CD4 Chassis School

[Overboost]

I,for one, am excited to see the gaudy drip rails go away and welcome the laser brazing they discuss here. Also, laser welding is pretty damn impressive. I've seen it in action and the finish is very nice.

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[HTownStang]

Ok and the burning question that needs to be answered is how they are going to use a FWD transverse engine architecture for a RWD inline engine application.

I don't doubt the marvels of engineering can make it happen BUT the question is whether they can do it without a ton of costs and weight (and maintaining proper weight balance) and a lot of wasted excess parts/components defeating the whole purpose of sharing in the first place. In order for the CD4 platform to be able to accomodate Mustang application it has to be able to support all that power and endure the rigorous testing standards of a potentially 600+hp car without tipping over or falling apart.

Do we have a good answer for this?

This is the big question for me as well.

Furthermore, assuming this all ends up being part of the big secret that is the S550, should we no longer be expecting the rumored larger than normal price increase over the current car?

This is all very educational and makes for interesting food for thought but I suspect until we can answer the questions above that I also have, many will not be satisfyed no matter how much sense the economics and production efficiencies of having a CD4 global platform may be.

I would welcome someone to venture an answer even if it's just an educated guess. I'm afraid Im out of my league when it comes to this.

 

[thePill]

Here is a list of Ford/Lincoln vehicles that will be based on the CD4. Each time the chassis is shared, it is changed dramatically. You will see a Van, SUV, Large Sedan, Med Sedan, Sports Coupe, Convertible, FWD, AWD, 4WD and RWD. By the time the CD391 (Fusion/Mondeo) is changed to RWD, it won't be a CD391 (CD4) anymore. The current MKZ is based on the Fusions CD391 called the CD533. It is a stretched CD391 and uses a lot of higher quality metals here and there. The cost between base Fusion and base MKZ is $29,000...

Doing this, reduces the overall cost by 20%... That means, if the S550 cost $4 billion to develop (probably more), Ford's plan will reduce the cost of the car by a billion dollars.

I am betting that the actually chassis designation is CD550 because the CD5 series is a more expensive chassis but still base on the CD4... Just a bit stretched.

• 2013–present Ford Fusion (CD391)
• 2013–present Lincoln MKZ (CD533)
• 2014–present Ford Mondeo (CD391)

Future Vehicles to use this platform include:

• Ford Edge
• Ford S-Max
• Ford Galaxy
• Ford Explorer
• Ford Taurus
• Ford Flex
• Lincoln MKS
• Lincoln MKX
• Lincoln MKT

 

[Overboost]

CD4 models are designated by a CD4.X, where X is the unique idenifier. Fusion/MKZ are CD4.1. I'd guess CD4.2 is Edge/MKX, and CD4.3 would be the Taurus/MKS. Mustang might fit as a CD4.1 variant.

 

[thePill]

CD4 models are designated by a CD4.X, where X is the unique idenifier. Fusion/MKZ are CD4.1. I'd guess CD4.2 is Edge/MKX, and CD4.3 would be the Taurus/MKS. Mustang might fit as a CD4.1 variant.

So the rumors of the Australia office stopping R&D on the GRWD platform was rumor? Ford had some Falcon's with the new chassis shipped here in '07-'08... Nothing was know about the GRWD platform. Is there a relation between the two? Work on the S550 did start in 2008, right after the Falcon's arrived.

I was told the Mustang would absorb the Falcon... Is the E8 completely done for sure?

 

[Overboost]

So the rumors of the Australia office stopping R&D on the GRWD platform was rumor? Ford had some Falcon's with the new chassis shipped here in '07-'08... Nothing was know about the GRWD platform. Is there a relation between the two? Work on the S550 did start in 2008, right after the Falcon's arrived.

I was told the Mustang would absorb the Falcon... Is the E8 completely done for sure?

That I don't know, but I would suspect so. With Mustang making the trip to AU in 2016, I don't see why they wouldn't eliminate E8 at that time. Between the Mondeo, Taurus, and Mustang, they can fill the void left by the Falcon.

 

[Melino]

Send a bat signal to the Falc'man, he may know re the E8?

I'm a little confused and sorry for the boneheaded question if it is.... what is CD391 (Fusion/Mondeo) if it is known as CD4.1.

 

[Overboost]

Send a bat signal to the Falc'man, he may know re the E8?

I'm a little confused and sorry for the boneheaded question if it is.... what is CD391 (Fusion/Mondeo) if it is known as CD4.1.

CD391 is the program name.
CD4.1 is the platform name.

 

[Melino]

CD391 is the program name.
CD4.1 is the platform name.

Gotcha. So S550 is the program name, not the platform name.

 

[thePill]

CD391 is the program name.
CD4.1 is the platform name.

Thank you!

Platform = General applications (Sub-Compact, Compact, Mid-Full)

Program = Specific application (Fiesta, Focus, Fusion, Taurus)

Gotcha. So S550 is the program name, not the platform name.

I apologize for the confusion... I made up the CD550 program name. I think S550 is the project code name.

 

[Overboost]

No problem. That's the way it was explained to me. I don't know if Ford classifies the cars as CD4.X or not, but it might be a way to identify cars of the same platform family (CD4 in this case), although the program numbers are different.

Really, looking back at the recent news, what Ford is doing is no different than what GM appears to be doing with the 6G Camaro and Alpha (though there is NO credible info on this, just speculation). The difference being, the ATS is already designed for a RWD configuration.

Looking forward to the next generation (a LONG ways away), if the Lincoln resurgence works and the brand is more viable than it currently is, we might see a platform like Alpha underpin Mustang.

 

[SStormtrooPer]

Looking forward to the next generation (a LONG ways away), if the Lincoln resurgence works and the brand is more viable than it currently is, we might see a platform like Alpha underpin Mustang.

The way I see it, there is not going to be any Lincoln resurgence if Ford keeps whoring out the existing Ford platforms. They are far so similar to the Fords that are far less costly.

Maybe some day they can share, but right now the platform needs to come first so people can take it seriously when Ford says they will make Lincoln a desired luxury brand again.

That is why I was most hopeful S550 would be an all new platform.

 

[Overboost]

The way I see it, there is not going to be any Lincoln resurgence if Ford keeps whoring out the existing Ford platforms. They are far so similar to the Fords that are far less costly.

Maybe some day they can share, but right now the platform needs to come first so people can take it seriously when Ford says they will make Lincoln a desired luxury brand again.

That is why I was most hopeful S550 would be an all new platform.

Right now Lincoln is doing well, considering they only have one new car. I still think getting the MKC and other refreshed models would have been a better idea, considering the dealers are left with over half the brand as stale, old product. When the decision was made to make them more independent, they should have, IMO, done a drivetrain and refresh on every model, bringing them into a cohesive design and moving them forward, then launch the new models as part of this. It may have been painful at first, but I also think it would have brought the brand together and helped sales this point. The fact they're taking their sweet time with the MKZ first, and now the MKC, is hurting them. Botched launches don't help either.

 

[mykrrrr]

Wow, we got a big old curve ball last night via the Ford Falcon forums and our very own Falc'man. Seems the information we were looking for didn't exist yet, or at least we didn't have the missing piece of info... Prior reports strongly suggested Control Blade was going to be used, it seems Ford has developed a new "Integral Link" IRS to replace the CBIRS. Now, since this is a global IRS system that can be used in in everything from a 2 seat sports car to a full size luxury sedan/SUV. It can support FWD, RWD, AWD/4WD. Can use coilovers, air shocks and trailing arms... highly flexible.

Now, I know some were in belief that the S550 was really an evolution of the S197 but, I highly doubt that is correct. The S550 is either the new CD4.3 or a CD4.4. The CD4.2 is based loosely on the 2011 Mondeo (UK platform), existing CD4 parts are shown in green in the second diagram. Directly below is the global CD4 platform production as of 2013. Now remember, this is CD4.2 (I think that's what they call it). The original CD4 was in the '11-'`12 Mondeo. Please note the covered cars to the right in UK. Also notice the platforms production was moved from Sweden/Germany to Dearborn.

*cough*S550 Boss*cough*

 

[JGillis]

You guys sure that S550 is the program name and not the new platform name? That's not the way I remember it from several news sources. They could be wrong, but just asking.

Also S197 is the program name for the Mustang built on the D2C platform, is that correct? If so why is this the only one referred to like this... AFAIK, the Fox and SN95 were both platform names and that's how we all refer to them. This just a result of platform sharing making it less confusing to refer to them by program name?

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