What is Ford thinking??

When asked if the 2014 Mustang, the 50th anniversary of the car, would drop the solid axle:

"We don't see any end to it. It's robust, we understand it, and we can keep it competitive from a ride and handling point of view."

Ok, let's break this down and consider each statement.

"We don't see any end to it." That's a shame, that's all there is to say.

" It's robust" He's correct, it is robust. Do you need that kind of robistness in a car with 600 lb payload? A truck needs that to haul 1000's of pounds but a mustang??

"we understand it" Wow, are you saying you don't understand IRS?? My faith in Ford just plummeted.

"we can keep it competitive from a ride and handling point of view" Really? Last I checked before you could get a Mustang to handle you had to work out serious demons out of the suspension, both front and rear.

Discuss...........

Translations:

DrBoost wrote: "We don't see any end to it."

"It's not hurting sales any. These things are still flying off the lots."

" It's robust"

"People still race the car with it, and seem to like it for drag racing."

"we understand it"

"It would cost money to do proper R&D on a new system, and to retool plants. The one time we tried to put IRS on a Mustang, it bombed."

"we can keep it competitive from a ride and handling point of view"

"People still like to drive these things, and the liveaxle isn't hurting sales as much as the price increase from making the car more complex would."

In short: they wouldn't make any more money on the car by switching from a liveaxle to IRS. They'd probably loose money, because fewer people would buy the car. The Mustang would be several thousand dollars more expensive with IRS.

aaaand, just the other night at the track i saw one of those guys grenade either a half shaft or the rear end on one of those irs-equipped mustangs

The majority of Mustang buyers could care less, and probably don't know the difference anyway.

Of the ones who do care, most want the live axle. They're looking at the drag strip, where the live axle is superior -- or at least conventional wisdom would say it is.

And then there's the tiny group of people who want the IRS.

The math just isn't there.

It's cheap. duh.

'03-'04 built Cobra's with DR's at the strip means failure of rears.

I don't blame Ford.

IRS = cornering

live axle = durable (can handle power)

Your average Mustang driver wants to drive fast in straight lines only (if at all), as turning corners is for people driving "ricer crap" like Exiges rolls eyes

you don't get off that island much, do you?

I don't see a problem with the live-axle rear end.

Something to ponder.

Add up the sales of all the popular IRS CHEAP sports cars, and add in the US made vette. All of the ones that cost less than the mustang.

All of them.

I bet you still don't get the sales numbers that the Mustang gets.

It's all about money.

Besides, raise your hand if you would buy a BRAND NEW Mustang if it had IRS tomorrow.

On top of that, saying that live axles can't handle is a myth. A well position live axle will drive circles around a poor designed IRS. If you doubt that, go back in time to see exactly how many wins the BMW coupes had agains the Alfa coupes in Trans Am.

Or did we also forget that the new Mustang won some victories in some of the feeder Grand Am classes?? Live axle + struts beat all the rest....

Eric

It's all about money.

+1. I'm guessing Ford's expecting a little of that $600 billion in bailout...err..."stimulus" money for new gub-ment vehicles too.

Drag racing is one of the biggest sales for Mustangs, and you may be shocked at how many of the IRS Cobras had their IRS taken out in lou of a solid axle for drag racing. As much as I would love to see an IRS made more affordable, it's just not in their markets best interests. I'd love to make my old Vic IRS one of these days.

If you say a mustang doesn't handle, I say you haven't driven an '05+.

iirc, the irs setup was half-assed to begin with. because they didn't want to convert all of the mustangs to irs, just the cobras, it had to bolt up to the original mounting points for the live axle bits. because of this, it weighed quite a bit more than it really should have

Ford is thinking with their wallets, and rightly so! It's said on the 03/04 Cobra boards that some 50% of SC Cobra's have been swapped back to live axle, think about that.

Mustang's are sold to drag racers, and those guys want a solid axle, period. The new Challenger NHRA drag cars? All solid axles. Ford knows their customers on the Mustang and they're making the right choice.

BTW if you say a rear axle doesn't handle you haven't been to the track much. Mustang's win all sorts of stuff and watch one race of the Camaro-Mustang Challenge, or even better the American Iron. Also 1st Gen RX-7's have a solid rear axle. Last I checked they were still winning road races and championships.

Live axles can't handle, just ask Sam Strano.

I <3 C-Prepared.

When Ford was developing the 2005 Mustang, they got focus groups together and asked them what they wanted in the car. One of the detail that they went over was whether they should put IRS on the car or not. They seriously considered it, and probably WOULD have put it on there if the demand was high enough. But a larger percentage of people wanted the solid-axle setup - so they went with that.

P71 wrote: Ford is thinking with their wallets, and rightly so! It's said on the 03/04 Cobra boards that some 50% of SC Cobra's have been swapped *back* to live axle, think about that. Mustang's are sold to drag racers, and those guys want a solid axle, period. The new Challenger NHRA drag cars? All solid axles. Ford knows their customers on the Mustang and they're making the *right* choice. BTW if you say a rear axle doesn't handle you haven't been to the track much. Mustang's win all sorts of stuff and watch one race of the Camaro-Mustang Challenge, or even better the American Iron. Also 1st Gen RX-7's have a solid rear axle. Last I checked they were *still* winning road races and championships.

Anyone for a challenge car?

If there is interest in SE MI, I may be interested in helping.

E-

I guess you are all correct. Dangit I HATE being wrong. Anyway, yeah, most ‘stangs are sold to drag racers. I still look at all cars and try to size up how well it’s gonna turn right and left. To me NASCAR and IHRA just aren’t my bag. When I see a mustang I think of it as a possible auto-X or road course car but I know I am in the minority, buy a lot.

On a smooth, fast track I really can't imagine the IRS being any faster than a straight-axle. The circle track guys are doing a pretty good job putting some camber into the rear ends and making the axles last.

It is hard for enthusiasts (myself included) to remember that the car business is a business. As such It must make all decisions in a "cost/benefit" frame of mind. Sometimes the benefit just isn't justifiable... Sometimes it is...

DrBoost wrote: To me NASCAR and IHRA just aren’t my bag.

Aren't they kinda the same thing?

Just like leaf springs are outdated as well and pushrods - Silly corvette-get with the times.

Does the C6 still use leaf springs?

confuZion3 wrote: Does the C6 still use leaf springs?

YUPPERZZZ, btw tomorrow I'm down for some Forza after 8pm eastern