5.M0NSTER

I think your estimation is about right. I track mine, and I've seen other Mustangs at track days, but you find a lot more at the drag strips. There are some people on this forum who like to go fast in corners. Particularly the GT Track Packs and Boss Mustang guys. But even the base GTs do autocross and track days.

Also I must say that although I wish I had IRS on my 2014 GT Track Pack, the suspension setup on the track pack cars is really good (compared to base GT anyways). Ford did a great job with the SRA on these cars. If anything, the setup really needs better shock control for fast lateral transitions. Most of the time (unless it's bumpy at the apex or exit) I don't notice the solid axle too much.

2011 Kona Blue

Well and just think. The new year is coming so plenty of time to get dumber.

Moustang

Wow.

Do you race 100% of the time?

IRS is MORE COMFORTABLE AT ANY SPEED. PERIOD!

Like I said, sit in the back of your car and have someone drive down a bumpy road. Do you think being bounced up and down and tossed from side to side is comfortable? Riding in the back of a Mustang is like riding in the bed of a pickup truck, and guess why. They both have solid axle rear ends.


It's really simple.

With a solid axle rear end if the tire goes up the whole car goes up.

With IRS if the tire goes up the car stays flat.


Regardless of the speed, that is a fact. Even at a dead stop it's true.

Put a brick on the ground and drive your Mustang until the front tire is on top and look at how the car sits. Almost totally flat, isn't it? That's independent suspension at work. Now pull forward and stop with your rear tire on the brick and look at how much the back end has raised and tilted. That's your solid axle.


Next time you drive over a speed bump and that rear end raises way up and then drops down with a bounce, thank your solid axle rear end for that. That's just the inevitable result of supporting the chassis on the ends of the solid axle rather than supporting it on a center hinge and letting the tires move up and down independently of the chassis.

Brandon302

That's my favorite part, driving over uneven pavement and feeling the back end teeter-totter around.

Moustang

You should try checking actual numbers rather than just looking at what drag racing enthusiasts say.

I guarantee you that for every hardcore drag racer that is pushing so much horsepower from their Mustang that they NEED a solid axle you can find around 10,000 Mustang owners who have never had their car on a track at all.

And by NEEDING a solid axle, I mean you are pushing much more than 1,000hp.

Because the Ford IRS can already handle that much.


There is a solid 10.3 second 1/4 mile from a 4 door Ford Falcon which has IRS.



Are you running significantly faster than that? No? Then you do NOT need a solid rear axle and gain absolutely nothing by having one.

kylerohde

Exactly. The vast, vast majority of people that buy Mustangs don't ever go near a race track with their car, be it a drag strip, road course or autocross parking lot. They may dream of it but most can't afford it (like me). Don't get me wrong. I love racing and wish like hell I had the money to do it but, the fact is, it's a minority of the population that's shrinking even more because the people with the money to do it are getting older and the ones that want to can't afford it anymore.

The fact that I've done track touring at Road America in mine probably puts me in the very small minority of people who have ever driven their Mustang on any track at all. So to build the car with a feature that's a negative with 95% of its buyers (or more) is stupid and I'm glad Ford finally realized/admitted it.

newpony

Perhaps the numbers are no higher for road racing or autocross because until now the Mustang never had IRS. With this new generation Mustang maybe you will see more enthusiast taking the Mustang more seriously for those task.

Toxix

I'll have to agree with others, the stuff you do say is quite dumb.
Atleast back up what you're saying or do some research before you post.

From what you're saying the Stang isn't meant to be a cornering beast, yet the BMW M3 is; Here's a quote from Motor Trend's 2011 Mustang GT vs 2011 BMW M3:

"The fastest lap went to the BMW with a professional driver behind the wheel with 87.67 seconds and the 87.76 seconds for the Mustang."

Considering the price is nearly double I think the Mustang held its own quite well up against a "cornering beast"

Source:
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...m3_comparison/

70monte

The new Mustang is growing on me and I wouldn't mind owning one but as others have stated, I don't want to own a first year model and I just bought my 14 GT four months ago. At the moment, I like the looks of my 14 better than the 15 but the better supposed specs for the new 15 GT 5.0 engine has me intrigued.


I will look at them when they show up at dealers and will test drive one, but until I can see one side by side with my 14 and drive one, I won't know for sure which one I prefer. I will say I don't regret buying the 14 and will enjoy it while I own it.


As far as the IRS, I'm torn. When I was looking to buy either the Mustang, Challenger, or Camaro, I did a lot of reading on the different forums and it seemed that people were having more durability issues with the IRS setups in the Challenger and Camaro then I was reading about with the SRA of the Mustang.


I do know that both the Challenger and Camaro had a better ride than the Mustang and since I don't plan on drag racing or tracking my car, I could have lived with an IRS equipped vehicle just fine. I really don't find the ride of my Mustang that bad though. I can't wait to see this vehicle in real life.


Wayne

TheDivaDanielle

This line...........

"Its design was to be a straight line pony, muscle car like vehicle"


Was never true. Not in the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, 00's and certainly not the '10's

In the 60's it was meant as a car for everyone young and old to be good looking, available in many configurations.

By the end of the decade it was still that, but they also tried to cater to those that wanted firebreathing cars that were good for racing. In straight lines and around curves. However, this was all cars in general, and not exclusively the Mustang. Being that it was a pony car, for a time in the 60's the focus was on all forms of racing. In the 70's these programs died mostly, but from the 80's on it was the Mustang and other cars that were again living the glory racing, but not only in a straight line. Everyone seems to hinge on these few years in the late 60's where a lot of cars were racing in straight lines and try to link everything newer to just that.

Just like the Fox. yeah it was and still is raced in a straight line. it's chassis is and was good for that. But it sure as hell wasn't a one-trick pony.

everything after that is not that at all.

smrbrz

"So to build the car with a feature that's a negative with 95% of its buyers (or more) is stupid and I'm glad Ford finally realized/admitted it."

Can you cite your reference for the 95%? Have you known all of them for the last 50 years?

Ford has been very successful for 50 years with their Mustangs (I've had three) and their axles. Having owned Porsches and other German cars I am familiar, as well, with IRS. I believe that for the general Mustang driver (me) there is little noticeable difference on most American roads. Personally, I'll take my solid axle, 2014, GT convertible (brute force) Mustang over my recent 911 I traded. I believe it is just simply a lot more fun to drive.

TheDivaDanielle

#1 thing I hated giving up when I got rid of my 2005 GTO? The IRS.

#1 thing I noticed the most when I got my 2013 Mustang? The solid axle tramping all over the place on bumps.

laserred38

Same for me. My '00 V6 had the 7.5" peg leg open diff too. My '03 GT is IRS swapped, and does not skip around.

2011 Kona Blue

Well, sometimes you just have to get stupid off ones chest and nothing like it. Besides there is a lot of dumb saying people on these forums so I certainly wouldn't be the first. Glad to be apart of the saying dumb things.

Bottom line, I don't give two $hit$ whether the car has IRS or SRA. I don't track race nor drag race. I'm very happy with how my car handles the roadway and either system works for me. Bottom line, what's all this advanced technology gonna cost me the consumer for a new mustang! Bottom line, how much?

So the 2014 5.0 that I can buy for 32-33,000k is gonna cost me what for a 2015 mustang 5.0?

cdynaco

celipro

I bought my 14 because I loved the retro design. I had wanted one since 2010, but I didn't like the front end or the tail lights. The 2013 refresh looked perfect to me. But since I knew the 15 was coming out, I went cheap and bought the V6 so I could enjoy the aesthetics of the retro design for a few years at as little cost as possible (minus some aftermarket and recaros). And now I have an excuse to upgrade to a GT in the new body style. No regrets. I love the 2015. Interior looks awesome. Front end and profile are nice, but from the quarter panel back, WOW! I'm loving those lines. I think my plan to enjoy both is going to work out great.

2011 Kona Blue

Edit due to profanity . . .

tostang

We all have our own preferences. I love the front end of my '12 vs the 13-14 cars. I don't like how the upper fascia and hood "marry" each other on the 13-14 cars. Then again, others hate the lower cladding on the 10-12 cars, which I like. Ppl also love or hate the rear lights etc....

When it comes to the '15, personally it looks a little too much like a 370/G37 IMO.

I think that I'll spend my $ on a CAI, Eibach pro kit, an SCT tuner and some 3.73's.
The '15 doesn't make me want to change my ride.

2011 Kona Blue

I feel the same way. I wouldn't trade in my 11 for a 15 and have no intention in the distant future either.

kcoTiger

Uh...no one said the SRA was better. I should be surprised how many people are still trying to condemn the SRA as a stone-age piece of equipment that can't hang with anything boasting an IRS. I do say that the SRA in the S197 along with its suspension from the factory is one of the most accommodating and successful setups ever. The fact that the GT can hang with the IRS M3 around a track should make that apparent to everyone. That does not appear to be the case, however, since there are some who are simply unwilling to admit that for 99% of drivers, the IRS provides absolutely no benefit whatsoever beyond a more comfortable ride on rough pavement.