cloud9

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...ss-engine.html

Let's hope this is accurate and with only the black key

2010MustangGT

Not shocking, the GT 5.0 itself is underrated... any improvements will do nothing but emphasize the fact.

5 DOT 0

The car was certified at 444 so I'm believing that until proven otherwise. Although with the differences between the GT and Boss engines you would think they could get more than a 32 hp gain. What puzzles me is the TracKey doesn't add any hp. Now if the TK brought the hp up to 490 I'd be very happy! With 490-500 hp the Boss would be traveling with some very fast company.

cloud9

Most of the guys I run with are driving 3100 lb Z06s with a 7.0 L 505 "stock" hp motor. Now if we could shed 400 lbs and add 1.5-2" of wheel we'd be in business. However, with a few mods if this HP number is accurate I'll raise hell with some of the lesser drivers There's no way I'm buying the 444 hp number with all the additional money they put into the Boss motor. There are a number of reasons to underreport it. Now if I could just get my car here I'd put it on the dyno and end the suspense. I guess it gives us something to "hope for" as we wait.

OAC_Sparky

I would venture to guess that seeing a Boss is more of a road-race car that the increased available torque would be preferable to higher HP and that is what Ford engineers were aiming for.

5 DOT 0

We can't have both? Not even a 1 hp gain from tweaking 200 parameters?

C9, I hope you're right.

OAC_Sparky

There might be a small increase, but keep in mind that HP is only a number. On paper a Camaro has more HP than a Mustang GT but barley hangs with one. A Lotus Exige only has 190HP and does quite well.

It's all about how it performs as a package. And with the upgraded internals you're upwardly mobile in the forced induction area.

cloud9

The Camaro weighs 200 lbs more than the GT with only a nominally higher reported hp.

cloud9

There won't be any forced induction on my Boss. That's the main reason I'm buying it. I've had it with battling heat soak on the road course in a supercharged car. That said, the closer we can get to 500 hp, the happier I'll be provided it will still run cool enough.

5 DOT 0

No forced induction for me. But moving the redline to 8,000 is intriguing. I wonder what rpm that guy saw the 490 hp at?

OAC_Sparky

Of course, that's my point. HP is only a number. The 190HP Lotus weighs about half of the Mustang. A locomotive has about 3000HP and won't be winning any road races either.

HP ratings only matter to paper racers. Give me real-world performance over trumped up paper statistics.

I doubt any of you will be disappointed with your Bosses once you get it on the road or track.

cloud9

Amen. I don't expect to be disappointed. I just know keeping up with the Z06s will still be a challenge. Of course if that's all I cared about I would break down and buy one. I'm just not a Corvette guy....or an import guy for that matter.

I definitely don't care about bench racing, but real HP/TQ matters on the track and more is better as long as you can put it to the ground. I really don't plan on making any significant power changes to the Boss. Suspension however could be a different story. Time and real-world performance will tell on that issue.

I know all too well what real hp numbers mean on the road course. I actually "dial down" my GT500 from 640rwhp/625rwtq to 575 rwhp/545 rwtq by putting on a bigger pulley. I run faster lap times with less heat soak and more usable power coming out of corners.

Overboost

Detroit is coming up, I wonder if the official certified numbers will show up there.

I also don't believe that the TracKey isn't adding any HP. I'll wait for the official specs before I consider that theory proven. I've heard a lot of evidence that it isn't true anyways.

5 DOT 0

Well count me in as a paper racer since I won't be racing mine. I guess you race yours all the time??? Good for you.

I will be driving mine at full throttle often and 444 hp is going to be better than 412 hp in this particular comparison even though the Boss has 10 less ft lbs of peak torque compared to a 5.0. Last time I checked there's a whole industry of making high performance engine modifications and the spec that sells their services is HP. You rarely see anyone getting excited about a 20 ft lb boost in torque vs a 20 hp increase. HP does matter but just as important is how it's put to the ground.

I'm sure I'll be quite happy with my Boss regardless what the hp rating is.

cloud9

And I've heard several reports that the 5.0 is significantly underrated. If that's true and a=b and b=c then a=c and the Boss will be underreported with all the changes they made to the engine.

Bottom line is the curb weight is what it is, and the suspension is what it is so extra horsepower just makes the car faster in the straights

Tony Alonso

I Know an aftermarket company owner who says "You talk horsepower, but you drive torque". What he means by this is the acceleration feel in street driving (or in the area of the powerband that ones stays in while driving) is directly related to the torque curve and the gearing effect.

So on the street, this car's engine will zing pretty high, but the 380lb-ft in RPM range that you shift will be meaningful, and of course, traction to properly get it to the ground will be key.

Between the rear gear and the powerband, it will be interesting to see what this baby "feels" like on your favorite offramp :-)

5 DOT 0

+1. I have not owned a car with this much hp before and every time I test drive a 5 DOT 0 I get out with a big grin on my face. I can't wait.

OAC_Sparky

This is in part to what I'm referring to.

The Boss is a road race car, as opposed to a drag car; the idea is to accelerate out of the turns and get up as fast as you can to slow down at the next turn.

Torque and HP are related;
(Torque x Engine speed) / 5,252 = Horsepower

The way I always explain it (especially when it refers to electric motors) is that torque gets you up to speed and HP keeps you there. The broader the RPM range that produces the most torque, the faster you reach the optimum RPM range (for the specific gearing of your car) and that produces the most HP.

You have to in part ignore the peak horsepower rating (the most quoted figure). It's only a number and it's misleading. As shown in the above formula, HP is a function of torque. A car with a tall flat torque curve will out-accelerate a car whose torque band is narrower but HP is higher, all other things being equal.

cloud9

I guess the reason I'm interested in the hp numbers is with this motor revving so high 7500 (or more) we'll want the hp to allow us to use all that range and not have to shift. Maybe I'm not understanding it correctly? The torque curve on my GT500 is very tall and flat..nearly peaks around 3k and stays there all the way to 6250 but then you have to shift. It would be nice to see the torque/hp curves for the Boss motor.

OAC_Sparky

Seeing that "according to reports" the torque rating is lower on the Boss than the GT, my estimation would be that the lower torque value is carried acrooss a wider RPM range, to a higher RPM.

It's that (slightly lower torque x much higher RPM)/5252 = 440ish (ie higher) HP