GT08FastPony

For me the Mustang is an American icon. My mother had a 1967 Mustang when I was ten years old. Okay I'm an old fart but I love the Mustang for many reasons.
The Mustang goes back to mid 1964 and has continued nonstop. Not many cars in the world have done that. There are many great cars but my heart and soul will always be with Mustang. Mustang has earned its character and soul through the test of time.
Long Live Mustang and if you don't like it go................read rice..whoops

cummins cowboy

drive a modded cummins diesel sometime, once you have had torque you will love it, there is nothing that replaces good ole grunt, from about 40 mph, I don't think there is much on the road that could keep up with my truck from 40-90 mph. its the torque in prodigious amounts that does this. with a mustang it still is 3500 #'s a bigger motor sure would help with lots of torque. mustangs have just always had generally smaller engines even back in the 60's.

some of you guys are forgetting with a larger engine its easier to get even more power from it modded. imagine if our engines were 351's and came with forged internals, a big SC would mean insane power.

tkgc

Right
But the other school of thought is "Lite is right"
Bottom line Horse power to weight ratio
500 is 500
I also have an 07 dodge cummins with a Bully Dog and propane
Some were around 450hp
300 hp factory 80 hp for the propane and 80 or so out of the triple dog.
The car is way way faster

Tylus

I am a firm believer in the "Bigger is better" category most times...but not in the S197 platform.

For those screaming for a bigger displacement motor, try driving a GT500. the jump from a 4.6 3v to a 5.4 4v makes the car handle like a whole different beast. I'm not even talking about the power aspect...just braking and steering aspects.



I think Ford went 100% in the correct direction. You get the instant recognition with the 5.0 moniker, and you get the +112 HP gain. Hell, the 2010 with Track Pack 2 is already ONLY 0.02 seconds slower than a 2010 catfish...wonder how that pairing will be when the 2011 5.0 GT rematch occurs?



Bigger motor would be fun...and the TQ would be nice. But Bigger ain't always better

pascal

People just refuse to acknowledge the power to weight ratio...
How is it, that 4 banger get to the 10s?
Oh yeah! Big, huge 1.8 or 2 liter displacement. That must be it, lol.


You also need to resize your sig to 500x250 BTW. It's a little too big.

S281 E

I think everyone hit the nail on the head. Power to weight ratio is huge. Plus I love how Ford is able to engineer more power from a smaller motor. Its funny but look at the import community. When you visit the forums the mustang still gets love where the camaro gets the "well it looks nice." Anyone can just throw a bigger motor in a car. I would take a smaller 4V over a larger 2V any day.

Norm Peterson

No flame, but the S2k isn't exactly a lightweight at 2850 lbs or so. Yes, it'll wail as long as you can keep it into the VTEC, but when you're only on the little cams you've still got an engine that's carting around about 1300 lbs per liter without the big power to work with. Think 3.5 liter engine in a typical SUV, Honda's own Pilot, for example.

Now imagine that engine where it really belongs - in a 2-seater a thousand lbs or more lighter. Think along the lines of the cars the S2k is the modern and rather higher-powered interpretation of - MG, Austin-Healey, Fiat 124, Alfa-Romeo, various Lotus models, etc.


jdmcbride - I'd say it's still a matter of torque, just that it comes in at (or at least stays around well into) a higher rev range, where you can take advantage of deeper gearing to generate the necessary torque at the drive wheels. I also suspect that a generally similar but lower-revving 414 hp 5.0 liter engine with something like 365 or so ft-lbs, installed in the same car, would be quicker still around a road course.


Norm

acarzt

You mean like the 5.0 going into the Mustang with 412hp and 390lb-ft torque... heh heh

DreamerGT

Remember the terminator's are 4.6's with forged internals and with a big SC makes insane power. And that =

_Slowbra_

Ive driven Z28s, 2v GTs, and Cobras, and while the extra displacement is nice, I still preferred the 4v over the larger LS motors. Ford didnt need to go big to compete, they just had to engineer a more efficient motor, not to mention a smaller motor (that makes similar power) is going to make a big difference when its sitting on top of the front axle. I dont get why everyone always complains about displacement, 400hp is 400hp, torque is torque...granted the power under the curve is going to benefit the larger motors, but if you want a giant motor, why arent you driving a challenger anyway?