Difference between gen 2, gen 3

[Steve8989]

How big of a gap is it between the 2 ?
Does direct fuel injection on the gen 3 make that much of a difference? Somewhat itching for a newer car as my current is getting up there in miles and I would like a new project. The 10 speeds look really appealing.

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[robvas]

Stock for stock a gen 3 automatic car beats up a gen 2 automatic car pretty bad

No gen 2 car ever went 12.0 @ 118 bone stock

 

[Crew4991]

Going from Gen 2 to Gen 3 really depends on how you want to use the car.

Here is my unbiased opinion first:
The Gen 2 Coyote (2015–2017) is simple port injection only, has solid mid‑range power, and easier to mod without a bunch of headache. It makes about 435 hp and revs to around 7,000 rpm when stock.
The Gen 3 (2018–2023) is a pretty big upgrade. It adds direct injection along with port injection, bumps compression to 12:1, revs higher to about~7,500 rpm and makes more power 460/480 hp depending on year/trim in stock form. It also pulls harder up top and feels peppier overall. you will notice a nice difference in performance. Tuning can be just as easy as Gen 2 BUT because Gen 3 is more complex due to direct injection and higher compression there is a greater chance of things going wrong if you are not careful.

Reliability of both Gen 2 and 3 engines are generally great. Some minor issues here and there but overall very robust and can handle a beating. Not worth elaborating on.

OP you specifically call out the automatic transmission. I am a manual enthusiast so I will try to separate my comments from unbiased to biased.
Unbiased opinions:
Gen 2 6R80 automatic is a solid transmission but dated.
Gen 3 10R80 automatic is much quicker, better acceleration and keeps engine in powerband so you will notice the performance is a big step up while driving
Manual transmission for both Gen 2 and 3 is the MT-82, both have same overall character with gen 3 having minor revisions.

Biased opinions:
Yay manual. Enough said.
Moving on to the automatics, as someone that regularly works on these cars, I am an advocate for the 6R80 being the more reliable transmission. If you must upgrade to the Gen 3 cars, I HIGHLY recommend (almost begging you) to get the later years of the 10R80 from 2022-2023 as the earlier cars from 2018-2019 are not reliable over time in my opinion/experience fixing all my buddies cars... Avoid the earlier year Gen 3 ones.

General opinions on which Gen Coyote is "better" but it really depends on your use case.
Daily driver / modern feel: Gen 3
Best stock performance: Gen 3
Simpler modding / DIY builds: Gen 2
High‑RPM NA performance build: Gen 3
Budget performance build: Gen 2
Track ready monster: Gen 3
Old school analog experience: Gen 2

My final, VERY biased and completely subjective styling opinion... there are other cars I use for track use but the below meme sums up exactly why I continue to daily the beloved Gen 2 competition orange 2016 GTCS manual and cannot seem to convince myself to upgrade to the generally better Gen 3

I hope my unbiased comments are helpful to you in your decision making. If you are looking for a new project to tinker with, you cannot go wrong with another Coyote. Perhaps you got a chuckle out of some of my more biased opinions from someone that knows these cars exceptionally well.
Best of luck and cheers!

 

[John S]

Going from Gen 2 to Gen 3 really depends on how you want to use the car.

What a concise summary... Here's my take: The late 2022 10R80 transmissions got the CDF clutch housing sleeve walking issue addressed and hard anodizing of the CDF reaction shell but having ten forward speeds on any car, especially a daily driver, is just silly. The close ratio steps and instant shifts are great if you're racing but the factory calibration, with its busy shift schedule, can be annoying on the street compared to the 6R80. A Gen3 Coyote paired with a 6R80 or, even better, ZF's 8HP75 (10R series design and power-flow is so similar to the 8HP that Ford had to settle an unpublicized patent dispute with ZF) would have made more sense but Dearborn insisted on ten speeds because it was "more" than the globally popular ZF. My son just sold his 2022 Mustang GT PP1, partly because he didn't like the constant busyness of the 10R80. An E85 tune helped but the core factory calibration wasn't changed enough to stop the busyness. I'm trying to convert him to a stick but he's considering a ZF equipped Mopar or BMW.

 

[FLMustangMan]

Going from Gen 2 to Gen 3 really depends on how you want to use the car.

Here is my unbiased opinion first:
The Gen 2 Coyote (2015–2017) is simple port injection only, has solid mid‑range power, and easier to mod without a bunch of headache. It makes about 435 hp and revs to around 7,000 rpm when stock.
The Gen 3 (2018–2023) is a pretty big upgrade. It adds direct injection along with port injection, bumps compression to 12:1, revs higher to about~7,500 rpm and makes more power 460/480 hp depending on year/trim in stock form. It also pulls harder up top and feels peppier overall. you will notice a nice difference in performance. Tuning can be just as easy as Gen 2 BUT because Gen 3 is more complex due to direct injection and higher compression there is a greater chance of things going wrong if you are not careful.

Reliability of both Gen 2 and 3 engines are generally great. Some minor issues here and there but overall very robust and can handle a beating. Not worth elaborating on.

OP you specifically call out the automatic transmission. I am a manual enthusiast so I will try to separate my comments from unbiased to biased.
Unbiased opinions:
Gen 2 6R80 automatic is a solid transmission but dated.
Gen 3 10R80 automatic is much quicker, better acceleration and keeps engine in powerband so you will notice the performance is a big step up while driving
Manual transmission for both Gen 2 and 3 is the MT-82, both have same overall character with gen 3 having minor revisions.

Biased opinions:
Yay manual. Enough said.
Moving on to the automatics, as someone that regularly works on these cars, I am an advocate for the 6R80 being the more reliable transmission. If you must upgrade to the Gen 3 cars, I HIGHLY recommend (almost begging you) to get the later years of the 10R80 from 2022-2023 as the earlier cars from 2018-2019 are not reliable over time in my opinion/experience fixing all my buddies cars... Avoid the earlier year Gen 3 ones.

General opinions on which Gen Coyote is "better" but it really depends on your use case.
Daily driver / modern feel: Gen 3
Best stock performance: Gen 3
Simpler modding / DIY builds: Gen 2
High‑RPM NA performance build: Gen 3
Budget performance build: Gen 2
Track ready monster: Gen 3
Old school analog experience: Gen 2

My final, VERY biased and completely subjective styling opinion... there are other cars I use for track use but the below meme sums up exactly why I continue to daily the beloved Gen 2 competition orange 2016 GTCS manual and cannot seem to convince myself to upgrade to the generally better Gen 3

I hope my unbiased comments are helpful to you in your decision making. If you are looking for a new project to tinker with, you cannot go wrong with another Coyote. Perhaps you got a chuckle out of some of my more biased opinions from someone that knows these cars exceptionally well.
Best of luck and cheers!

I think when buying a used car, if you can get a good deal on a 2016 or so Gen 2 and under 60k miles I think that could be the better buy based on how wild some of the gen 3 prices are currently and you can simply tune it and CAI to get it closer to a 2018 power numbers. I like my 2020 PP GT and the price wasn't bad but if I did it over again I wish I would have went with like a 2016 GT Premium auto and tune it and save a lot of money. However I didn't see many good deals or low miles ones at the time around me. If my 2020 got totaled I think I'd get a 15-17 premium and mod it and save $$. Some of the more decent g3s I've seen, for the price they were going for you could almost buy a gen 2 and SC it and come out to the same price as a gen 3.

I"m worried about tuning my 2020 GT. I had the 1st gen but I didn't tune it because it was my DD and I remember with the 1st gen some of them were having cylinder #8 kabooming with tunes.

 

[accel]

2nd gen manual has close gear ratios I really enjoy.

But if you are an auto guy, then 3rd gen is def. better.

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