Sabre

Ecoboost, NA 5.0 and Supercharged 5.0...testing by Ford Racing at Milan Drag Strip


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kulx2...ature=youtu.be

MRGTX

Those guys have the best jobs in the world. Nice holeshots...even the Ecoboost sounded mean.

...but note how all of these cars had slicks, rear subframe bracing and heavy duty half shaft kits?

Stinger

It doesn't mean those parts are required. Ford Racing is trying to "set records" while also advertising their parts offerings so they used more than necessary.

Astenax

Does the 15' Gt need heavy duty half shaft upgrade kits Just to hit 10's? Is Ford going to offer these half shaft kits with waranty from the factory?

Stinger

What makes you think they "need" the upgrade kit? There is no proof it does or doesn't need them. The EcoBoost car is slower than a stock GT and yet they upgraded the half shafts in it. Does this mean the GT "needs" the upgraded half shafts in stock form? I'll answer it for you: No. It got them because they are advertising the parts they will have available for the 2015 cars in the very near future.

MRGTX

What makes you think they DON'T need them? Why would they even offer the parts if breakage wasn't a concern?

I think it mostly bugged me because the black supercharged car was mentioned to be "stock with a blower." Sorry...swapping out major components of the drive system means "not stock."

I don't think this is a reason to not buy an S550 for drag racing but it's an expense that folks will likely have to budget for.

Joeywhat

It's all conjecture at this point, so I wouldn't think too much about it.

For all we know they are just testing out new product lines.

newpony

What is the difference from what people are doing now with the S197? I see people upgrade the LCA, UCA, and the drive shaft in some cases.

Jazzman442

It's all about selling accessory's you know Bling and performance. They know that these cars have a great following for Mods. Yes they will need the half Shaft kits. Most other cars yes even the Challenger SRT break them. If you dont want to break them Ford is coming out with a Solid Rear just for Drag racing.Did you see the way the cars leaped from the line. Those parts do that. Slicks too. remember the better the traction the parts need to be that much stronger.

IndustryLeech

Why isn't a drive shaft loop standard on all RWD cars? It seems like such a cheap addition, especially if it were engineered by the manufacturer where they could build a proper bracket into the undercarriage.

newpony

^^^
Not certain about this but I thought manufacturers use two-piece drive shaft so no need for safety loop.

Five Oh Brian

NHRA requires two driveshaft loops for two-piece driveshafts. Loops must be placed within several inches of the front of each driveshaft. BMR makes a nice pair of loops for the S197 cars, or you can buy them separate (as I did when I swapped in a 1-pc driveshaft. I trust loops will be offered by the aftermarket for the S550's very soon.

David Young

I told you the EB4 would be running 12's with just a few mods

rhumb

Good evidence that the S550, dreaded IRS and all, is perfectly capable of thriving in the strip. I haven't heard of any of the supposed IRS bugaboos such as axle hop or snapped half-shafts in early tests. I suspect Ford was all too conscious of these perceptions and took great pains to assure the IRS was both steady and stout.

As for the HD half shafts fitted to the three cars, I would suspect that's for extreme usage -- they were also using drag slicks and not gentle launches and in the SC'ed 5.0, I would suspect HP and torque figures on the high side of 550. I would suggest Ford offer these and other drag-specific items on a factory/showroom drag pack option for those hard core drag racers contemplating such extreme usage.