MotorTrend Review (EcoBoost)

[mikeyw]

Isn't that yellow one a V8 though? Bonnet vents...

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[Sburns015]

One good thing, the Dyno numbers make me happy.
279bhp to the wheels.
295lbft of torque all the way.
Ecoboost Engine defintely did not dissapoint.

AWD has edge in 0-60 runs. But EB should have smoked GTI and WRX in other categories. Quarter mile and lap times are more important.

150-200lbs less this would have been a rocket.
335i does mid 13 quarter mile. EB would have beaten it with better power to weight ratio.

I'm impressed with the numbers the Ecoboost put down on the dyno through an automatic, matches what my Mach 1 did on the dyno in stock trim with a 5 speed.

I can't see why anyone would be disappointed in the Ecoboost or GT in stock trim as anyone who buy's these cars will most likely modify them to suit their needs and make them their own... I can see in a few years their will be some Egoboosted Mustangs surprising a few 5.0's!

My wallet and the fact that I love to play with factory turbo'd cars is definitely got me considering an Ecoboost PP 6 speed over the 5.0.

 

[TampaBear67]

Isn't that yellow one a V8 though? Bonnet vents...

Yes it is. Did you read the Quote? The Yellow One is a GT Premium with Adaptive Cruise Control, which Is why it Doesn't have the "Fanged" Lower Grill. Souprmage said He Needed More Proof that the Linear Lower Grill was the one used on ACC Equipped Cars.

 

[souprmage]

Why post this stuff here Tampa? You've already posted it all on the grill thread. I concede the point.

 

[zen25]

It'll be interesting to see if there are relatively easy ways to shed weight from these cars? I've heard varying things on the difference in weight between the standard seats and the Recaros? Also given that these cars already come w/ out a spare tire and tools ( and not even the "flat kit" for the PP cars ) that won't be option to dump as has been traditionally been the case. It'll be interesting to see if the aftermarket starts developing "rear seat delete" kits for these cars like the SN95?

I guess it might be possible to cut down a wee bit without affecting daily drivability.

But for wholesale changes I think it is hard.
Unless some expensive carbon fiber parts or something comes in.

The car is just big, it is as big as Midsize family cars.

We were discussing in previous posts the pre-S197 Mustang was 170inch in length. S197 grew a lot, S550 is taking it further.

It is hard to be big and weight less with safety and luxury equipments.

 

[phil1336]

Not to get into a pissing match here ( which yeah, probably too late ) but I'm gonna pick nits and say that I've believed for a while that dual-clutch paddle shift cars like the aforementioned Ferrari or even the Evo X belong in a third category of transmission which I personally believe to be superior to both automatic and standard shift ( lots of track tests bear this out too ) as they give the very best of both worlds. I had actually hoped that the S550 was going to have a dual-clutch paddle shift trans and if that had been the case I would eagerly opt for that over the standard shift.

Didn`t my previous 2011 Ford Fiesta and current Focus`s and Fiesta`s still have "dual-clutch" automatic transmissions that sometime times act a bit awkward at certain rpm`s but perform well and achieve great fuel economy?

 

[phil1336]

I mean I have a tuned auto premium v6 with cai and an axleback in California... Almost every 11 plus mustang I see seems very stock (thanks to carb)..so I mean will people mod the 2.3l (partial void warranty) I highly doubt it especially here. I've timed my car at 5.2-5.3 (have the premium and 2.73 gears) vids of the 3.73 geared stangs are hitting 4.8-5 0-60, so it might be wise to save money and get the 6.

Thanks, "Voice of Reason"! The 3.7 V6 bashers won`t abate due to their Rental Car Fleet image, fine. Smart money is going on the Base V6 or the Premium V8.

 

[Type2]

Now that the Mustang has gone FI, it opens a whole new universe of tuning options. Don't forget that Cobb will probably have an AP for this in the next 6 months which could address the top end falloff. Running e85 for power and safety is now an options. For those (like me) who prefer custom tunes as opposed to off the shelf type tunes like what Cobb offers, support should be coming soon. There will be a huge market of folks looking to slap on a large twin scroll turbo and push out 600whp just because.

A manual transmission is a much better fit for a small FI engine IMO, however; the WRX with it's CVT seems to handle well.

The questions that I don't see anyone asking are whether the pistons are forged, and if so, what type. What type of connecting rods (h beam, I beam), what turbo is this? Is it off the shelf or custom built for the Mustang?

Lots of things can be done to increase turbo spool. You can externally gate it, larger exhaust, etc. Don't underestimate it.

 

[REX-RACER]

I guess it might be possible to cut down a wee bit without affecting daily drivability.

But for wholesale changes I think it is hard.
Unless some expensive carbon fiber parts or something comes in.

The car is just big, it is as big as Midsize family cars.

We were discussing in previous posts the pre-S197 Mustang was 170inch in length. S197 grew a lot, S550 is taking it further.

It is hard to be big and weight less with safety and luxury equipments.

Yeah, I've been curious as to how much of an affect light weight aftermarket rims and/or break rotors might have especially on the PP cars in terms of performance and mpg?

Didn`t my previous 2011 Ford Fiesta and current Focus`s and Fiesta`s still have "dual-clutch" automatic transmissions that sometime times act a bit awkward at certain rpm`s but perform well and achieve great fuel economy?

Yes, those cars did have dual clutch trans but from I've heard and read, and as you mention, it seems Ford's execution on those applications was bit off the mark vs the say the tiptronic trans employed by Porsche and Audi or the Getrag SST trans in Evo X all of which consistently get rave reviews and also consistently beat their stick shift counter parts in head-to-head tests. Either way my only real point was the even though the S550 has paddles, it's not a true dual clutch transmission which I suspect was a decision made based on cost control constraints and probable reliability concerns.

I'm not really looking to get into an argument over this, as I know some people really like the dual clutch thing and yet others still prefer the stick shift. All I was trying to point out is that while the dual clutch can mimic an automatic trans in "normal" driving conditions, in a performance application it really is in something of a unique category.

http://www.jackstransmissions.com/pages/sst-how-it-works-problems-upgrades

 

[Type2]

Although if the turbo is too small, pushing any more psi will just knock it out of it's efficiency range and it'll basically be a giant hair dryer with scorching IAT's. BUT... my guess is the turbo is electronically set (EBC) to max out at 18psi, and there is a bit of headroom left.

 

[REX-RACER]

Now that the Mustang has gone FI, it opens a whole new universe of tuning options. Don't forget that Cobb will probably have an AP for this in the next 6 months which could address the top end falloff. Running e85 for power and safety is now an options. For those (like me) who prefer custom tunes as opposed to off the shelf type tunes like what Cobb offers, support should be coming soon. There will be a huge market of folks looking to slap on a large twin scroll turbo and push out 600whp just because.

A manual transmission is a much better fit for a small FI engine IMO, however; the WRX with it's CVT seems to handle well.

The questions that I don't see anyone asking are whether the pistons are forged, and if so, what type. What type of connecting rods (h beam, I beam), what turbo is this? Is it off the shelf or custom built for the Mustang?

Lots of things can be done to increase turbo spool. You can externally gate it, larger exhaust, etc. Don't underestimate it.

Do you really think E85 is an option? Thus far I've heard "corn" has been strictly verboten in DI/T cars, something to do w/ the high pressure side fuel pump and I also suspect that some rubber has snuck back into to the fuel systems where they'd previously been "hardened". If you have some links to DI/T cars I'd love to read up on them?

I love E85 and run it in my '01 Cobra. There's a station 2 blocks down the street from my house that's selling it today for $2.55/gal! :shocked:
If it's possible to run the eb cars on E85 w/ a tune I'd definitely be in for that but I'd want to see someone else do it in a safe, reliable, non-warranty voiding manner first?! :shrug:

 

[mbt]

Do you really think E85 is an option? Thus far I've heard "corn" has been strictly verboten in DI/T cars, something to do w/ the high pressure side fuel pump and I also suspect that some rubber has snuck back into to the fuel systems where they'd previously been "hardened". If you have some links to DI/T cars I'd love to read up on them?

I love E85 and run it in my '01 Cobra. There's a station 2 blocks down the street from my house that's selling it today for $2.55/gal! :shocked:
If it's possible to run the eb cars on E85 w/ a tune I'd definitely be in for that but I'd want to see someone else do it in a safe, reliable, non-warranty voiding manner first?! :shrug:

E85 conceptually is fine for DI/T. I have a friend who is running E45 on his Fiesta ST using a Cobb AP. He made very impressive gains in TQ and HP by cranking up boost and of course retuning the fuel and ignition timing. He went from 210 wtq/170 whp stock on 91 oct to 285 wtq/210 whp on E45. That was with the stock fuel pump.

The EcoBoost Mustang has tons of potential for those who are willing to do a turbo swap and run E85. If the internals can handle it, a 2.3L motor with a 60 lb/min turbo can easily make 500 whp and still have excellent drivability. Should be able to hang with or spank its V8 brother with any level of bolt-ons shy of an SC or turbo kit or, ugh, nitrous.

 

[REX-RACER]

E85 conceptually is fine for DI/T. I have a friend who is running E45 on his Fiesta ST using a Cobb AP. He made very impressive gains in TQ and HP by cranking up boost and of course retuning the fuel and ignition timing. He went from 210 wtq/170 whp stock on 91 oct to 285 wtq/210 whp on E45. That was with the stock fuel pump.

The EcoBoost Mustang has tons of potential for those who are willing to do a turbo swap and run E85. If the internals can handle it, a 2.3L motor with a 60 lb/min turbo can easily make 500 whp and still have excellent drivability. Should be able to hang with or spank its V8 brother with any level of bolt-ons shy of an SC or turbo kit or, ugh, nitrous.

Wow, those are impressive gains! It's that sort of thing that makes me believe the 2.3l eb has 400/400 hp/tq potential.

Unfortunately the problem there is going to be the whole deal where the turbo is actually built into the exhaust manifold housing which makes straight across turbo swaps ( and exhaust manifolds for that matter ) very difficult if not impossible. This is something that's going to be very different for traditional car modifiers so I expect that people will be wringing every ounce of power out of the stock turbo before even considering a swap and then at the point it's going to depend on if anyone in the aftermarket is going to make an "up-level" turbo/manifold unit which I'm guessing is going to be not an inexpensive proposition. :(

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php/detailed-look-2015-1354.html

 

[mbt]

Its a bit disappointing to see the exhaust manifold partially built into the head, but I wouldn't consider any of that a significant hinderance. Several of the specialty turbo manufacturers make cast manifolds for specific vehicles. FP has been making a cast manifold for DSMs for years, and they now make one for the Evo 8/9. Just need a casting that converts from the flange pattern on the Ecoboost head to a T4 TS, and then any number of turbos will be possible. I still stand by my prediction that 500 whp Ecoboost Mustangs will be possible, and I'll add that I think it will be possible for less money than an equivalent stock V8 Mustang. But its all going to depend on how tough they made the internals. I'd like to think that Ford thought ahead on this one and made the engine beefy enough for that kind of power.

 

[Suddueth13]

Wow, those are impressive gains! It's that sort of thing that makes me believe the 2.3l eb has 400/400 hp/tq potential.

Unfortunately the problem there is going to be the whole deal where the turbo is actually built into the exhaust manifold housing which makes straight across turbo swaps ( and exhaust manifolds for that matter ) very difficult if not impossible. This is something that's going to be very different for traditional car modifiers so I expect that people will be wringing every ounce of power out of the stock turbo before even considering a swap and then at the point it's going to depend on if anyone in the aftermarket is going to make an "up-level" turbo/manifold unit which I'm guessing is going to be not an inexpensive proposition. :(

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php/detailed-look-2015-1354.html

Only the exhaust manifold itself is built into the cylinder head. The turbine housing bolts to the manifold. All it would take for a turbo swap would be to have an adapter that bolts to the exhaust manifold with whatever style flange you need for your turbo.

Don't expect to see anywhere near 400hp/400tq at the wheels on a stock turbo. I can see 400tq at the flywheel, but not horsepower. I don't *think* the pistons are forged. I very well could be wrong on that. If they are forged, this motor has big power potential with a stock bottom end. If they are not, I don't see 500whp being achievable without swapping to forged. I would love to be pleasantly wrong though for sure

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