GT350/R and GT500 knuckle comparison.

[Epiphany]

Yeah, James, I know John and he didn't mean it that way.

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[mustangguy88]

I appreciate it, there were no hard feeling, just frustration.

Tomorrow is another day and life moves on.

 

[Epiphany]

I'll tell you what is frustrating. I contacted Ford Performance and went through this with them prior to obtaining the '20R knuckle. It took a week or so but they contacted engineering for an answer. I was told the GT350R uses the GT500 knuckle. While I appreciated the effort, it was frustrating knowing the answer was wrong. Sure, the latest GT350R knuckle started off as a GT500 knuckle but the finished part is unique and not the same as the GT500 knuckle. I expect more from FP and want confidence and the belief that what they say is accurate. I'd be somewhat embarrassed if my customers knew more about my product than I do.

 

[JAJ]

I'll tell you what is frustrating. I contacted Ford Performance and went through this with them prior to obtaining the '20R knuckle. It took a week or so but they contacted engineering for an answer. I was told the GT350R uses the GT500 knuckle. While I appreciated the effort, it was frustrating knowing the answer was wrong. Sure, the latest GT350R knuckle started off as a GT500 knuckle but the finished part is unique and not the same as the GT500 knuckle. I expect more from FP and want confidence and the belief that what they say is accurate. I'd be somewhat embarrassed if my customers knew more about my product than I do.

Well, they are the same, they're just machined differently, that's all

 

[mustangguy88]

Ford gets creative with that. Sometimes measuring parts out can save a lot of money in build outs. Minor changes equal different part numbers and costs.

 

[Caballus]

I'll tell you what is frustrating. I contacted Ford Performance and went through this with them prior to obtaining the '20R knuckle. It took a week or so but they contacted engineering for an answer. I was told the GT350R uses the GT500 knuckle. While I appreciated the effort, it was frustrating knowing the answer was wrong. Sure, the latest GT350R knuckle started off as a GT500 knuckle but the finished part is unique and not the same as the GT500 knuckle. I expect more from FP and want confidence and the belief that what they say is accurate. I'd be somewhat embarrassed if my customers knew more about my product than I do.

Worst part is that Ford advertised that the 2020 GT350R and 2020 GT500 share the same knuckle.

 

[Epiphany]

That's what drove me to ask FP. I'm familiar with all of the hardware involved and knew this couldn't be the case. Obviously the engineers involved know all the pertinent details but somehow the message got lost and morphed into something else. What's sad is that at no point was there ever any attempt at clarification. The shindig in Vegas would have been the perfect opportunity to explain everything to the press but it never happened. Makes me wonder if they'd rather not talk about it because they knew it would lead to more questions such as "why not use the knuckle on the non-R GT350?"

 

[Caballus]

... "why not use the knuckle on the non-R GT350?"

My very uninformed thought on that is because they had to distinguish the GT350R from the non-R after the 2019 non-R upgrades. The non-R got the GT350R engine, along with suspension and brake upgrades that made it a near-peer to the GT350R.

 

[Epiphany]

Again, I was thankful an attempt was made after my request. The response needed clarity though and I'd normally expect an engineer to provide small details that have a major impact. Somebody decided that was unnecessary here.

 

[JAJ]

Well, the answer is definitely ambiguous, confirming that the steering geometry and steering knuckle is "off of the 2020 GT500", but being silent about whether it might have been modified in the process.

 

[Epiphany]

Bottom line - it isn't the same part (aside from its origins) and as such you could not reuse GT350 rotors/calipers if you used the actual GT500 knuckle.

 

[mustangguy88]

What was the initial curiosity of the spindle differences? Whats the outcome your after?

 

[Epiphany]

My better half owns a company that offers aftermarket fastener hardware, knuckle related, for the GT350 and GT500. So being familiar with all things related is sort of a prerequisite. And because Ford refuses to share CAD data (in SEMA's Tech Transfer Program) for anything Shelby or SVT related you have to physically dimension everything. And when it comes to clearances on these latest Shelby cars from Ford, caliper to barrel clearance (for example) is at an absolute premium so fasteners can occupy no more space than the original pieces. You also have to verify manufacturing quality and consistency. In that regard, Ford's work has been absolutely first rate.

 

[mustangguy88]

I didn't realize there was such a item specific product focused company. As a by product have you built out a GT350 as a test mule?

 

[Epiphany]

This was done some four years ago. Most recent was similar hardware for the GT500. The '20 GT350R knuckle was somewhat unique in this regard, hence the recent look at it.

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