After a careful comparison, I've decided my next daily driver is going to be a Mustang rather than a Camaro. As this is going to be my daily driver, the GT and SS were never under consideration (unfortunately). The news (rumor) that Ford is finally ditching the 4.0 in favor of the Lincoln's 3.7, along with the availability of a 6-speed manual tranny, seals the deal in favor of the Mustang. I have a question about the rear end (the axle, not the rear bodywork!) though. With rumors that the 3.7 in the Mustang is going to be pushing north of 300 HP (call me skeptical), is Ford going to stick with the 7.5" rear in the V6 cars? The reason I ask is that this car is going to get driven through typical New England winters, and a limited-slip differential is a MUST (comes standard in manual trans Camaros, by the way...hint to Ford if you're reading this). I have a line on a brand new, still in the box, limited slip diff. for a 7.5" rear end for cheap money, but I don't want to buy it if Ford is going to be upgrading the base cars to the 8.8". Any thoughts, rumors or speculation? Thanks!

 

i would love to see the v6 get the 8.8" rear and the gt/gt500 get a 9" rear for 2011 and up. but chances of it happening?? no one knows, as stated many times on here that there is only rumors on certain areas of the vehicle. soooo to answer your question, no one knows. stay tuned for the LA Auto show, and some if not all of your questions will hopefully be answered.

 

Consider that Ford has used 8.8" rearends with the 4.0L V6 4x4 Ranger pickup for quite a few years, while standard Rangers get the 7.5". This tells me that at some point in performance or severity of duty, Ford sees a need for the 8.8" rearend. Perhaps going 300+ hp in the base 2011 Mustang will justify the switch to 8.8's across the entire model range?

 

If the rear axle in the 2011 doesn't meet your needs, you've got options. You can buy full axle assemblies from sites like NewTakeOff. While this web site doesn't currently have much in the way of 2010 specific pieces, I expect that'll start picking up as the Steedas and Roushes of the world start selling modified special editions. Who knows, an 8.8 axle from a 2005-2009 GT may well fit under the 2010 and 2011 V6 Mustangs, since they are practically the same under the skin.

If I were in the market for a T-Lok, I would give serious consideration to buying the full axle instead. The NewTakeOff axle is not that much more expensive than just the T-Lok or Auburn, when you consider (1) the labor it will take to install it, and (2) the fact that you'll still have a 7.5 rear end.

 

My experience with the '05 V6 car I owned was great-the car didn't have limited slip or traction control (Which I think can actually be a hindrance in heavy snow, IMHO.)-it was a 5R55 autobox and I never had trouble in the winters here in NE Ohio. These cars just do not stink in inclement weather like a Fox body. Just my .02 worth. Of course Traction-Lok is desirable for many other reasons.

 

Everyone is expecting a Mustang supercar at the same price.

 

No need for a 9", the 8.8 is plenty tough across the board.

 

Well, to be honest it really doesn't work like that. The performance of the new Mustang will do less to dictate pricing than the actual cost of building the car, and while many folks look at items like a 300+hp V6, a 6-speed manual, and the possibility of a LSD and think 'wow, that is going to add to the bottom line', the reality is that we often overlook a lot of the things which are already in place which add cost.

Example? The best one I can think of is the 4.0L Cologne V6, with the emphasis here being on the word Cologne. Simply building that engine in Germany means that it suffers from seriously expensive labor costs, and severely restricted production over the last few years due to the decline in popularity of the Explorer means that economies of scale are no longer doing as much to offset that as they once did. Throw in the fact that the engine then has to be shipped here from Germany and my money says that the Cologne has cost Ford more to build than any other V6 in their lineup for years now.

Throw in the knowledge that the new Duratec V6 is supposedly very cost efficient, Ford says the new Duratec is a less expensive piece to produce than the older 2.5/3.0L models they replaced, and there exists good reason to hope Mustang V6 pricing may not move at all outside of an adjustment for inflation.

 

Wow, well put! And I'd add that I seriously doubt the Germans are using that 4.0L V6 in any Ford of Europe offerings so that engine is nearly extinct.

 

That would be cool.
If they put an 8.8 they can use the weaker 28 spline, but preferably 31 spline would be sweet. I think most 8.8 equipped Rangers have the 28 spline (non FX4). And SN95 GT's too right?

 

I can't speak for the IRS rearend Cobras, but I know the Mustang GT did not get 31 spline axles until 2005... so yes, the SN95 GT's also had 28 spline axles.

 

IIRC, the '99 Cobras had 28-spline, but the '00R and everything after that got 31-spline.

 

There is a significant production control and material management/logistics advantage (ie cost savings) for ford to drop the 7.5 and give all of them 8.8, if the vendor can keep up and not have to add tooling...

that said, will it be done?? will that savings offset the price difference?? Who knows.

 

That was my thought. If the 7.5 becomes marginal behind a 300+ HP engine, and economies of scale make the 8.8 cheaper, might Ford just axe the 7.5 altogether? Nahh...that would make too much sense!

 

If they leave it as an open diff, then the 7.5 will be ok. However one wheel peal was so bad in my 5-Speed 2004 with only 193 HP, I can't see them staying with it at 300 HP. What's the point of all this extra power if you can't put it to the pavement ??

LSD is std. in the MT V6 Camaro, so it better at least be std. in the lighter MT V6 Mustang. Unless they are going to be putting 275 wide meats out back like on the RS Camaro option ... I've read that the open-diff AT V6 RS Camaro has a hard time doing even a 1 wheel peal burnout with these fat tires !!

The T-Lok 7.5 was borderline back in the 80's GT (less HP & Torque than this 3.7 will be capable of) and in a lot lighter car. IMO an 8.8 will be mandatory if they offer T-Lok on the 2011 V6 Mustang.

Doug

 

I hope Ford offers an 8.8 with T-Lok standard. The only negative is weight. I think A 8.8 with T-Lok weighs 50 lbs over the 7.5. I noticed Shelby swapped out the 7.5 on the CS6 so I have to think its at the limits at this power level.

 

If you get a Mustang, but don't get a V8, then why bother? There are MANY better non-V8 cars out there for the money. Always aim for the top.

 

There are many better cars out there...price considered....than a ~20k Mustang powered by a 3.7L V8 making 300hp or better, sporting a six speed manual, and GT level brakes? Honestly, I can't think of any.

 

Agreed! The V6 Stang will be a tremendous value in 2011!

 

Well, if that was the case, than you should be saying if it isn't a supercharged V8, than why bother? After all, the GT500 would certainly be "the top" you should be aiming for.

If the V6 gets the same driveline (tranny, diff, axles, etc.)... I can't believe I am saying this.... but I might consider it. It could weigh a good chunk less than the GT, and if you slap a turbo on it, it could have more power, the same (or less) weight and potentially better fuel efficiency than the GT. And be quite close in price to boot.

Hmmmmmm........

What is more important? Performance, or the glorious V8 exhaust noise and bragging rights?

I would still probably go for the 5.0, but it certainly makes the V6 a viable performance option, where it never was before (heck, it will have close to the same hp as the current GT!).


Such as???