http://www.thecarconnection.com/index.asp?...8&sid=184&n=157

Quote:

Ford officials confirmed the new Cobra would stick with the base Mustang's solid axle, rather than going for an independent rear. North American product development czar Phil Martens told TheCarConnection.com the decision was made for two key reasons. He insisted the results of the IRS system just weren't better enough to justify adding 180 pounds to Mustang's curb weight.

Actually, Shelby revealed, there was another reason. The results also weren't good enough to justify a projected $5000 cost penalty. So we'll have to wait and see whether they're right, once Ford has a Cobra GT500 ready for the press fleet.

 

What happened to "M3 Fighter?" What a load of crap. The sad thing is, they will still have no trouble selling these things right off the shelf.

 

Isn't the GT beating the M3 at all the race events?

 

I'd be interested in some documented proof of that.

 

I think there were threads on this site that had the documented proof. I will look for them but I don't visit any other site...whybother with that?

 

I'd be more interested to see how it would do against an M3 down a twisting back road, someplace I'd actually drive, rather than some silky smooth race track where a go-cart suspension would do just fine.

 

Agreed. If Ford didn't intend to go all the way, they shouldn't have "called out" the M3.

 

http://www.grand-am.com/Events/SessionResu...p?SessionID=440

 

...and why is it that just about every other performance car company on the face of the earth seems to be able to design great IRS systems for less than $5K. They should have farmed this part of the engineering to the Mazda team that came up with the RX-8s IRS, they seemed to have absolutely no trouble coming up with a state of the art IRS -- plus an aluminum multi-link front suspension -- on a $25K car.

What's Ford's excuse?

 

You're kidding right? Those are "RACE CARS".

 

Wow, are you serious, race cars at race events, what an interesting concept.

 

So are the M3's they are competing against. I think it is laughable that you ask for proof of wins at the track, get proof, and then try to minimize it.

 

The point is they aren't stock, or even "lightly modified" daily drivers on a road race course. You can't use them as an example of the "Mustang beating an M3". Just because the C5 Vette used to win at LeMans all the time, doesn't mean if i am a C5 Vette owner I can claim my car will school 911's. Your argument is completely invalid.

 

Doesn't matter what you throw in front of the IRS guys, they'll come up with something to refute that claim.

Rhumb, grab an M3, come out to Arizona, and I'll run through the twisties with ya

 

It still has an SRA, my point is completely valid. My original post said it was a race event. SRA beat IRS on a road course.

 

Those are race cars, but the Grand Am series is closely tied to production cars. These aren't silhouette cars like Nascar.

I will admit that these are the results after only one race, and the race was at Daytona where it favors horsepower over handling. If you watched the race (like I did) the Mustangs definitely had a power advantage in the straights and the banking. We'll have to see how they do on some of the tighter road racing circuits. Here, the BMW may have an advantage.

Still, for a first time outing, its still an impressive win.

 

Are you kidding? Do you have an automotive engineering degree and experience designing race cars? Because if not, I'm sure that Carroll Shelby and the rest of the Ford engineering/racing teams know a heck of a lot more than you about the minute differences between using an IRS vs a live-axle on this car. If they say the difference isn't worth it, THEN IT'S NOT WORTH IT. Where is it written that great touring cars have to have an IRS setup? You'd probably think a go-cart would handle better than the Mustang if it had an IRS. I doubt that you have the skills to drive either the M3 or the Mustang to the point where what type of suspension it has comes into play. Sheesh.

 

If you really know how to drive, you don't need IRS.

 

Not trying to get in the middle of your discussion, but . . . here is a link to the Grand-Am Cup rules. Section 7 dealing with suspension . .

http://www.grandamerican.com/CONTENT/Docs/...0GAC%209-14.pdf

And actually, in the Grand-Am Cup the cars have the most "stock" set up. It is a better comparison between models than the GT1 cars at Le Mans. And since Porsche (this year) races in GT2 there couldn't be a comparison to the GT1 'Vettes . . . .with any real validity.

 

AMEN!
I've been waiting for such a good post since the "IRS" discussion began :worship: