Automagically

I agree, the man-child is starting to become my favorite because he's just genuinely interested in stuff. Tanner is becoming the douche. I still respect his driving but he's such a fanboi. I suppose that there has to be some differing views and all but to doubt the new LS Boss is just kind of childish. I for one am stubborn but I'd admit defeat where it's due.

If TG doesn't do a Boss/M3 comparo, then someone will. The Boss did sound glorious. I like the sound of an M3 A LOT, but the Boss hands the M3 a dose of more stroke and bore. Tanner reminds me of a young pup of only the internet age where everything sounds good when people feed you crap about how a car should or shouldn't be. He doesn't want to do the homework himself so he reads something somewhere and notices that people are pointing out the old technology that is being used and exploits it, becoming a bandwagoner. Reinstate the fuss about push rod and roller tappets of the GM machines and we get crickets. So Ford has one of the more advanced engines out to date and still uses a solid axle = it's the devil. GM uses engine technology used since the 30's (essentially) and sits on a decent zeta chassis and no one is the wiser.

Now I probably sound like a fan boy myself but when credit isn't given where it's due, that's BS.

BTW for everyone that argues there are a bagillion Mustangs, well there are typically 3 types, V6, GT and SVT(Shelby) and a convertible in each. After that, there are multitudes of tuning companies that work at an OEM level that tune one of the most popular cars on the road. Is that so bad? There are 4 variants of the 3 series now, and in each segment, saloon and coupe. The 328i, 335i, 335d, M3, now add the new 335is, the additional M3 model (ZTA if you will), and the wagon, oh and the all wheel drive version. Phew, lets not even do Porsche. This upcoming model year happens to add the Boss and Boss LS. Gosh, I guess that's just too many Mustangs to handle.

mach1fever

The boss spoiler does add downforce. Remember the LS can be lowered so if they have it on the highest setting it is High!! Anyway it is an awesome car!!!! The spoiler itself is not adjustable right?

06GT

I don't remember reading anything about being able to lower the LS (like coilovers).

Regarding the spoilers--no, they are both fixed pieces and cannot be adjusted. The Street BOSS uses the regular GT spoiler, the LS uses the GT/CS spoiler.

Automagically

Chin spoilers are different though. Tanner was pointing out the chin spoiler when he commented on how high off the ground it was. Just proves that drivers don't know physics even though they use it every day. News to Tanner, we invented the airplane decades and decades ago, it has big spoilers calls wings and airfoils, they work just as well in the air as on the ground. You are moving through the same fluid called air as an aircraft.

VALCAD

- BEST POST EVER

mach1fever

Although I agree with your post it think it would be best to point out that the purpose of the spoiler (and on racecars/exotics air pans) are to direct the air and reduce turbulence. The higher the car is off the ground the less control you have.

Roger

burningman

Small correction..JC has been doing automotive journalism for at least 22 years and has been a presenter on TG for the same amount of time. The TG you know of now is actually the second incarnation of the series.

PTRocks

Umm, no. There something thing called 'ground effect'. Wings behave very differently in the presence of solid boundaries than they do in free air. The solid boundary prevents air from 'rushing in' to fill a vacuum, creating a larger pressure difference across the wing. Tanner is correct in saying that the splitter would work better if it is closer to the ground.

PTRocks

Double post.

burningman

+1

dean_acheson

It's a horrible video.

If you watch at the start, the Cup guys have quite abit of room under the splitter, the idea is that at speed, the car is pushed down, which closes that gap. You can see this much better on restarts on the tube in HD. I would think at 100 MPH the splittter difference on the LS would be halved, that that's totally a WAG.

Automagically

You're correct. The hope is that the chin will create more down force and suck the car down. Now, with a larger gap, there is not as much vacuum and more of a lift factor. There is no perfect answer here, the car is built for street use as well as the track. Can the chin spoiler still be useful? Yes. Given the slight rake to the car I'm sure the chin is a bit useful at speed. The car can't be an F1 racer either, causing a suction effect with a chin spoiler an 1inch and a half off of the ground.

There is also a big difference between a wing and a chin spoiler. The wing does just what an aircraft wing does in the opposite, creates a lower flow of velocity above the wing to create a downward force. The chin spoiler is like a long piece of cardboard as to create the vacuum under the car buy creating a low pressure under the car, the lower the pressure, the more the vacuum. In the case of the Boss, this is used to help lower pressure, but also push the front of the car down.

No, I get it. The same physics applies to how our lungs work.

I don't disagree with your point.I probably just added fuel to a fire that didn't exist I suppose. But our arguing points are about a car that just doesn't do anything magical to Bernoulli's principal.

VALCAD

I stand corrected. Thank you.

VALCAD

As for the splitter, I am certainly not an expert, so I found some pics to compare, and then I will leave it to the wisdom of the Ford Racing team as knowing what they are doing...

One side note: Boss LS splitter is bigger than 302R splitter - the 302R is more like the regular Boss splitter, the 302S splitter is huge. I would imagine that the larger the splitter, it makes up for it being higher off the ground.

PTRocks

In the case of the Boss, the engineers stated that the combined downforce of the splitter and the wing was a total of 90lbs, not really enough to change the ride height by a useful amount.

Now of course Ford didn't exactly lower the car by very much either, so there will be lots of room for improvement with the right set of springs for track use.

Automagically

I didn't assume it was a whole lot, but that's good to note. I was just explaining my theory on it. Not really any truth to the Boss model. Once confronted, I don't do well with not trying to state my point.

I agree, the car isn't very low and is probably still so due to it's street usefulness, but on a track, it would be an easy thing to change.

cloud9

This seemed logical to me as well. The Boss is going to be at least an inch and a half higher than where my GT500 currently sits on adjustable coilovers. I was assuming I would either need to replace the springs or swap out the struts and shocks for adjustable coilovers. I have been told by others however, that that will throw off all the tuning that went into the suspension Ford engineered into it in the first place. In addition to lowering, you'd also have to go with an adj panhard bar or Watts link to re-center the axle. I'm no suspension expert, but would like to know more on the benefit of lowering from the factory settings for the track. My Boss will see a lot of track time, but still be street driven regularly.

66sprint200

I agree that you don't want to mess with the tuning that has gone into the suspension on this car! We've both been there with our GT500's. Finding the right combination of spring rate to go with the right shocks and swaybar...etc. That's why this car is such a perfect fit for guys like us! Ford Racing did all the math and testing. Don't screw it up

If you change it, then go with a package deal. Buy the 302S or 302R suspension components..........

Remember that 18" rims with R-compound tires will lower the car a good bit too.

cloud9

Good point. I figured this would lower another 1/2" all the way around and should help with handling.

I'm not sure why I'm being so skeptical of how this car is going to perform out of the box. But after the whole GT500 "experience" I am. That said, when I look at the Grattan test data for the Boss and compare to other high performance cars "out of the box", I'm

crescent_wrench

Show is flatter than a pancake. DOA