Not sure how you came to the conclusion that the thead was "elitist" -- about a vacuous term there is these days -- as most actually stood up for the Mustang and most of the criticisms seemed pretty well founded and in context (Mustang being a much cheaper car than a Porsche). Sure, a few inevitable fanboy posts, not so different from this forum, but nice to see different perspectives. I'd like to see a Porsche get as charitable a treatment on this board.

Anyhooo, back to OP, yeah I recall the 412/390 figure running on 91 octane rather than 87 swill. I wonder if the ECU is flexible enough to get even more power out of 93 octane (highest pump gas I see around DC). 425/400 would make for nice round figures :-)

 

I've been on 6speedonline now for going on 3 years when I ordered my 997S, I have always been on Mustang websites as well as BMW M3 sites. These are the car I am interested in.

Dave

 

My money is on Ford set the (factory safe) maximum tuning for 91 & 412hp. Like the Bullitt, the adaptive spark ignition senses lesser octane and pulls timing to avoid damage on 87.

But aftermarket tuners would surely be able to tweak for areas that have 93... but without the flexible aspect from the factory (thus far, no tuner I am aware of has designed Bullitt tunes to run on 93 but pull timing for tanks of 87. Everything I've read you have to upload another tune if you drop to 87.)

 

I liked on the 6speed forum how some of the guys were bashing the Mustang by saying it was so crude and couldn't go around corners...yet they also admitted they had last driven one 7 years ago. As we all know the difference between the SN95 and the S197 chassis is not even comparable. They are totally right that the SN95 was crude and couldn't corner...etc... but I wonder what they would be saying if they had driven a 2010 instead of a 2002?

 

You ever drive a 2001 Bullitt? It was a reasonably balanced handling car, given the state of the SN-95 technology of the time.

 

Thats like these guys at my work who complain about Domestic Cars (compared to imports) . . . . . . Their stories usually involve comparing their 1970 Ford or Chrysler which rusted in Chicago . . .. . then going on to say their 2009 Toyota doesn't rust in California!

 

As a 2001 Bullitt and 2005 GT owner . . .. . I would say the 01 Bullitt handles BETTER that the 05 (the suspension is tighter and the car corners much flatter) . . . . .. . Better is probably an overstatement . . .. . . but considering the floorpan was 100 years old .. . . . it handles good!

 

So with the adaptive spark ignition, will it be worth getting an after market tune?

 

+1. It's 412/390 on 91 octane. 402/377 on 87 octane.

 

I can live with that.

 

I can also probably live with 425hp running 94 octane. Or maybe 426 hp.

 

Trust me; you'll want more - we always do. I'm at 455hp running 92 octane and would like a little more. I'm just 25-30hp away from running 11's with my '07 GT.

 

I'm thinking the same. If the engine is continuously adjusting for maximum performance at all speeds, maybe a tune can't add anything the engine isn't already doing.

 

Modding an N/A Ford engine has become less and less productive as the years go by. Ford gives us an optimized engine from the gates.

You could DOUBLE the 1993 5.0's N/A power with a heads/cam/intake package and associated fuel system upgrades. Anyone seen a 600HP N/A 3v running around?

Boost is really the way to go.

 

I'm in the same boat. When I was looking at the new models after not having really paid much attention in awhile, I was checking to see how much cargo capacity it had and I was happy to see it had fold down pass through rear seats, as well as the LATCH system. :-P And SYNC is awesome.

 

doubling the power would mean 410HP or almost as much as the new motor makes stock. BTW, 350rwhp out of a 5.0HO is pretty tough.

Since you don't know how the new engine will respond to mods, what was the point of this post?

 

The fact is though, as you move up to the 80+hp/litre on NA engines the factory already has a pretty good package to begin with and you will be hard pressed to make more hp with the just simple bolt ons or a tune. The 5.0HO I believe he isn't referring to the Coyote powerplant but the older OHV motors of legend. The 5.0L Coyote powerplant should already be darn near 350rwhp out of the box.

Dave

 

Kinda funny now that the old 5.0s were always listed as HO whereas it appears the new one is not.

 

Who needs to know it's a high output engine we're getting. We all know by kow it is . Ain't gonna get much higher HP numbers with that 5.0 motor in NA form.

 

I'd love to see 100hp/litre ala BMW M motors. The M3 makes 414hp with only 4.0Ls, but gets way worse fuel economy. You got to dump a lot of fuel to get these motors to spin to 8400rpm. Also the Coyote powerplant gets way more torque...

Dave