Originally Posted by LS4me...
Are you an automotive engineer? Having heard directly from the horse's mouth this wasn't possible. There is infinitely more involved than than just widening the uni-body a little. That's why the Mustang didn't use the DEW98. There is a law of unintended consequences....... (end quote)
Not being an engineer, (but at the same time not being a complete idiot),,, I don't see why widening the unibody would be necessary. The front strut towers are spot welded in,,, so they are a separate piece of preformed sheet metal. Looking at pics of the S-Type engine compartment,,, the Jag front strut towers are shaped differently. So that means Ford was already using a different stamping die from the Jag. During pre-production design of the LS,,, the strut towers could have been designed with a dent, recess, (whatever you want to call it), so that 4.6 would have fit better. There are places on the net where others have stuffed different engines in the LS,,, and made this recess themselves to fit the engine.
Now with the extra weight of the all aluminum 4.6,,, obviously the front springs and struts would have to be stiffer... but at the same time,,, the engine cradle would have to be redesigned. But beyond that... would the extra weight of the 4.6 cause failure of the front aluminum control arms when pushing the LS to its limits??? Also,,, the extra weight of the 4.6 would obviously shift the neutral handling of the LS to the front,,, giving the car a bit of oversteer. Yeah... I'm no engineer... but don't think I haven't thought about,,, or don't understand design concepts and limitations.
Originally Posted by LS4me...
That would require (believe it or not...) a complete redesign of the suspension. (end quote).
Really??? Kinda like Ford actually did with the SVT Cobra??? Imagine an SVT LS!!! It could have been done,,, while adding roughly $5k-$7k to the sticker price, (as long as the vehicle would have still been safe to drive). But as the 4 of us have all said, (in different ways)... Ford stayed within the confines of a practical, saleable, grocery getting, business man driving vehicle... with enough performance to make most people happy. The very least Ford should have done... is re-design the rear suspension cradle to fit a 28 spline 8.8,,, and done something different with the rear LCA bushings.
Beyond that... my biggest reason for stating the 4.6 Intech as a better engine for the LS,,, is simply for better performance over the 3.9... without using VVT/VCT.
Of course this is all a pipe dream,,, and nothing more than shoulda, coulda, woulda.... and Ford will never build anything, (reasonably priced), that could have the potential of outshining their beloved pony car.
If this ends up as a double post... I apologize. I'm having internet problems today.