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Australian spec Mustang owners photos


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DFB5.0

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Do you remember the old 'Spirograph' for making circles?
By the way, not my tyre marks.
Not my tyre marks either................

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I would never do something like that....................................................................... :giggle:

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DRU842

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Filling up in Gundagai.

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OzMustang S550

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One year today since I took delivery of my 2018/07 Mustang GT, and how the time has flown. In that time I've racked up 8,867km on mainly country roads (sealed), for an average economy of 10.51 L/100km (best 8.66, worst 12.96). Awesome car to drive. Sweet as using the 6sp and listening to the Coyote's euphorious, V8 symphony accompany my up and down shifts.
Changes/mods to date are mostly appearance. Replaced the EOM wheel lug nuts for proper ones (Gorilla), swapped the chrome badging for black, matched the front spoiler lip to the red OTT stripes, painted the wheels Hyper Silver, painted the front calipers red, installed F/R dashcam, installled a Roush resonator delete H-Pipe and fitted a set of Pilot Sport 4S'.
A couple of things I wish Ford had done better: significantly better high beams (unsafe on dark country roads at or above 100km/h), and seats belts that retract without needing a helping-hand.

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BruceTheQuail

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I really like the look of your car, it is one of my favorites.

Had mine about the same time, plenty of visual mods, a few for handling. Reckon it is a fantastic car, but I wish you could get one with a really nice interior - decent leather, better plastics - coz that would take it into another level.
 

Friend of Dorothy

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Not my tyre marks either................

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I’m envious; you have the best of both worlds! I still miss the BA Falcon XR6 that I had. When I first drove my first (FM) Mustang GT it felt like driving a truck compare to the nimble Falcon, I was shocked! More steering lock was required to go through the same (tight) corner than the Falcon. The Mustangs have slow ratio steering, although I’ve never seen anyone here complain. I wonder if it’s because of the extra weight of the V8.

May I ask if your XR8 is similar to the Mustang In that regard? Which of the two cars do you physically prefer to drive?

I am more at home with my current FN GT than the FM. I don’t know if it is me or the car. I am happier to have it in the garage, and being part of the Mustang family. I certainly can't complain!

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DFB5.0

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I’m envious; you have the best of both worlds! I still miss the BA Falcon XR6 that I had. When I first drove my first (FM) Mustang GT it felt like driving a truck compare to the nimble Falcon, I was shocked! More steering lock was required to go through the same (tight) corner than the Falcon. The Mustangs have slow ratio steering, although I’ve never seen anyone here complain. I wonder if it’s because of the extra weight of the V8.

May I ask if your XR8 is similar to the Mustang In that regard? Which of the two cars do you physically prefer to drive?

I am more at home with my current FN GT than the FM. I don’t know if it is me or the car. I am happier to have it in the garage, and being part of the Mustang family. I certainly can't complain!

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Eastside Mustang Club Trentham Falls run 16-2-20     (9).jpg
Oooooo, you have opened a can of worms with that question!

I have driven every generation of Falcon dating back to the XE. Without question, the best to drive were any of the AU's with Tickford suspension, although all AU Falcon's had brilliant steering, lots of feel and nicely weighted. I owned a T3 TS50 for a short a couple of years, the double-wishbone IRS and relatively compact Windsor V8 meant the thing was very pointy through the front end and could put power down efficiently.

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For the BA Falcon, Ford added weight to the steering and made the rack quicker at 2.8 turns lock to lock compared to 3.1 for the AU. Any six-cylinder Falcon would steer better from BA onwards, owing to the physically huge BOSS and Miami V8 engines sitting above and forward of the front axle. Having owned a couple of B-Series, they certainly had a very keen turn-in response from the steering, which would explain your observations.

Comparing the final FG-X Falcon's to the FM Mustang is interesting, if complicated. My XR8 has what Ford/FPV called R-Spec suspension. This set-up delivers a very brittle ride quality, most notable at low speeds. At higher speeds, even sitting at 100-110km on a freeway, the ride is much more tolerable. Ford would later offer a softer S-Spec tune for the final run of Sprint models, allowing the chassis to breath with the road better rather than bouncing across it. The reality of the R-Spec tune was FPV's attempt to get some body control into the chassis and counter the weight of the V8.

Comparing the ride to the Mustang, the added tire sidewall gives it a slight edge over the XR8.
Having said that, FM Mustang's have a very strange damper calibration that I find hard to explain, sort of like they bounce back too hard after hitting a bump. I believe Ford addressed this with the FN update in both standard and Magneride tunes.

Steering, they are very similar for feel, as in not a lot. Steering weight in the Falcon would be halfway between "Normal" and "Sport" in the Mustang. I also have an FG XR6, you certainly notice the weight difference in the XR8 owing to the Supercharged V8 sitting up front.

Actual suspension design is a mixed bag. The Falcon has double wishbones with alloy control arms up front, bettering the strut design Mustang. The IRS on the other hand is the opposite, the Mustang wins here. I never liked the Control Blade IRS on Falcon's, it was fine up to a certain power level, but the lack of travel limited Ford's ability to tune them to handle the big power engines.

The biggest advantage a Mustang will have over a Falcon though is the seating position. I never understood why people complained about how high the seating was on Falcon's until I drove a Mustang. The lower seating position makes you feel more balanced when driving hard, the Falcon makes you feel like you are sitting on a stool and therefore makes you feel unstable. However, in everyday driving, that is not an issue.

In hard driving, they are very different. The Falcon is a point and shoot type of driving experience, it's all about knowing there is a giant lump sitting up front. Brake management is also a thing, again due to the weight and smaller hardware. I find its worth being conservative through corners, wait to you are pointing straight and then nail the gas and ride the relentless surge of supercharged torque.

The Mustang seems more balanced in all aspects. That's not really surprising as the Mustang was and designed as a sports car from the beginning, the Falcon was a family car turned into a sports car. The brakes are epic so you can be more aggressive approaching a corner, and the naturally aspirated engine allows for more progressive inputs. I like how this engine needs to revved to give you it's power. You can stomp the gas earlier and harder exiting corners, the Falcon will be bucking against it's DSC system in the same situations.

Speaking of DSC, I have found a stark difference between the two. The locally tuned DSC systems allow some leniency before stepping in to gather you up in a more refined and seamless fashion. That gives the driver confidence without feeling like it's a hinderance. The Mustang will get WAY out of shape before it kicks in and abruptly brings you into line.

I have said this before, I am very lucky to have the opportunity to own both Mustang and Falcon, it's a privilege that I don't take for granted.

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Friend of Dorothy

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Oooooo, you have opened a can of worms with that question!

I have driven every generation of Falcon dating back to the XE. Without question, the best to drive were any of the AU's with Tickford suspension, although all AU Falcon's had brilliant steering, lots of feel and nicely weighted. I owned a T3 TS50 for a short a couple of years, the double-wishbone IRS and relatively compact Windsor V8 meant the thing was very pointy through the front end and could put power down efficiently.


For the BA Falcon, Ford added weight to the steering and made the rack quicker at 2.8 turns lock to lock compared to 3.1 for the AU. Any six-cylinder Falcon would steer better from BA onwards, owing to the physically huge BOSS and Miami V8 engines sitting above and forward of the front axle. Having owned a couple of B-Series, they certainly had a very keen turn-in response from the steering, which would explain your observations.

Comparing the final FG-X Falcon's to the FM Mustang is interesting, if complicated. My XR8 has what Ford/FPV called R-Spec suspension. This set-up delivers a very brittle ride quality, most notable at low speeds. At higher speeds, even sitting at 100-110km on a freeway, the ride is much more tolerable. Ford would later offer a softer S-Spec tune for the final run of Sprint models, allowing the chassis to breath with the road better rather than bouncing across it. The reality of the R-Spec tune was FPV's attempt to get some body control into the chassis and counter the weight of the V8.

Comparing the ride to the Mustang, the added tire sidewall gives it a slight edge over the XR8.
Having said that, FM Mustang's have a very strange damper calibration that I find hard to explain, sort of like they bounce back too hard after hitting a bump. I believe Ford addressed this with the FN update in both standard and Magneride tunes.

Steering, they are very similar for feel, as in not a lot. Steering weight in the Falcon would be halfway between "Normal" and "Sport" in the Mustang. I also have an FG XR6, you certainly notice the weight difference in the XR8 owing to the Supercharged V8 sitting up front.

Actual suspension design is a mixed bag. The Falcon has double wishbones with alloy control arms up front, bettering the strut design Mustang. The IRS on the other hand is the opposite, the Mustang wins here. I never liked the Control Blade IRS on Falcon's, it was fine up to a certain power level, but the lack of travel limited Ford's ability to tune them to handle the big power engines.

The biggest advantage a Mustang will have over a Falcon though is the seating position. I never understood why people complained about how high the seating was on Falcon's until I drove a Mustang. The lower seating position makes you feel more balanced when driving hard, the Falcon makes you feel like you are sitting on a stool and therefore makes you feel unstable. However, in everyday driving, that is not an issue.

In hard driving, they are very different. The Falcon is a point and shoot type of driving experience, it's all about knowing there is a giant lump sitting up front. Brake management is also a thing, again due to the weight and smaller hardware. I find its worth being conservative through corners, wait to you are pointing straight and then nail the gas and ride the relentless surge of supercharged torque.

The Mustang seems more balanced in all aspects. That's not really surprising as the Mustang was and designed as a sports car from the beginning, the Falcon was a family car turned into a sports car. The brakes are epic so you can be more aggressive approaching a corner, and the naturally aspirated engine allows for more progressive inputs. I like how this engine needs to revved to give you it's power. You can stomp the gas earlier and harder exiting corners, the Falcon will be bucking against it's DSC system in the same situations.

Speaking of DSC, I have found a stark difference between the two. The locally tuned DSC systems allow some leniency before stepping in to gather you up in a more refined and seamless fashion. That gives the driver confidence without feeling like it's a hinderance. The Mustang will get WAY out of shape before it kicks in and abruptly brings you into line.

I have said this before, I am very lucky to have the opportunity to own both Mustang and Falcon, it's a privilege that I don't take for granted.
WOW, you are a walking encyclopedia on later Falcons! Thanks for your detailed reply. I Love your garage of Fords, and your cute dog.

I have driven or owned a small number of Falcons from the XD, almost all of them being garden variety sixes; liked them all. When compared to the Commodore, the press complained that the AU Falcon steering lacked feel and was too light, but when the BA came with a heavier steering weight they complimented the Commodore for its light steering!

You have probably answered a question that has been twirling around my mind; based on my Falcon XR6 experience, would Ford Australia have done a better job of the generation 6 Mustang, handling wise, at least. it seems from your answer, not necessarily so. But as you rightly say, the Falcon wasn't designed to be a sports car and Ford Australia did a good job for a car that had to handle the rough and tough it got from taxi drivers, but still be a pretty good 'sporty' car too. Although would they have opted for a different steering ratio, hmm...

As you rightly say, the Falcon wasn't designed to be a sports car and Ford Australia did a good job on a car that had to handle the extreme rough and tough it got from taxi drivers, but still be a pretty good 'sporty' car, and everything in between too. They had to contend with lots of compromises.

I found the FM Mustang ride to be pretty harsh, but then we mostly drive it on third world-type rural roads when we escape the city. The FN is an improvement but I do wonder if it is just the difference between Pirelli and Michelin tyres. I regret getting talked out of Magnaride; I am getting soft :-)

Interesting what you say about DSC. My Mustang doesn't get driven in the wet, but when I hit an unexpected wet patch of road, the DSC doesn't seem to be at home! Or maybe it does kick in a little and I don't notice it.

Thanks again for your response. I had better put a photo here to stay on topic:

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