UK magazine Mustang review
2/19/07, 05:50 AM
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UK magazine Mustang review
The UK's best car magazine (by a large margin) has been running a 2005 GT for 18 months. Their 'end of term' report was published in the mag at the start of the year, it is now available online:
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evol...ustang_gt.html
"When news got round the office that we were buying a Mustang GT, no one was quite sure who was crazier, Jethro for suggesting it or Harry for going through with it."
Summary: They liked it.
http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evol...ustang_gt.html
"When news got round the office that we were buying a Mustang GT, no one was quite sure who was crazier, Jethro for suggesting it or Harry for going through with it."
Summary: They liked it.
2/19/07, 06:33 AM
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Nice find. Owning a Mustang in Europe I can pretty much relate to what's written in the article.
The only thing I doubt is the power increase from 300 to 370 HP (I assume it's flywheel numbers) with just a CAI (looks like C&L) and a tune.
The only thing I doubt is the power increase from 300 to 370 HP (I assume it's flywheel numbers) with just a CAI (looks like C&L) and a tune.
Once run-in, we returned to Litchfield to have an engine re-map and induction kit fitted. The 4.6-litre V8 was always going to yield more than the stock 300bhp, but quite how much it would give we weren’t quite sure. I know we were all taken aback when the rolling road figures revealed 370bhp! That it also gained an addictively vocal Hollywood car-chase soundtrack when under load was a welcome bonus, and worth the ÂŁ465 price alone.
2/19/07, 06:39 AM
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Yes, if you look at Litchfield's website, they have the dyno chart on there. Not sure how they do it, but to the wheels it's 266ish, with 105 odd hp lumped onto it for drivetrain losses (I presume):
http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/s...product=LIM044
http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/s...product=LIM044
2/19/07, 07:39 AM
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Fuel proved to be our biggest headache with the Mustang. Not due to the amount it drank – motorway journeys would regularly average at 23mpg, mixed driving around 19mpg, McQueen-style clogging-it closer to 16mpg – but due to the infernal click-click-clicking when trying to fill the fuel tank, which burped and spewed petrol onto the forecourt unless you dribbled it into the filler neck.
Litchfield did some investigating and discovered Ford had issued a recall, which involved replacing the tank. Naturally we had this work done, but were disappointed to find that, although much improved, the tank would still choke from time to time. Though infrequent, it was infuriating and always got me cursing the tank’s modest 250-mile range.
Litchfield did some investigating and discovered Ford had issued a recall, which involved replacing the tank. Naturally we had this work done, but were disappointed to find that, although much improved, the tank would still choke from time to time. Though infrequent, it was infuriating and always got me cursing the tank’s modest 250-mile range.
Is Ford reading this article? This is a good documented account of the fuel filling issue experienced on S197 GTs.
2/19/07, 07:41 AM
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Yes, if you look at Litchfield's website, they have the dyno chart on there. Not sure how they do it, but to the wheels it's 266ish, with 105 odd hp lumped onto it for drivetrain losses (I presume):
http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/s...product=LIM044
http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/s...product=LIM044
I think it is just a conversion error. I've seen at most a 25 rwhp increase from a tune and a CAI kit (260 rwhp to 285 rwhp).
2/19/07, 07:46 AM
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Yes, if you look at Litchfield's website, they have the dyno chart on there. Not sure how they do it, but to the wheels it's 266ish, with 105 odd hp lumped onto it for drivetrain losses (I presume):
http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/s...product=LIM044
http://www.litchfieldimports.co.uk/s...product=LIM044
Even with automatic transmissions, powertrain loss is not more than 20%. This means that if they measured ~266 rwhp, then flywheel power can't be more than ~335 HP.
The 370 HP number implies a ~28% powertrain loss to end up with 266 rwhp...
Not even a gearbox with no oil in it and a broken diff would cause such a loss! 
And by the way, 266 rwhp after CAI+tune isn't that impressive, some people have seen numbers in excess of 280 rwhp with the same combo. Something's fishy with their calculations. Too bad it's not the same in reality, I wouldn't mind having 370 flywheel HP after my mods...
Anyway, the most important part is that a European car magazine liked the Mustang!
2/19/07, 08:16 AM
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Yup, that's exactly what I find hard to believe.
Even with automatic transmissions, powertrain loss is not more than 20%. This means that if they measured ~266 rwhp, then flywheel power can't be more than ~335 HP.
The 370 HP number implies a ~28% powertrain loss to end up with 266 rwhp... Not even a gearbox with no oil in it and a broken diff would cause such a loss!
Anyway, the most important part is that a European car magazine liked the Mustang!
Even with automatic transmissions, powertrain loss is not more than 20%. This means that if they measured ~266 rwhp, then flywheel power can't be more than ~335 HP.
The 370 HP number implies a ~28% powertrain loss to end up with 266 rwhp...
Not even a gearbox with no oil in it and a broken diff would cause such a loss! Anyway, the most important part is that a European car magazine liked the Mustang!
2/19/07, 02:25 PM
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Nice review - thanks for the link!
I liked their comment on the radio: "radio tuner isn’t keen to settle on British frequencies. But then I suppose it was only designed to receive two stations: Country and Western…"
the final conclusion (which we knew all along) was also sweet: "Suffice to say that after 18 months and almost 30,000 miles, it’s exceeded all our expectations. It’s a special car in so many ways – an American icon, a performance bargain, a terrific long-distance partner and an entertaining driver’s car – that despite its undeniable shortcomings it always gives you enough positives to push those failings into the background and leave you feeling good about driving it."
I liked their comment on the radio: "radio tuner isn’t keen to settle on British frequencies. But then I suppose it was only designed to receive two stations: Country and Western…"
the final conclusion (which we knew all along) was also sweet: "Suffice to say that after 18 months and almost 30,000 miles, it’s exceeded all our expectations. It’s a special car in so many ways – an American icon, a performance bargain, a terrific long-distance partner and an entertaining driver’s car – that despite its undeniable shortcomings it always gives you enough positives to push those failings into the background and leave you feeling good about driving it."
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