2.3 EB Test Drives

[slowhand99]

I suppose you can only judge if he's throwing it round going on what you're own driving style is - but by my standards, he is gunning it a bit. I'm a pretty laid back driver for the most part and I tend not to accelerate in corners regardless of road conditions.

Good call. If you check the rev counter he's giving it 3500-4000 RPM in a low gear halfway round a corner. It's not the power but the torque that is the issue. At that RPM the Coyote is giving close to it's max torque!

What keeps your wheels glued down is side force. Side force is inversely proportional to torque. That's why if you brake hard halfway round a corner you break traction/grip and go straight on, same accelerating a front wheel drive car half way round a corner. It's the reason even in a straight line a powerful RWD car wants to snake if you blast it off the line.

It's a shame he did that because otherwise it's a really informative video. Having mentioned 'toys' like the wet/snow mode he could have showed us the effect since he was in the wet. I suspect he was in 'sport'. NOTE he also said he was on 'run-flats' which surprised me but I don't know why he would have mentioned it if he wasn't. This could be a massive compromise to the grip available as I've never met anyone who liked run-flats.

He (and we) needs to do some revision on basics; read a book by Jackie Stewart. Learn what your inputs are doing to the dynamics of the car. It's about being smooth, no big torque changes in corners; and if God gives us a 'wet/snow' button and we're just going to the shops rather than lapping the Nurburgring, why not use it?

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[McXtravert]

Test drove a GT yesterday and what a beast... the Mrs has even given me the go-ahead as she loved it also but the back of my head is a wee voice nagging on about fuel economy.

I already decided the EB was the sensible approach to an un-sensible car (by UK standards anyways) but just wish I could drive an EB for comparison!

 

[Timewarp]

Test drove a GT yesterday and what a beast... the Mrs has even given me the go-ahead as she loved it also but the back of my head is a wee voice nagging on about fuel economy.

I already decided the EB was the sensible approach to an un-sensible car (by UK standards anyways) but just wish I could drive an EB for comparison!

That describes exactly my situation and current thinking.

The things that put me off about the EB are:

• The engine is a turbo four pot and is similar to what I have already with my ST, however with one less cylinder (although with 90 bhp more).
• I haven't driven it yet.
• It doesn't quite have the V8 sound.

I currently get 26 MPG out of my ST, and do around 10K miles per year. I don't drive every day because I work from home mostly, however when I do it is around 50% motorway and 50% A road with traffic into a city centre.

On paper the EB makes a lot of sense:

• Probably more MPG than ST.
• My ST is 5 years old now and it would make a great replacement for similar running costs.

However, I've seen the MPG posts for the GT and people are getting similar MPGs to my ST out of them. I really enjoyed the GT - fantastic car. Of course tax and servicing will be twice as much. However, I think I might wait to see if I can test drive an EB in Feb/March for comparison.

 

[Craig]

I suppose you can only judge if he's throwing it round going on what you're own driving style is - but by my standards, he is gunning it a bit. I'm a pretty laid back driver for the most part and I tend not to accelerate in corners regardless of road conditions. I test drove GT auto and it felt like a tame beast if you drove 'normally'. Maybe the auto box takes the heat out of it a bit.

Nope, you're spot on - I tested the manual GT in the rain on wet roads, same result. Unless you're actually looking for heat, it's not doing anything to bite you (my old Mk3 MR2 was way less predictable in the wet on stock tyres). If the backend breaking away comes as a surprise when someone floors it mid-corner in a 400+ bhp car, perhaps some advanced driver lessons (or tutored track days) are in order.

 

[croyde]

As I have said before drive it like you would ride a Jap crotch rocket in the wet.

Smooth, smooth, smooth.

Enjoy it in the winter and then you can go crazy and make mistakes in the summer, like I do with my bikes

 

[Centurion07]

Nope, you're spot on - I tested the manual GT in the rain on wet roads, same result. Unless you're actually looking for heat, it's not doing anything to bite you (my old Mk3 MR2 was way less predictable in the wet on stock tyres). If the backend breaking away comes as a surprise when someone floors it mid-corner in a 400+ bhp car, perhaps some advanced driver lessons (or tutored track days) are in order.

Yep, this^.

If you look at that vid it's getting loose around the 4K mark which is precisely where all the power comes in. Fact is you can be doing the same speed in a higher gear and the thing is a complete *****cat, it's only if you're in a lower gear and jab the throttle that it'll get out of shape which is precisely what he's doing. Drive it like a regular car and it's fine. Especially with traction and ESP on.

 

[Manders Mustang]

Yep, point of the video was just the guide, but he really does look more like he's aiming to kick the tail end out, it's pretty simple driving in a high performance car that isn't a 4WD that you shouldn't accelerate on corners.

 

[Tommy556]

I drove a 2.3L in the states whilst I was over there on Holiday as a test drive. I'm yet to a Manual version, but have sat in one to get a feel for the clutch and gear shifter etc. So if you want any questions on the EB answering, more than happy to.

I'm yet to drive a GT, however the comparrisons I can pull is that the GT is far punchier and under the wrong hands is a bit of a beast to control.

No dealerships, to my knowledge, will be getting 2.3Ls as test drive model cars, only 5L GTs.

Hold on, am I reading this correctly? You haven't driven a GT yet, but you can make a comparison?

I have driven the GT plenty of times and I own an EB. I can ease your mind about this. They are not that far away from each other concerning punch or felt power as you might think. The GT pulls harder to redline and that's about it. The midrange power feels pretty similar. To be honest, neither is really punchy at all. At least in stock mode...

So don't worry about it. Drive a GT and the chances are pretty high that you'll still like your EB a lot and won't trade.

 

[Manders Mustang]

Hold on, am I reading this correctly? You haven't driven a GT yet, but you can make a comparison?

I have driven the GT plenty of times and I own an EB. I can ease your mind about this. They are not that far away from each other concerning punch or felt power as you might think. The GT pulls harder to redline and that's about it. The midrange power feels pretty similar. To be honest, neither is really punchy at all. At least in stock mode...

So don't worry about it. Drive a GT and the chances are pretty high that you'll still like your EB a lot and won't trade.

Don't worry, I don't plan on trading, i'd just clarify by 'punchy' i mean it goes through the revs quicker like you've mentioned, and is therefore quicker. I'd always settled on the EB from a price perspective. My comparison is based off video's and other peoples reviews and comments/fears of them.

My only fear with driving a GT is i'll fall in love with it and it'll make the EB seem 'second best' :lol:

 

[Tommy556]

If you are fine with the sound of an I4 then you will be alright ;) the stock GT sound isn't really overwhelming either. A tune will improve the power and torque curve of the EB alot as well, if you are open for tuning. Both cars are fine as they come though. It's a sweet ride for the money and well worth it, no matter which engine you chose.

 

[Manders Mustang]

If you are fine with the sound of an I4 then you will be alright ;) the stock GT sound isn't really overwhelming either. A tune will improve the power and torque curve of the EB alot as well, if you are open for tuning. Both cars are fine as they come though. It's a sweet ride for the money and well worth it, no matter which engine you chose.

I've got a lot of 'local' tuners who've asked me if they can 'borrow' the Mustang to tune it etc. Not very trusting of these. However i'm completley open to the Idea of tuning, especially as a lot of reports from the US are shooting that the EB can jump in all 3 core categories (BHP, Torque & MPG)

 

[benanderson89]

Well, he's putting pressure on the accelerator, knowing it'll do it surely you'd only hit that when wheels are lined up. I agree, it's hardly throwing it, but still, the car is an absolute beast and it's going to require some careful driving.

If you aren't perfect with your throttle control then yes, the EB (if its on boost) and GT (at any point) can snap at your heels and throw you for a loop.

My rule of thumb in any sports car, be it AWD, FWD or RWD, is too take corners at reasonable speeds and maintain throttle position. Do not let off the throttle or apply more throttle as this will cause weight transfer, causing the snap oversteer/understeer effect and, for the love of god, don't brake mid-corner. :lol: Think like a racing driver and brake and change down a cog (in that order) before a corner.

Its all about throttle control.

I drove my dealer's 5L GT (same car Big_G had on loan) - it was slightly drizzly with cold tyres and I didn't personally have a problem. Full throttle acceleration up to... less than legal speeds... caused some slight back-end floatiness but that's to be expected when you have nearly 400Nm of Torque going through the rear. At normal daily driving speeds, where you'll be under 2500rpm 99% of the time, the car is actually very friendly and happy to pootle along like any other commuter car (the calling card of lazy American V8s). Just remember to keep your throttle inputs measured and if you really must stab it, do it only once the wheels are straight and everything is nice and warm.

The GT can be intimidating, and rightly so, but you just need to remain gentle and leave your schoolboy "something to prove" attitude (if you have one) in the bin at home.

 

[Manders Mustang]

The "Maintain Throttle Position" is the first thing I was taught when driving high performance supercars on track days etc. The second you sit in any, the immediate notice is that the second u hit the throttle on a corner (and by hit i mean pump it, not lightly press), the tail end will slide - Unless it's an AWD, The only cars i've ever manager to 'slam' through a corner is an Aventador which just glues itself to the tarmac. However, you'd expect that for a £300k car, 10x the price of a GT :lol:

 

[benanderson89]

The "Maintain Throttle Position" is the first thing I was taught when driving high performance supercars on track days etc.

Then the Mustang will be child's play to you.

 

[Manders Mustang]

Then the Mustang will be child's play to you.

I may as well still be a child at 21 :lol:.

Compare Supercars to my DD of a 1.2L corsa, and we're talking a massive switchup. Same goes for comparing my DD to my next DD- the EB. Can't say i'll face many challenges other than parking it :eyebulge:

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