Quote:
Originally Posted by Ryephile
That's a rather short sighted and naive comment. Live axles are perfectly reliable, inexpensive, and effective solutions....especially for the target [straight-line emphasis] demographic that frequents muscle cars. Nevertheless, Ford has managed to tweak the Mustang into a legit racetrack monster. HPDE and track-day regulars can back that up; a well-prepped and well-driven Mustang can make haste with respect.
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I completely agree with you about them being reliable, inexpensive, and effective solutions for a straight line car. And I also agree with you that Ford and other tuning companies have made successful track day cars. I guess I should also say that I do understand the appeal of the Mustang as well as its place in the market. Make no mistake, I do respect it as a car.
But you don't exactly see many BMW M3's with live rear axels. What about a Lotus Elise? It just not ideal when you have other suspension configurations to choose from when building a great handling car. It may be cheaper to build cars like this, but then what's the priorities when building the car? Cheapness first or handling? I think they choose to keep the Mustang cheap and with the BRZ/FR-S, they chose handling first and then cheap.
My point originally was why buy a BRZ/FR-S if all the guy cares about is leather seats and warming his butt? To me, the BRZ/FR-S is about handling and having fun. Why else would they try so hard to get the center of gravity so low and keep the weight down? I don't see them doing this with the Mustang (except maybe the Boss 302 or Roush Mustangs). So I didn't understand how he could go from buying a BRZ/FR-S to a Mustang. Where are his priorities at??
I respect the Mustang for what it is. In fact, I'd go far enough to say that if Ford had switched to a better rear end setup, I'd probably lust after one. I love the current styling but know that there are better handling cars out there and thats why I want a BRZ/FR-S.
I plan on Autocrossing my car and the last time I was out at an Autocross, the Mustangs were having a hard time keeping the back ends planted.
bneale