running? Do you guys run data acquisition that includes shock displacements and velocities? I have some thoughts for you to perhaps help. PM me if these are details you don't want to publish.

Scott

 

[MarkH]

Would love to discuss some of these concerns we have on the car as far as aero goes. Hard to believe, but we are running stock springs, shocks with the lowered perches only. The car is lowered as much as we can right now but no doubt the bumps are an issue with the track and how they upset the car. As far as the aero goes, we are still running stock aero as well. At the end of the day, the major changes to the car are with the engine, addition of 2 turbos, and a manifold with intercooler. Besides that, its all HP!!!!! My information is below and would love to discuss some items if you ever have a free chance or email me your contact information and I will call at your convenience.

Mark Heidaker
mark@m2kmotorsports.com

 

[sahlman]

Would love to discuss some of these concerns we have on the car as far as aero goes. Hard to believe, but we are running stock springs, shocks with the lowered perches only. The car is lowered as much as we can right now but no doubt the bumps are an issue with the track and how they upset the car. As far as the aero goes, we are still running stock aero as well. At the end of the day, the major changes to the car are with the engine, addition of 2 turbos, and a manifold with intercooler. Besides that, its all HP!!!!! My information is below and would love to discuss some items if you ever have a free chance or email me your contact information and I will call at your convenience.

Mark Heidaker
mark@m2kmotorsports.com

10-4. Good info. I am fairly certain I can help you improve it without too much trouble based on your current settings...at ~280 mph! I will send you an email this weekend to figure out a time to talk.

Scott

 

[steved57]

This is way cool and interesting stuff and to have a person like Scott on here this has to be the best specific car forum on the planet

 

[ChipBeck]

Mark,

I use to discuss this with Ray and I see the benefit of not having to take one hand off the wheel. But a bigger benefit as I see it is being able to stay on the throttle all the way through the run. Even the slightest throttle lift during a shift results in a lag before my turbos get back to max boost. It seems like my GT would run 230 instead of 220 if I never had to lift the throttle. Is that one of your considerations?

I really enjoy watching your Mile Team's progress. Really cool.

Chip

 

[MarkH]

Just thought I would put an update on the transmission for the Texas Mile Car of M2K Motorsports. It seems that the first round of testing at low RPM has worked out well so they are now moving up with a little higher RPM to see how it handles that. Trying to get this wrapped up for the next mile event in October.

 

[mmlcobra]

It's beautiful!

 

[DoctorV8]

Wow, amazing stuff Mark. Subscribed!