First I want to say, I came from an 04 civic automatic that I driven for 3 years. That was my first car and this is my second. I have the 3.31 gears and no performance mods or tunes. I'm afraid to void the warranty if I give it a tune. I have the 2012 GT stick. Under 3.5K RPM the car feels slow with barely any acceleration. Revving it past 4.5k RPM and yeah it takes off, I don't understand why I have to rev it that high and waste gas to get descent acceleration. I will go as far as to say, under 3k RPM my civic felt faster. I guess I will HAVE to get a bama tune or whatever cause I feel like I'm using a lot of gas but getting poor acceleration. Anyone else feel this way? any way to improve it?

 

Replace the 3.31 with 3.73 and that should improve things.

 

3.31 and 3.73, the 0-60 times are the same though right

 

No gearing or tune can ever replace the rapid acceleration and torque that an I4 with VTEC provides...

 

I never said the civic is faster in a race. My civic was automatic so it always shifts at about 3k rpm. If I was to shift at 3k rpm in my mustang the acceleration feels the same.

 

I'm thinking you should consult your local doctor? Something's not right in your head!! For the record, I'm the one with quite a bit of brain damage; too!! I'll admit, I know zilch of civics, & proud of it. If you're saying your little honda was faster, which I think you are, you need you membership revoked!!

You also need to know I am the only member who will never talk down on a members stuff. I'm too nice on the forums. But you, not sure what to say to you.

How about you trade it in for another civic? Not sure you're Mustang worthy?

 

I know you love your car but just so you know I'm not the only one complaining about poor acceleration at low RPMs. I was debating over the 2012 civic SI sedan and mustang gt. I got the mustang for the looks, torque, and hp. Like i said i just feel like I have to use A LOT of gas to get moving quick with the mustang, anything below 3k rpm feels sluggish.

 

Slap a v-tec type r sticker on that bad boy.

In all seriousness, you complain on everything about your car. Cup holders, valve caps, etc... Appreciate it for what it is or do us a favor and go trade it in for that civic.

 

Look for the torque charts for a stock 5.0 Mustang. I bet you would find the torque starts strong around 3000 rpm. Just figure the weight, gear ratio, and when the torque comes on and see how things work.

My '11 has 3:55 gears and seems very good on accel. Maybe you should go drive a civic to compare.

I would say you did not research the car enough. Seems like your Mustang always has some oddity.......

 

I came from a '02 Honda Civic Si and an '06 Acura RSX Type S and you can't possibly tell me that you think you need to rev your Mustang higher to match the acceleration under 3k rpm. The 5.0 is higher revving than most traditional V8's so yes you might need to rev it a little bit more under normal acceleration than others, but more than an I4 though with no torque? Hell no. I used to have to rev the pants off my RSX to keep up with other cars around me under normal driving conditions.

Regardless, if you drove a Porsche GT3 you could complain about the same thing, if you drove an Audi RS4 or E92 BMW M3 you could complain about the same, and if you drove a Ferrari F430 you could complain about the same thing too.

 

you can take the guy out of a ricer.....

 

Install 3.73's and don't look back. Have your dealer do it as not to void your precious little warrenty.

 

Ouch.

Will,

Having had the 4.6 modular (the predecessor to the 5.0) I can say the first thing I noticed was a decline in low-low-end torque, but a *significant* exponential increase at about 2500 and much more as it went up.

You have to take advantage of the higher torque curve. Easier to do if you grind your own.

*** And some of you guys said there's no advantage to a manual!!! ***

 

I will say it again, these cars feel slower than they are, they are very deceptive in that way.

If you car isn't accelerating as fast as you want it to then downshift and pour on the coals.

The 5.0, and the 3.7 for that matter, are high rpm motors, they make their power high in the rev range, that's just the way it is, like it or lump it.

You always have the option of giving your car to me, clear title of course, I guarantee you I won't gripe about it feeling under-powered...
_

 

But it'll be using too much gas.....

 

If you bought a Mustang and your primary concern is fuel economy, you bought the wrong car.

That having been said, the Honda VTEC motor and the 5.0 have a fair bit in common when it comes to torque curves. Neither makes much in the way of torque down low, but develop very high levels of power up high in the rev band.

The difference is, the 5.0 makes far more torque at 1200rpm than the Honda motor makes at peak TQ. The honda felt faster because it has much, much shorter gearing to account for the lack of torque.

The quick answer is, put in a 3.71 gear in the rear. Fuel economy will not be impacted too greatly, and the car will feel way, way faster.

 

If gas usage is a concern, then perhaps you're in the wrong car?

I used to drive a dinky old Camry prior to getting my 5.0, but in trying to compare apples to apples: I've driven an '01 Cobra and a '10 GT, and the seat-of-your-pants feel, to me, felt slightly more intense in the Cobra than my '11 GT (w/3.73s). But you know what? My GT scares the heck out of me more than the Cobra did because of the Coyote's flatter torque curve. Raw acceleration feels smoother and it's not as sudden. It's deceptively fast.

What I want to know is, how the heck are you not spinning your tires plowing through the lower RPMs? Or are you talking about simply passing people on the highway in 6th gear? If that's the case, jeez man, downshift!

 

I don't think the problem is VTEC stickers. The Mustang has Ti-VCT, not VTEC. Have you tried a yellow Ti-VCT sticker?

 

You guys!

 

Should have bought a Camaro.