Vyacheslav Molotov

For me, one of the key things about the new car were all of the rumors of massive weight savings over the outgoing model. I can't seem to see an official ford statement regarding curb weight, but I have seen them state that the car has loads of new features when asked about the weight of the S550, which for me seems to suggest that the car is heavier than the outgoing model. We know that the GT is faster than a boss, but could it be that the track pack 15 inch brakes, the torsen diff, and the IRS, increased width, and some new rubber were used rather than any added lightness?

If the car comes in heavier than the last, I will most definitely be going out and buying a 2013 Boss rather than a new GT. I was willing to take the depreciation hit with a new car if the car was exactly what I wanted, a lighter and better equipped mustang.

Hamidar05

I asked the same question in another thread, searched it on the 6G forum and cannot find it yet. So unless anyone has documentation, I call it rumors as well. For the sake of all the IRS fanboys, I hope they are right, otherwise the so called leap forward is just another step back for mass. My guess is in the long run, if you kept a 2013 Boss long term and got it at a good price, you would come out ahead of any 2015 (2014 1/2) year-on model.

All will be revealed soon enough I suspect

Csrt4to5.0gt

Ford released pretty much every dimension for the new car except for the weight. I, also feel they are hiding the fact that the new GT model, at least, got heavier. I'm guessing the weight reduction is with the 6 and four cylinder models. Initially, the new GT is only supposed to gain 10hp and they are afraid if it got heavier ppl won't want it. Maybe the possible weight gain is why they are using boss components on the standard GT...

moosestang

Of course it's heavier! You can't design an IRS that can handle 450hp that isn't going to add weight over the 8.8. I'd guess 100lbs weight gain.

83gtragtop

Actually they haven't released a lot of data (ie, weight, horsepower, gas mileage, price, emissions). They're still testing the vehicle as we speak and thus, those items may still not be finalized. Things like length, width, wheelbase and so on were finalized much earlier in the development process and were released when the car was unveiled.

There are far more variables between the S197 and S550 that affect weight than the IRS. At release earlier this month Ford confirmed a few weight saving items such as aluminum front fenders and hood, along with with aluminum control arm knuckles for the new IRS but would not provide anything further at that time. See the below link.

http://jalopnik.com/ford-benchmarked...201-1477141274

Ford also mentioned that they set very aggressive weight saving goals with the new car and still plan on meeting them. I'm not saying the car will or won't lose weight but at the moment we don't have all the information and thus, we wait.

Vyacheslav Molotov

If that article is correct, and they are benching the M3 (M4) then they need to make some serious weight or power improvements. The new m4 is supposed to be 3350 lbs or something like that according to BMW. Its not making much more power than the outgoing car, but its making more torque everywhere now due to the turbos.I hope the new car is at most 3500 pounds, but I think that is misguided. Their claimed use of aluminum just doesn't seem extensive enough to combat the other things they have added to the car. Perhaps smarter engineering allowed for less materials to be used in the frame?

I mean look at the C5 z06, the guys did everything they could to strip weight out of that car, and they removed features to do it. No power seats, thinner glass, smaller rear window, and they removed like 100 pounds. If Ford has managed to add more features and a deal with increased safety standards while removing weight without increasing the price, then I'll be very surprised.

83gtragtop

I agree, the Aluminum in the front end won't save much more than 50-60lbs (Although losing it on the front end will be good for balance). But there are other areas such as the new chassis and new front suspension that will allow for greater savings.

In regards to the C5 Z06, this isn't really comparable because there is only so much weight that can be saved if the weight loss is being targeted on a car that is of limited production and based on a higher production vehicle. In other words, things like the chassis are not going to be rengineered just for the Z06.

Vyacheslav Molotov

Yeah, I know, but I can't even find a quote of Ford saying "aluminum chassis" or extensive weight savings. If the chassis was in fact lighter and stiffer, why not say that exactly like GM did with the Vette? I mean hell before I saw the Vette I saw like 900 images of the aluminum chassis. And GM did all of that to lose exactly no weight over the base car. And this is with tech that comes in at a minimum of 52 grand. We always forget that the base price of the Mustang is in the low 20s, and that things like the chassis and most body panel materials need to be the same throughout the line up (at least through the GT) in order for the economies of scale to work out in fords favor.

My point was that I don't think ford saved much weight out of the chassis, or they would be championing those gains and not the gains from fenders and light weight aluminum suspension components that at best will be the same weight as the out going live axle.

Maybe Ford just has a ****ty marketing team, or I have not read enough of their statements to find them saying dramatic or great weight savings were made with the new chassis, or maybe they are just being tight lipped for a bit longer than we would all like, but if GM could not do it on a 52k platform with an all new aluminum chassis, I don't see ford being able to make a new mid 20k car lighter this time around, especially with all the new safety and tech.

That's why I think that its not crazy to compare it to the Z06. This is in fact a new chassis, so that's different, but they don't seem to be touting weight savings through it. I think that the chassis is just as heavy, or even heavier with IRS, which is why they are saying that they took some weight of the nose. My guess is that curb weight is 3700(of the GT), and that the alpha based Camaro (for the SS) will be the same weight or lighter, which would be a strange turn of events but would show the flaw of ford designing only 1 RWD platform for their entire car lineup, that its expensive as hell.

GM is showing that weight savings are a serious priority for them, I mean the 2.0L turbo CTS is now only 3616 pounds. In its twin turbo flavor with magnetic shocks its still less than 4 grand, which is 200 pounds lighter than the outgoing V (and I am not sure that the overhead cam v6 is any lighter than the pushrod v8, especially with those turbos, intercoolers, and whatnot).

I am just worried that Ford had an uphill battle in the weight department, and it lost (badly). Adding lightness is key for me, but many guys are cool with fast straight line performance, which is easier/cheaper to overcome with forced induction.

pascal

I've read somewhere that the new Stang was about 200lbs lighter than the current car.
If it's true, it's not nearly enough and lots of folks (myself included) were hoping for at least 400lbs and better but Ford can't compute that one yet.

crash

The problem is all of these mandates for safety. Instead of creating all of these damn sensors to alert the driver for x,y,z, we should just go to driver safety classes like the swedes. They go through extensive driving training to make sure they are safe for their roads. Taking classes would be fun since the different environments introduced are in a controlled settings. **** these sensors that only act as band aid covering up the real problems of ****ty drivers instead if solving the issues of crappy unobservant drivers. This allows Americans as a whole to become horrible, entitled, ******* drivers... /rant