With rapidly growing gas prices, having a powerful v8 is becoming pricy.
From the looks of things it dosent look like the gas prices are going anywhere but up.

So what about multi displacement?

There are multiple forms of this, but the most recent and in my mind effective is here.
Multi displacement turns off one bank of a v8.
therefore running it on 4 cylinders when you want.


What it ford were to make that option for the mustangs to come?
Dodge has recently done this with the Dodge Charger 6.1 litre hemi.

id be willing to pay the 2 or 3 grand extra msrp. Because in the long run i think you would be saving money.

The thought of turning off 4 cylinders and just running it on 4 is nostalgic to me..
yet retaining the v8 option when you want to fly.

Power when you want it. Gas saving when you need it.

Opinions?[B]

 

Has anybody seen any tests results of how much the variaible displacement Hemi improves gas mileage over the fixed displacement hemi? I just wonder if it really is worth added complexity...

 

hmm i've been wondering the same thing lately.

but like john mentioned, do we really have proof that all this displacement on demand works as well as ppl say? cuz i havent even heard about it lately.

meh, if it got the mileage of a 4 banger when you wnated it to, im all for it. but that is alot of complexity being added, and what wouold that do to the 'stangs modability?

 

I think this would only work when you were cruising. Any kind of accelleration would require the full 8 as the engine would be under too mush strain with just 4 cylinders firing. Let's face it, not all four bangers return the mileage. When the engine is under a lot of strain, the mileage suffers, look at the Evo's, they return about 18mpg.....

 

if only four cylinders were active, why would it strain more than any other normal four banger under acceleration?

i mean, i guess if you drive aggresively, any car can get bad mileage but why would there be more strain in this case? wouldnt the whole car act like a I4.

the evo is understress from the forced induction and such. and its not like ford will try and squeeze 300 horses from half an engine... or would they? lol

 

Seems to work pretty effectively and invisiably on the standard Hemi's (the 6.1 version does not have it). Not sure how easy it would be to implement on an OHC design versus the cam-in-block OHC Hemis and now, various Chevys.

But with gas inexorably heading for permanent $3-4+ / gallon status, the simplistic "just tick a bigger motor in her" school of performance may be far less appealing, especially in a car aimed at a more cost-consious clientel like the Mustang. While that approach is effective in a way, $50-$75 fill ups may be a much for Joe Sixpack if necessary too often. So anything that would improve efficiency/decrease waste such as newer engine tech, less weight, better aerodynamics, etc. would, I think, be much more welcome in our higher priced energy environment. And while there might be some added cost at purchase time, the end result may well be a far more affordable car in the long run in terms of overall ownership costs.

And that's not to mention potential ancilliary benefits such a better handling, braking, accelerations, and top speed many of these efficiency improvers might render.

 

It would be appealing, but only if it provided more than marginal gains in MPG. As it is now, the GT is only rated 3-5 less MPG than my current nine year old 4 banger. If displacement put MPG above 30+ then it would start to get appealing for me. There's always the V6 - it's rated exactly the same MPG as my 4 - and if the GT's MPG was rated any worse, then the V6 would've started to look better to me.

 

Hey, it's still less than milk and compared to other countries we get a pretty good deal

It seems like a Multiple displacment would just add ALOT to the msrp, and it would be mad complicated, which would take away some of the simplicity in modding a mustang

i saw in someones sig, take the 4.6 and put the escapes 70kW electric motor, that would be really cool because the electric motor can propel you up to lik 30 mph and it creates instant torque!

 

The hemis with multi displacement do not get mileage much better than a regular 5.7L hemi V8. Im not sure on the numbers but i think it is only about 3 or 4mpg improvement. It would take a long time for that marginal improvement to offset the huge premium of a multi displavement engine. I think further down the road this would be a better option, but right now they are still relatively new and we all know how quickly "new" technology becomes obsolete.

 

The technology would would improve efficiency/decrease waste as rhumb stated but I really wonder if the Mustang is the best application for it. Use in a sedan or F-150 would yield greater benefits for Ford and consumers as a whole given the greater sales volume.

There is also the unknown impact multi-displacement would have on the ability to modify our beloved 'Stangs. On the surface, it would add a layer of mechanical and electronic complexity that might hinder the ability to make enhancements. However, most upgrades increase engine efficiency for a given unit of fuel consumed so the transition is likely to be seamless.

I would still vote to retain static displacement on our 'Stangs and spend the money for development on improving other areas of the car. Just my $.02

 

hey, i'm feeling the pinch right now as i'm still breaking in my new baby, but i have to agree with you that it would be much more practical in a sedan (the new impala has it i believe) or a pick-up. i know my dad would appreciate having it in his truck as he does a lot of highway driving and it uses gas like it's going out of style...

kris

 

that would be nice to save gas money and still have power...especially on a mustang

 

neat technology. but it probably doesnt add that much. look at chevy they use it in some of their trucks and they get about 1 MPG some less than the comparable ford truck or SUV. for me that is worthless b/c it is more expensive and after warranty just one more electro gremlin for us to fix.

 

The Mustang is a purists car. Not too many novelties just pure fun. Adding too much computer related BS just distracts from the whole appeal of the car to me