FastFloridian Posted April 8 Author Share Posted April 8 21 hours ago, 74_5.0L_Z said: I track my Ford powered 260Z. My personal experience is that transmission gearing is extremely important to getting the most fun on the track. In Florida, you will most likely be doing track days at Daytona and Sebring. Both tracks have very fast sections. Before doing track days, I autocrossed the car. In autocross, you only really need second gear if you have the right differential / tire height. I used Hoosier 275/35-15 tires and have a 3.36 rear end. With a 1.94 second gear in a T-5 and 6,500 rpm, 2nd gear was good for 73 mph. When I started doing track days, I needed all the gears. I had replaced the stock 1st through 4th with G-Force gears and shafts, but fifth gear was still stock. With that set-up, these were my gear ratios. 1st 2.95:1 2nd 1.94:1 3rd 1.33:1 4th 1:1 5th 0.59:1 Worked great until I needed 5th gear. that big a drop absolutely killed the fun (no acceleration in 5th). After my first time a Daytona, I changed 5th gear to 0.81:1. The .81 gear absolutely transformed the car. Now 5th gear is warp drive. The transmission that you show probably doesn't have a good selection of gear ratios, and probably won't hold much power. If it were me, I would get the new TKX with the close ratio rears. That transmission will handle the power and maximize you fun on track. If I didn't already have so much invested in my T5, I would get a TKX. This is the TKX I would get: https://www.speedwaymotors.com/TREMEC-TCET18084-TKX-Close-Ratio-5-Speed-Ford-Manual-Transmission,452007.html?srsltid=AfmBOoq-x1paVSDoNvgI38myLy79UBWXzZFW-QeQ4bK1_vWnSHM7bEEJ Gear Ratios 1st - 2.87, 2nd - 1.89, 3rd - 1.28, 4th - 1.00, 5th - 0.81 This is some great info, thanks for sharing. I’m looking into transmission upgrades now and I haven’t sourced my diff yet. Any thoughts on diff gearing, I’m going back and forth between 3.3 and 3.54. I’ve a big brake kit so I’ll be running 19” wheels, so I’m leaning toward the 3.54. You got me excited on the transmission now, I was kind of lost. Was thinking of a TREMEC TKO, but I’ll look into what you were suggesting. Thanks again for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted April 8 Author Share Posted April 8 The TKX looks like a good transmission. Playing with gear/speed calculator I think the 3.3 rear end gearing is the way to go. Nice Z by the way, love the color Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted April 19 Author Share Posted April 19 Graphed some trans and diff gearing options along with my current speeds at Sebring and some theoretical speeds for my build. Apples and Oranges on the cars, but the thing should be faster both in corners and on top speed. I might be a little optimistic on my theoretical speeds, but had to give it a shot. Thinking of option 3 as I get some use of 5th gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 (edited) What size tires will you be running? What rpm are you expecting to set as redline? Also, your calculator has the speed profiles for the option 3 and option 4 swapped. You will have a higher top speed with the 3.3 gear. Edited April 25 by 74_5.0L_Z More info 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted April 26 Author Share Posted April 26 On 4/25/2025 at 7:06 AM, 74_5.0L_Z said: What size tires will you be running? What rpm are you expecting to set as redline? Also, your calculator has the speed profiles for the option 3 and option 4 swapped. You will have a higher top speed with the 3.3 gear. Wow, good catch, I was in the weeds just typing data and didn’t notice. I was thinking of 6,000 rpm’s and thats what the calcs were based on. Not 100% on tires yet, but thinking 19s based on clearing brakes and tire selection, but 18s are possible but smallest I can go. Calcs on speeds were based on 19s 26.67” tire height Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 I’m hoping to get some work done on the car this weekend. So close to being done with tearing stuff down and ready to add stuff. Just got this dual master cylinder kit that I hope I can make work. It’ll let me adjust front/rear brake bias in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted May 10 Author Share Posted May 10 (edited) Got the front suspension and sway bar off today. Fought me a little bit, but impact helped a lot and had to take a sawzall to the toe arms, but it’s all out. Edited May 10 by FastFloridian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
74_5.0L_Z Posted May 12 Share Posted May 12 Do you plan to do any chassis reinforcement? Cage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted May 13 Author Share Posted May 13 On 5/12/2025 at 7:15 AM, 74_5.0L_Z said: Do you plan to do any chassis reinforcement? Cage? Car had a cage already when I bought it. I’ve got a front strut brace that also ties into the firewall (apex), and braces on the inside of the fenders I’ll be welding on soon (apex also). Debating whether I need to beef up the frame rail or not since I’ve got the cage. Below is a pic when I bought it last year that shows the cage a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted 23 hours ago Author Share Posted 23 hours ago Got brake and clutch master cylinders off, and booster off. Booster bolts were a pain. I hate working under the dash area. Need to clean up a few more things then wash and prep engine bay for paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted 5 hours ago Share Posted 5 hours ago 17 hours ago, FastFloridian said: I hate working under the dash area. Yep, join the club. I'm surprised you haven't pulled the dash completely out yet....aren't you putting in a whole new dash eventually? Even if you weren't replacing the dash, the wiring under there is likely a mess, and you would want to get all that fixed up/cleaned up/etc. If you don't have the FSM and wiring schematics yet, you can download free FSMs for all years here: https://www.xenonzcar.com/s30/fsm.html You're making great progress....keep it up, and please keep the updates coming! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastFloridian Posted 3 hours ago Author Share Posted 3 hours ago (edited) 3 hours ago, jhm said: Yep, join the club. I'm surprised you haven't pulled the dash completely out yet....aren't you putting in a whole new dash eventually? Even if you weren't replacing the dash, the wiring under there is likely a mess, and you would want to get all that fixed up/cleaned up/etc. If you don't have the FSM and wiring schematics yet, you can download free FSMs for all years here: https://www.xenonzcar.com/s30/fsm.html You're making great progress....keep it up, and please keep the updates coming! Yep, dash is coming out, and wasn’t expecting to be under there too much yet, lol. It’s getting hot in Florida, already in the 90s, so I’ll be working on the new dash soon and fitting my digital gauges to it inside the nice cool house shortly 😁 Edited 2 hours ago by FastFloridian 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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