The 5.0 Has Landed Down Under

[thaywood]

I read about a year ago that Ford was considering bringing the falcon to the north american market. The major hurdle was that the aussie falcon is rhd only, and the article said that the next falcon might be wrong wheel drive.

God I hope not. I think if they make the Falcon FWD it will be the end of the car. That would be terrible.

And as for the Mustang. I own one, 2011 3.7L. Might only be a V6 but it does have 300+ hp and 280 lbft, so its by no means slow. It drives fantastically, much better than my old LS, its faster and handles better.

Oh yeah, I know they're fast as hell. And the V-6 has 305hp. And they handle great. The strut/live axle thing is a matter of preference. I prefer control arms and IRS. I also prefer OHC over pushrods. And I prefer RWD over FWD. Others' opinions differ. I'm not saying the Mustang isn't a good car. In fact, it's a great car. I just wish Ford hadn't skimped on the suspension.

I doubt the next GT500 will be Coyote based since Ford has announced a new GT350 with the 5.0 in supercharged form, with 500 hp. Check out Carroll Shelby's site. If I could afford one, its the one I would have. Or the new Boss 302. What I would really like to see in the GT500 is a new 5.8L instead of the 5.4L. It'd be sweet to have a new 351.

Yes it would. Since they're bringing back the old cubic inches, why not a 351? Or a 390? Or even a 460? Man, I'd love to get another full size Lincoln with a 460.

 

[thaywood]

Yeah Thaywood, you are correct on the Mark. My bad. Got caught up in all the parts places calling it a strut. Forgot about installing MM bearing plates (camber castor plates) on my Mustangs.

I don't know why it bugs me so much. But it grates all over my nerves. I guess I should just get over it and deal with the misnomer. It's not the end of the world.

 

[daves2000ls]

I dont really see it as them skimping, keeping down production costs means cheaper to sell as well as cheaper to make. And if it aint broke, why fix it. But, you are right, it is a matter of preference. 03-04 Cobras had IRS, some kept it some swapped for the "log". Different strokes for different folks.

305 is what ford claims, motor trend puts it at 307 dynoed by k&n

I would hope that the aussies would raise hell and ford would bring over the good one. Or just not give us one at all if bringing it here would mean FWD.

And you forgot about the legend - 428SCJ. I would love to see a new 428 to compete with the LS7

 

[thaywood]

I dont really see it as them skimping, keeping down production costs means cheaper to sell as well as cheaper to make. And if it aint broke, why fix it. But, you are right, it is a matter of preference. 03-04 Cobras had IRS, some kept it some swapped for the "log". Different strokes for different folks.

305 is what ford claims, motor trend puts it at 307 dynoed by k&n

I would hope that the aussies would raise hell and ford would bring over the good one. Or just not give us one at all if bringing it here would mean FWD.

And you forgot about the legend - 428SCJ. I would love to see a new 428 to compete with the LS7

Oh yeah! I had a '67 Thunderbird with the 335hp 428 "Thunderjet" under the hood. Man, that car was fast!

 

[daves2000ls]

I bet it was. My dad tells me about his 65 (i think) galaxy with a 390 or 400. He'd burn through all 4 gears if he tried, at least thats what he said

I dont know if we could really handle old cubes with the modern tech; it might be, dare I say, too much power

 

[thaywood]

I bet it was. My dad tells me about his 65 (i think) galaxy with a 390 or 400. He'd burn through all 4 gears if he tried, at least thats what he said

I dont know if we could really handle old cubes with the modern tech; it might be, dare I say, too much power

There's no substitute for cubic inches! But yeah, my first car was a '67 Fairlane 500XL fastback with a 390/Fordomatic. If I floored it, it would smoke the tires until I let up enough for it to get traction. That 390 was a bottomless pit of torque!

 

[Moes8]

I bet it was. My dad tells me about his 65 (i think) galaxy with a 390 or 400. He'd burn through all 4 gears if he tried, at least thats what he said

I dont know if we could really handle old cubes with the modern tech; it might be, dare I say, too much power

while i have NO doubts of 1960's horsepower and torque, we must remember the tires of the 60's had less traction than the worst hi fuel mileage tires of today, those old bias plys would have trouble putting down the horsepower of todays v6 let alone todays v8's etc.

if i put on 1960's era tires i would probably have a hard time getting traction in 2nd 3rd gears, and a lot of old cars had much higher numerically gears in the rear end too.

 

[thaywood]

while i have NO doubts of 1960's horsepower and torque, we must remember the tires of the 60's had less traction than the worst hi fuel mileage tires of today, those old bias plys would have trouble putting down the horsepower of todays v6 let alone todays v8's etc.

if i put on 1960's era tires i would probably have a hard time getting traction in 2nd 3rd gears, and a lot of old cars had much higher numerically gears in the rear end too.

That is true. Most of those bias ply tires from the 1960's were not exactly made for high performance. However, I had 15x7 aluminum wheels on my '67 Fairlane shod with P225/60VR16 Goodyear "Gatorbacks" and it would still obliterate the rear tires (well...the right side tire anyway) until I let off the gas enough for it to get traction. Now that was with a stock 2-bbl 390 with 285hp and 410ft/lb of torque and a 3.89:1 open diff. Needless to say, it was a super fun car!

 

[daves2000ls]

Yeah, I didnt think about the tires. And I dont doubt my 2.73 is a little numerically low for those days. I just didnt see the reason in spending 2grand on stock gt suspension and a 3.31, especially when I'd rather have at least a 3.55 and ford racing suspension.

Preferably, I'd like to put a 3.73 in mine

You're not the Stig, liar. I can't say I am, but I will say that I'm not not him.
In all seriousness though, I swear I saw him in Arkansas heading east on I40 in an ariel atom. I was heading west, but I did see that car, with a driver in a white suit, with a white helmet

 

[Moes8]

There's no substitute for cubic inches! But yeah, my first car was a '67 Fairlane 500XL fastback with a 390/Fordomatic. If I floored it, it would smoke the tires until I let up enough for it to get traction. That 390 was a bottomless pit of torque!

sounds sweet

 

[Stangman]

That is true. Most of those bias ply tires from the 1960's were not exactly made for high performance. However, I had 15x7 aluminum wheels on my '67 Fairlane shod with P225/60VR16 Goodyear "Gatorbacks" and it would still obliterate the rear tires (well...the right side tire anyway) until I let off the gas enough for it to get traction. Now that was with a stock 2-bbl 390 with 285hp and 410ft/lb of torque and a 3.89:1 open diff. Needless to say, it was a super fun car!

My dad has a '65 Fairlane w/ 289 TRUE Hi-Po, 4 speed, 3.89 gear... and little ole 15x7 steelies with hubcaps... very fun car!!!

 

[thaywood]

My dad has a '65 Fairlane w/ 289 TRUE Hi-Po, 4 speed, 3.89 gear... and little ole 15x7 steelies with hubcaps... very fun car!!!

I saw a '65 Fairlane 2-door for sale in Asheboro, NC about a month ago. That car was nice. Blue with blue/silver interior. Bench seat, column shift, good chrome, and a 289. Probably a 2-bbl. It also had factory wire wheel covers on the 14" steelies. I desperately need another 60's Ford to play with. They're becoming harder to come by these days. Especially if you don't have an arm and a leg to pay for one

 

[Frogman]

Struts, shocks, live axle, :blah: :blah: :blah:

Full time active hydraulic suspension is what you want. Some say, because it worked so well, it's reason FIA banned it.

Not very reliable and HP friendly, but if you want the ultimate in suspension, that's where it's at.

 

[thaywood]

Struts, shocks, live axle, :blah: :blah: :blah:

Full time active hydraulic suspension is what you want. Some say, because it worked so well, it's reason FIA banned it.

Not very reliable and HP friendly, but if you want the ultimate in suspension, that's where it's at.

I have to agree. I read somewhere a few years back that Bose was actually developing a fully active hydraulic suspension system. They were testing it on a Lexus LS400 (been a while). I haven't heard anything about it since. It would be the best way to go for a good compromise between ride comfort and handling.

 

[mark0101]

Here is the video for that
YouTube - Bose active suspension

 

[Frogman]

I have to agree. I read somewhere a few years back that Bose was actually developing a fully active hydraulic suspension system. They were testing it on a Lexus LS400 (been a while). I haven't heard anything about it since. It would be the best way to go for a good compromise between ride comfort and handling.

Bose was working on it, but IIRC theirs was magnetic... or maybe I'm just thinking magnetic because of all those damned BOSE speaker commercials I see on the rare occasions I watch TV.

Lotus had the first truly active hydraulic suspension.

Citroen had the first hydraulic suspension back in the... 50's? 60's?

The rest of the hydraulic suspension schemes currently on the market are either adaptive, semi-active, and active roll control.

My only experience is with Mercedes' Active Body Control. It's a finicky set-up, but it works beautifully. I can throw a 5000lb 2 door into a corner and it sticks. Of course, not porsche, vette or lotus kind of sticking, but it sticks well enough to keep the car planted where a similarly heffer of a car would just lose control.

 

[thaywood]

I want one soooooooooo bad!!!!!!!

Come on Ford!!!!! Gimme this dam car!!!!!!

 

[Aquabrit]

Looks good - don't know why Ford won't bring it here. Maybe it's to do with the costs of getting it approved by the 'nannying' US Government. (DOT, horrible EPA etc.)

 

[thaywood]

The biggest problem is that, as of now, the FG platform is engineered for right-hand-drive only. It seems it would cost too much to re-engineer it for left-hand-drive and Ford doesn't want to spend the money. Especially since the future of the RWD Falcon is in jeopardy right now. Ford can't decide if they want to continue with a new RWD platform for the Falcon or just go the easy route and dump the Falcon and replace it with the wrong-wheel-drive Taurus. The Aussies are fighting tooth and nail to keep the RWD Falcon (they hate the Taurus in the Land Down Under - plus, that would effectively kill the Australian V-8 Supercar Challenge race series), but the Ford bean counters may win this round. If not, it could be a possibility that the next Falcon platform may indeed be the "global" RWD platform Ford was promising to produce 10 years ago. That global platform could spawn a new Mustang with a proper IRS, new large Ford sedans, and new RWD offerings for Lincoln. Lets hope so anyway.

 

[LaserSVT]

i remember in the 90's reading about a MB race car...... touring or GT I believe. Since the cars need weight added to them MB decided to put the weight on a hydraulic sled in the trunk that was programed to the tracks layout and would reposition itself to keep the car flat in corners. Thought that was pretty dang cool.

 

[Aquabrit]

Ah yes, I'd completely forgot about the RHD factor - I've been in the USA for too long - forgot all about the RHD/LHD thing. :lol:

 

[LaserSVT]

Id imagine it couldnt meet our safety standards as well. That was a big complaint I had about the last GTOs. Since they couldnt have the gas tank where it was Down Under they had to put it in the trunk killing the trunk space.

 

[thaywood]

It's possible that the FG could meet US specs. As the FG was supposed to be the "global" RWD platform when it replaced the BF. But Ford got cold feet or something and the FG ended up being another Australia only Falcon. Because it was originally designed to be a global platform, I think the FG would more easily meet US specs than the old BF, BA, AU, or any previous Falcon platform. Hopefully, we'll see in a couple of years. There have been rumors circulating that the next Falcon platform will be shared with the Mustang. Now that's something I'd like to see. Especially considering that the original Mustang was spun off the original Falcon platform