S550 underwelming...

[Norm Peterson]

Five Liter only then and now. Come to think about it....it's the only time we ever use metric!

Five liters has been used only since the 1978 King Cobras. Only cubic inches were used before that.


Norm

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[Silver Bullitt]

Not quite. Still missing: the Mustang peaked with the Mustang 2 and has been going down hill since.

Ohhh yeaaa!

 

[Fatguy]

Five liters has been used only since the 1978 King Cobras. Only cubic inches were used before that.


Norm

Like a “302”? To be honest Norm, we never thought about you guys in the States so I had to ask. What that does show is how the internet has brought together people. Before everyone was on their own. I’m not even sure today’s kids can even fathom that situation. The world is probably better off for it.

 

[Hack]

You might be interested in knowing that a 2010 Track-Pack equipped S197 ran lap times within one second of the 2010 Camaro SS at NJMP/Thunderbolt on the same day, despite being at a 105 HP disadvantage. That's with name-brand pro drivers at the wheel, too. And it's pretty easy to mod an S197 to a level beyond 2010/TP.


Norm

SRA cars can work quite well on smooth surfaces especially. It's when the surface gets rough that the big advantage of an IRS shows itself.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Like a “302”?

Exactly. It's where the 'Boss 302', 'Boss 351', and 'Boss 429' got their names, straight from the cubic inches.

To be honest Norm, we never thought about you guys in the States so I had to ask. What that does show is how the internet has brought together people. Before everyone was on their own. I’m not even sure today’s kids can even fathom that situation. The world is probably better off for it.

I'm sure that the reverse was true, with the possible exception for some of us who lived near where a hockey team was based (Bruins, in my case ).


Norm

 

[edco]

Modify that '17 similarly and see what you think...

This thing handles.

I have no argument for your point. My first impression of the S550 was it does not need the chassis improvements that the S197 benefited from. It took three years to complete the '07 mods. I just kept going on under carriage changes because the car felt like it could handle better. The last mods were the watts link, lower control arm brackets, and adjustable control arms. This allowed roll center tuning, pinion angle tuning, and corrected every issue lowering caused. Then-wow. The S550 is already there in stock trim. It is a finished package. I have added 24mm wheel spacers and like that change. I plan front and rear Steeda G-trac braces because of the wider track. That is about it on the '17. Because the '17 is an AT I just drive more conservative. However, it is the best handling car I have owned. Then there is the solid axle '07. Giddy-up city all day long. I think that is what this thread is about. S550 best handling Mustang ever and a higher level of evolution. S197 most fun. Ask me which one I would rather loose in a theft. My answer would be just shoot me, I can't decide. Or shoot the horse thief.

 

[Shifting_Gears]

I'll never feel the same thrill I felt when first driving my used 85 GT no power windows and the last non- fuel injected GT offered. I was 17 and just like I remembered my first kiss, first.....well you get the idea. If that's the raw power you were referring to, than I agree. It wasn't so much the car being, "Raw" as it was me being completely awash in endorphins and my first , "Fast car"! Would I trade my 18 S550 for that Raw car, not a chance, but if I had to choose between those memories and my S550, that would a completely different answer.

I've matured, gotten more refined, and am thrilled Ford has done the same thing to the Mustang and I absolutely love every bit of it!

Yeah. My old GT was special in many ways. Lots of firsts in that car and taught me to respect boundaries of a semi powerful car.

Had a few races that I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face for a month. One of the most notable was my buddies ‘02 GT that had a built bottom end, cams/intake and was running 8lbs of boost or so via S-Trim. We did a roll with my car on a 125 shot and he could not pull on me. He was so pissed because he was such a shit talker about how bad his car was (it was and he had a 14lb pulley that brought the business). But the $8-9k he got tied up in his car couldn’t outrun the $500 nitrous setup... hahaha.

 

[Allentown]

With my exhaust, 305s, driving in sport mode and using the paddles to keep the revs high...my car is loud as heck....it slams my head into the headrest and jumps when I press go..

At over 60 in sport I jamed the gas and barked the tires on the freeway Sunday.

She is every bit the muscle car...complete with matte black hood and 60s louvers in the rear.

 

[Norm Peterson]

SRA cars can work quite well on smooth surfaces especially.

Like on a road course, which is where your hardest cornering belongs and where handling composure is a priority.

One of my better laps, and it really didn't feel much different from an easy drive in the country at speeds that generally wouldn't attract "official attention".

It's when the surface gets rough that the big advantage of an IRS shows itself.

True. I've had at least one stick-axle car at my disposal for all but a couple of the past 50+ years, and at least one IRS car since the mid-1980's. These days, I guess I'm somewhat fortunate in that most of the roads around where I live (the ones I use, anyway) are in at least fairly good condition, so the stick axle in my '08 isn't all that much of a handicap. Then again, the 'street' part of my driving doesn't get anywhere near the speeds or the cornering g's shown in the above video.


Norm

 

[regular6g]

I don't miss the Playschool plastic, actually Playschool wouldve been more durable. Oh and that 3rd gear shift miss when racing, or the screws holding the door switches, or the multiple dashboard panels creeking, or that pathetic steering wheel, or.......no, the S550 is an Overwelmingly amazing!

 

[Fatguy]

I don't miss the Playschool plastic, actually Playschool wouldve been more durable. Oh and that 3rd gear shift miss when racing, or the screws holding the door switches, or the multiple dashboard panels creeking, or that pathetic steering wheel, or.......no, the S550 is an Overwelmingly amazing!

I had the grey premium interior and that fabric refused to wear, tear or fray. Way better than today’s cars. My only bitch with the plastics was that they were not colour matched through the material (think painted plastic). And the speedometer only went to 180km (up here in Canada).

 

[Hack]

This conversation about Fox Mustangs somewhat reminds me of my 1965 Ford 250 pickup. My wife would tell me that I always seemed super busy when I was driving it. No power steering, no power brakes, Z bar clutch, granny first gear. I always liked it, but it could be scary when you know that all the cars around you can out stop you. Oh - and it didn't come with seat belts. Quite the unit.

 

[Fatguy]

This conversation about Fox Mustangs somewhat reminds me of my 1965 Ford 250 pickup. My wife would tell me that I always seemed super busy when I was driving it. No power steering, no power brakes, Z bar clutch, granny first gear. I always liked it, but it could be scary when you know that all the cars around you can out stop you. Oh - and it didn't come with seat belts. Quite the unit.

My Fox bodies all had more go than slow. As in drum brakes in the rear. This was cool though. The engine could get you into trouble the brakes couldn’t get you out of. That gave it character and made the car seem faster, a bit dangerous, and required driving skills to get the most out of it...


The Nannie era has taken all that excitement out of driving - you guys can keep that part.

 

[Strokerswild]

This conversation about Fox Mustangs somewhat reminds me of my 1965 Ford 250 pickup. My wife would tell me that I always seemed super busy when I was driving it. No power steering, no power brakes, Z bar clutch, granny first gear. I always liked it, but it could be scary when you know that all the cars around you can out stop you. Oh - and it didn't come with seat belts. Quite the unit.

Heh.

Reminds me of a similar truck my folks had when I reached driving age - a green '71 Dodge 3/4 ton with a 360, no power steering, no power brakes, 4-speed with the granny first. Quite the learning experience as a young punk, especially parallel parking that beast. At least it had seat belts, lol.

 

[regular6g]

I had the grey premium interior and that fabric refused to wear, tear or fray. Way better than today’s cars. My only bitch with the plastics was that they were not colour matched through the material (think painted plastic). And the speedometer only went to 180km (up here in Canada).

I think it was less than 2 months for those cheap headlight and foglight switches came off in my hand; much preferred my 85s dashboard setup. But it was a RAW Overwelming car obviously as I later slammed the rear qtr into a bunch of mailboxes and couldn't get the hell outta there. The fuelpump shut-off kicked in and it wouldn't start, just cranked w/nofuel! Damn embarrassing, I did get better later with the 'rear-wheel' steering though!!!

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