SoonerLS Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 There have been a couple of GT350s at my local dragstrip. With the flat plane crank, they sound wickedly good. However, their times were not stellar. Of course they were manuals and not driven by pro dragracers but they appeared to lack low end torque. I was told that they were very difficult to launch without bogging. The 10 speed could help them, though, since the powerband appears to be pretty narrow and they like to rev. IIRC, the 5.2FPC doesn't have a lot of low-end torque, but it's intended more for at-speed work, not drag racing. It's more like the Coyote, making its torque and power higher in the revs--it starts slower, but it keeps pulling up to the redline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 (edited) I agree, Sooner. They weren't really designed with drag racing in mind. Edited November 9, 2017 by brucelinc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Strictly for road courses, not dragstrips. It sacrifices low end torque for high end horsepower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 (edited) Ahhh, the sound of that FPC with the engine control system blipping the throttle to match revs for the automatic like only a professional driver could with a manual. All at the hands of your ordinary Joe on a road course. I saw a video of that somewhere with a Ferrari 458 - it was pretty awesome! Edited November 9, 2017 by akirby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 I saw a video of that somewhere with a Ferrari 458 - it was pretty awesome! I bet that was pretty awesome! I'm still bummed my video didn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Brainerd International Raceway has street legal car drag racing and autocross on the same night. When the GT350s show up, I always expect them to do the autocross but they do the drag strip, instead. Odd, I know, but so is drag racing a Lincoln Continental. At least, I have no plans to do the autocross with the Lincoln. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoonerLS Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 At least, I have no plans to do the autocross with the Lincoln. No guts, no glory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Much to the dismay of enthusiasts - if the GT350 had an automatic you'd increase sales 4x, the same would be true of the Focus ST/RS as well as the Fiesta ST. It actually bad that Automatics are not offered, getting higher sales even if automatics can make sure these cars live on. I could even see people going from a GT to a GT350 if an automatic was offered. It does make the car more practical for a lot of people and being stick only cause thousands to walk away from owning one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Nothing wrong with a 7 spd DCT auto-manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 Much to the dismay of enthusiasts - if the GT350 had an automatic you'd increase sales 4x, the same would be true of the Focus ST/RS as well as the Fiesta ST. It actually bad that Automatics are not offered, getting higher sales even if automatics can make sure these cars live on. I could even see people going from a GT to a GT350 if an automatic was offered. It does make the car more practical for a lot of people and being stick only cause thousands to walk away from owning one. The GT350 isn't so much about selling a bunch as it is keeping the Mustang "alive" and keeping many interested. I would wager they make more money by selling the GT to the person who doesn't want a stick than they would selling another GT350. Yes it's expensive, but I bet the profit per unit isn't as high as a GT. Now, the dealer, on the other hand...he doesn't get to take his $10k ADM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 IIRC, the 5.2FPC doesn't have a lot of low-end torque, but it's intended more for at-speed work, not drag racing. It's more like the Coyote, making its torque and power higher in the revs--it starts slower, but it keeps pulling up to the redline. And to assist that, Ford uses a light flywheel which makes the cars less suitable for power launches but yeah, once on a roll the power just keeps coming... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 No guts, no glory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VrFV5r8cs0 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 It's like everything is finally coming together with the Mustang and buyers that were holding off should be pleased by the new car. Ford has actually worked on a lot of areas in the car to get the results we now see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucelinc Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 If these changes had been on the 2017 models, I would have one instead of the Lincoln. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 (edited) Which maes me wonder how much more head room is there with power upgrades to the 5.0, it has a 7500 red line and room for tune and cold air package - 480-490 HP may be possible. Edited November 10, 2017 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSchicago Posted November 11, 2017 Share Posted November 11, 2017 Which maes me wonder how much more head room is there with power upgrades to the 5.0, it has a 7500 red line and room for tune and cold air package - 480-490 HP may be possible. Ford is sandbagging the numbers. They are already making 480-500 at the crank. 500RWHP, should be a tune, E85, and CAI away. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 11, 2017 Author Share Posted November 11, 2017 (edited) Ford is sandbagging the numbers. They are already making 480-500 at the crank. 500RWHP, should be a tune, E85, and CAI away. Thye did that for years in Australia with the Supercharged Coyote n the Falcon, the rated power 335 Kw or the final 351Kw was so modest that on the dyno, 430-450 HP was on the rear wheels. That drove the competition nuts because it made their power claims almost irrelevant and gave them nothing to work with. Back on the '18 Mustang, I saw a claim of a 11.89 time slip with around 119 mph, so I think that your claim of sandbagging will be proved correct, that why I wondered if Ford will drip feed improved official numbers for a few years just to keep the competition on the hop... Edited November 11, 2017 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurtisH Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 Thye did that for years in Australia with the Supercharged Coyote n the Falcon, the rated power 335 Kw or the final 351Kw was so modest that on the dyno, 430-450 HP was on the rear wheels. That drove the competition nuts because it made their power claims almost irrelevant and gave them nothing to work with. Back on the '18 Mustang, I saw a claim of a 11.89 time slip with around 119 mph, so I think that your claim of sandbagging will be proved correct, that why I wondered if Ford will drip feed improved official numbers for a few years just to keep the competition on the hop... The 11.89 time slip with around 119 mph is not stock. Only minor mods, but it wasn’t stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 (edited) The 11.89 time slip with around 119 mph is not stock. Only minor mods, but it wasn’t stock. I get that. it had, an oil separator, lowered springs, Resonator delete and a MT tire package but the engine itself was standard - no tune or even headers. Those 11.92, 1189, 11.88 passes are pretty consistent times for a lightly modified car. Edited November 12, 2017 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron W. Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 (edited) Why do you think it couldn't be stock? As mentioned earlier many things could affect the time, track conditions, driver, tires, air pressure in the tires, hell outside temps for that matter. We're talking about less than a 1 second difference. Edited November 12, 2017 by Ron W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 Why do you think it couldn't be stock? As mentioned earlier many things could affect the time, track conditions, driver, tires, air pressure in the tires, hell outside temps for that matter. We're talking about less than a 1 second difference. They said in the video that they had made the mods listed above. They also took the passenger and rear seats out by the end. But I agree in general. They were close enough to 11's that I would like to have seen them work more on breaking into there completely stock. Based on the video commentary they were still working on the most effective launch even after the mods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 12, 2017 Author Share Posted November 12, 2017 They said in the video that they had made the mods listed above. They also took the passenger and rear seats out by the end. But I agree in general. They were close enough to 11's that I would like to have seen them work more on breaking into there completely stock. Based on the video commentary they were still working on the most effective launch even after the mods. In the 11.88 pass it looked like both of those seats were still in place but it was only a quick view of the interior at the end of the run.. In any case, it shows the potential of the car with a few basic mods..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurtisH Posted November 12, 2017 Share Posted November 12, 2017 Why do you think it couldn't be stock? As mentioned earlier many things could affect the time, track conditions, driver, tires, air pressure in the tires, hell outside temps for that matter. We're talking about less than a 1 second difference. I didn’t say it couldn’t be stock, I just pointed out that it was lightly modded. I’ve seen the videos. There’s also a message thread about it on mustang6g.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted November 13, 2017 Author Share Posted November 13, 2017 in any regard, a sub 12 second 1/4 mile with a stock engine calibration is pretty impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted November 13, 2017 Share Posted November 13, 2017 Here's a 2018 first drive: https://www.autoblog.com/2017/11/13/2018-ford-mustang-first-drive-review/ The bottom line is that Ford took the best parts of the previous Mustang and enhanced them. That's a conservative play, but a savvy one. And it pays off in the Malibu hills. Roaring through the canyons in a Race Red GT, when most people are waking up to Folgers, formed this perfect melding of car and setting. California's a long way from Detroit, but the Mustang feels right at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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