Q&A with Dave Pericak

[Grimace427]

I'm with the folks worried about the weight comments. Ford's goals have never fully coincided with my own for handling prowess and ultimate weight is VERY important to me as autocross focuses purely on the handling aspect. I have no doubt a Fox Body GT would smoke the piss out of a Miata on a road course, but the Miata absolutely EATS Fox Body at autocross, partially because of the suspension, mostly because of the weight difference. I'd rather err on the side of lighter weight than faster track times because there is more to a track time than the capabilities of the chassis (see: Power) which is nearly useless in autocross.

I'm not expecting them to build me a perfect autocross car either but it certainly is factoring heavily into my decision making on whether I will purchase one or not. A 3200lb Turbo 4 would be amazing, a 3300lb one would be tolerable, but a 3300+ one had better suck in air and spit out kittens to beat the competition the car will face (mostly BMW's older 3 series cars).

Being that it is pretty easy to drop 80-100lbs off the current car with a wheel/tire package, driveshaft, and exhaust upgrade, if the cars are already 100-300ish pounds lighter right off the showroom that would be pretty damn good for you auto-crossers, right?

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[Whiskey11]

Being that it is pretty easy to drop 80-100lbs off the current car with a wheel/tire package, driveshaft, and exhaust upgrade, if the cars are already 100-300ish pounds lighter right off the showroom that would be pretty damn good for you auto-crossers, right?

Except that driveshaft isn't legal for me to swap out, among other things... basically I've got:

Wheels/Tires
Exhaust (still have to retain cats)
Battery
Seats
Coilovers

That is basically it. There are some smaller weight savings but that is basically it. That is still a significant weight savings. On the S197 chassis it comes out to about 180-200lbs of weight. Enough to take my 09 GT down to basically 3300lbs... however 3300lbs is too heavy to compete against the other cars in the class (mostly cars in the 2700lb range) who run on the same tires... next year the Mustangs move to a class with wider wheels/tires but the cars they compete against are 3000-3100lb AWD STi's and Evo's as well as the 3000lb E46 M3 and the 2800lb E36 M3 on the widest tires they can fit...

An S550 at 3100lbs, mid 300's for HP/Torque (EB4) and 285's all the way around would bring some serious firepower to the class and certainly help revitalize it... dare I go as far to say as maybe even win the class. Certainly far better than an S197 with 200 more pounds of weight does.

Like I said though, unfortunately there are class rules to work around and they prohibit some huge changes in overall weight so the lighter the car comes from Ford, the better. If the EB4 comes in at 3300lbs or less, I'm game, over that and it will have to have significantly better handling through the geometry of the suspension to make up for that deficit and justify the purchase. By the time we hit 3400lbs, it becomes harder and harder to justify getting rid of the 09 GT...

 

[Mriley]

I have nothing but respect for D. Pericak. He is such a great ambassador for enthusiasts, for Ford and the Mustang. Even with the weight question the way he handles it and is able to bring the focus back to what is important is impressive.

What I take from his statements here and in other interviews is that the Mustang either didn't lose weight or has put on a little but it won't matter because performance is on another level now. I also get that the EcoBoost is their answer to some of the weight concerns as it is more nimble and better at cornering than the current car. So even if it is a net wash with weight, it will "feel" lighter and more fun to drive.

 

[xlover]

I have nothing but respect for D. Pericak. He is such a great ambassador for enthusiasts, for Ford and the Mustang. Even with the weight question the way he handles it and is able to bring the focus back to what is important is impressive.

What I take from his statements here and in other interviews is that the Mustang either didn't lose weight or has put on a little but it won't matter because performance is on another level now. I also get that the EcoBoost is their answer to some of the weight concerns as it is more nimble and better at cornering than the current car. So even if it is a net wash with weight, it will "feel" lighter and more fun to drive.

AND his team designed a great car!

while i would like to see weight reduction i am ok with similar weight, if the car drives as well as he says and performs better AND gets better fuel economy all wins

 

[Jarstang]

Updated with more Q&A with Pericak, some of which were asked because a few members here requested it. Also included a few questions from other media.

Q: How will the (GT) track pack perform?
A: The track pack is going to outperform the Boss for sure.

Q: Any plans for a Boss 302 replacement?
A: We've been in (Mustang) business for 50 years and if you look at what we've done, the Mustang has always had specialty cars and performance vehicles. You can expect that we're going to stay on the same path. Today, we're here talking about the new Mustang, so we're not talking about any plans for future cars at the moment, but it would be wrong for me to say that we're not going to do that. It's been in our blood, it's been in our history, so stay tuned.

Q: Any difference in the half shafts of the performance package between US and European models?
A: The half shafts don't change between North America and Europe. We did have to stiffen them up and other things to make them survive the performance that we needed and the hp/torque that we were putting through them. The half shafts are going to be very capable of handling what we’re doing.

Q: What brakes and brake upgrades will be available?
A: The V6 and EcoBoost (entry) models get 2 piston floating calipers. The base GT and EcoBoost performance package will get 4 piston fixed calipers (more capable than the current Brembo brakes). The GT with performance package will get 6 piston fixed calipers which are not available on the EcoBoost.

Q: Would the 4 cylinder EcoBoost with performance package rival the V8 around the right track?
A: [Doubtful pause] Hmm, it would have to depend on the track. The EcoBoost performance package is definitely going to be a bit more balanced and it’ll be a little bit lighter but you have quite a bit of horsepower delta between the two. Both cars are going to be extremely agile but there’s no doubt that the Ecoboost is going to have better balance, be a bit lighter, a little easier to toss around.

Q: Does the 4 cylinder share anything with 2 liter for the Falcon?
A: What I can tell you is that this 4 cylinder has been specifically designed for the Mustang. We knew the horsepower and torque we needed to get out of it, and the twin scroll turbos and integrated exhaust manifolds which allow us to split the cylinders up so we can continue to pulsate the turbocharger. The MKC has announced that it will be using the Mustang engine in a FWD application, but again, we designed this specifically for the Mustang and MKC is going to pick this up. The Mustang was priority.

Q: Any special metals used in the chassis or side impact barriers to keep the car as light as possible?
A: Yes, we are not disclosing all of that, but I’ll just say generally, we have several high strength materials that we're using throughout the vehicle to manage the roof crush standards, side pole, offset barrier, etc. A lot of the new requirements are very challenging especially when you try to do a car like this. So yes, we very much increased our usage of high strength materials, but we are not disclosing the details at the moment.

Q: Will the current GT wheels fit on the 2015 GT?
A: I would have to do a study on that one, but I believe depending on which wheel you choose, some of the wheels will fit, but not with the 6 piston fixed caliper brakes (that the GT performance package will be equipped with). With the standard brake package I believe you can still put them on, but I’d have to check that to be 100% sure.

 

[stangray11]

Thanks for all the great content.

I'm disappointed in his answer regarding materials used in the chassis. I'd like to help my fellow Mustang enthusiasts out by saying don't get your hopes up too high on weight, altho of course total performance is a different story. These answers are very telling IMO.

 

[DIB5.0]

I heard from a source that the GT actually gained 100 lbs. this why the boost in hp.

 

[Husker]

Q: How will the (GT) track pack perform?
A: The track pack is going to outperform the Boss for sure.

Q: Any plans for a Boss 302 replacement?
A: We've been in (Mustang) business for 50 years and if you look at what we've done, the Mustang has always had specialty cars and performance vehicles. You can expect that we're going to stay on the same path. Today, we're here talking about the new Mustang, so we're not talking about any plans for future cars at the moment, but it would be wrong for me to say that we're not going to do that. It's been in our blood, it's been in our history, so stay tuned.

Those are two great Q&As-->:clap2:

 

[Tony Alonso]

I heard from a source that the GT actually gained 100 lbs. this why the boost in hp.

I actually could believe this, given everything that has been shared now. I would hold out one last iota of hope for "break even", but I guess we will know eventually. From there, one could look at it as a motivating factor to take DRIVER weight down

 

[Grimace427]

I heard from a source that the GT actually gained 100 lbs. this why the boost in hp.

http://www.mustang6g.com/forums/showthread.php/expected-weight-gain-1090.html

I bet this was your 'source'.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/features/2015-ford-mustang-first-look.html


If so, there are quite a few issues found with that article that were pointed out in the thread.

 

[J.Darcy]

Am I the only one surprised the chief engineer doesn't know whether the current wheels would fit?

 

[xlover]

Am I the only one surprised the chief engineer doesn't know whether the current wheels would fit?

from the way he responded i think he didnt want to give a blanket answer because of the new brakes it could be a wheel by wheel thing as he said due to the caliper clearance

 

[Grimace427]

from the way he responded i think he didnt want to give a blanket answer because of the new brakes it could be a wheel by wheel thing as he said due to the caliper clearance

Especially with those massive 4/6 piston calipers. Now that the car has big brakes outside of some Brembo or Track package, wheels will definitely have to take into account caliper sizes unlike last model. Only the Brembo, Shelby and Boss wheels fit the big brakes.

 

[Pabo]

For him to even say on the right track the EB4 could rival the GT is pretty big assuming hes not talking about a go kart track.

 

[NRMStand]

With enough twists and turns and not enough straightaways to make up for a heavier car with more power, of course the 4 cylinder could put up a good fight. He's confirmed the EB+PP will be lighter and has better weight balance and we know it will be more powerful than the V6. With the PP it could be competitive. Definitely should be worthy of a Mustang and glad they didn't dilute it to be just some green model.

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