S650 cracked, tunable now

[Tw00sh]

Surprised this was not mentioned yet, but it looks like the S650 has been cracked and will be tunable now.

Wondering if this was done purposely since the sales numbers have been really low on the new Mustang. Could Ford be looking to boost sales by attracting the aftermarket modders?

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[Zrussian13]

There are several threads about this from the last week. And yes it definitely should help s650 sales.

 

[2023EGM1]

I may see a small bump in sales, but negligible?

I used to own turbo cars and tunes were amazing ways to get a lot of power and torque. But in NA engines, why is this such a big deal? FI applications in new cars must ve in the low hundreds?

 

[_zOmbIE_]

I may see a small bump in sales, but negligible?

I used to own turbo cars and tunes were amazing ways to get a lot of power and torque. But in NA engines, why is this such a big deal? FI applications in new cars must ve in the low hundreds?

Lots of people on this forum have forced air setups on their Mustangs, so I would assume people who wanted big power numbers and say, a stick shift, would want to put a turbo or supercharger on their GT (or Darth Helmet, er Dark Horse) so this may lead those folks to look at buying an S650.

 

[MAGS1]

I may see a small bump in sales, but negligible?

I used to own turbo cars and tunes were amazing ways to get a lot of power and torque. But in NA engines, why is this such a big deal? FI applications in new cars must ve in the low hundreds?

The Ford Whipple/Roush tunes are usually pretty conservative, plus there’s no options for turbos from Ford. If people are looking for big power, they will now have more options for S650.

There’s been more than a few people on this forum that have said that lack of tuning was the single biggest holdback for them as far as getting a new S650. We’ll see if that actually holds true now that tuning is available but it should have a positive effect on sales for sure.

 

[GregO]

Wengerd posted dyno results.
Goes like this;
93 octane, Ford didn’t leave much of anything to be gained except in trans strategies.
E85 or forced induction for any measurable HP gains.

My take;
The only thing that will help the S650 sales is Ford having some serious price restructuring.

 

[2023EGM1]

I’m running out of warranty now, so I would love to tune my Mach1 if NA gains are worth it (no E85 here).

 

[Cpcloud]

I can't imagine it helping sales that much.

Baseline price is now 48k?
Premium + Performance pack like 60k?

That's supra, m2 , used c8 corvette territory

 

[SheepDog]

if NA gains are worth it

They Aren't. In my opinion, 10-15 HP isn't worth the price of admission. However, if you have a 10R80, the changes that can be made to the transmission may be worth it to you.

 

[Pistol_91]

Prices are too high. Id consider the swap, but not for what they're giving you on a trade in, along with the steep price. Makes no sense to do it.

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

Wengerd posted dyno results.
Goes like this;
93 octane, Ford didn’t leave much of anything to be gained except in trans strategies.
E85 or forced induction for any measurable HP gains.

My take;
The only thing that will help the S650 sales is Ford has some serious price restructuring.

so basically same as the s550. im sensing a theme with the s650 and im betting that's why it's been such a relative dud in terms of sales and impact on the market.

 

[Snakebyte]

It sounds like the definition of "cracked" is relative...relative to what one thought they could access/change, versus what one was really able to access/change.

 

[NuclearDiode]

so basically same as the s550. im sensing a theme with the s650 and im betting that's why it's been such a relative dud in terms of sales and impact on the market.

The S650 being pretty much like the S550 is not the reason why sales numbers are bad. Ford basically took the S550 formula and made it worse (less attractive, heavier, more expensive, locked ECU at launch, etc) instead of making it better or new altogether.

The question is…why are the BMW M cars selling so well? I think Ford (and GM/Stellantis) failed at marketing the cars. BMW M cars were almost dead 10 years ago, and in the last 5-7 years sales skyrocketed. They know how to market with YouTube and Social Media.

 

[robvas]

Rumor is a **** program leader got walked in a Dark Horse by a Last Call 392 on Woodward Ave and demanded more power

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

The S650 being pretty much like the S550 is not the reason why sales numbers are bad. Ford basically took the S550 formula and made it worse (less attractive, heavier, more expensive, locked ECU at launch, etc) instead of making it better or new altogether.

The question is…why are the BMW M cars selling so well? I think Ford (and GM/Stellantis) failed at marketing the cars. BMW M cars were almost dead 10 years ago, and in the last 5-7 years sales skyrocketed. They know how to market with YouTube and Social Media.

Attracting new buyers is definitely part of the equation and i dont think the Mustang is doing a good job of that, as you say... but i also dont think social media campaigning will help that. Ford has basically gone upmarket with the Mustang pricing (60k with premium package) without actually making it an upmarket car like the BMW is. Then they've lost the diehard performance car crowd due to the absurd potential the BMW turbo i6 engines have, which has drawn away Mustang modders. Not having to spend 15k on a supercharger for new coyote is a boon for people who like to seriously mod their cars.

The other part of the equation is attracting buyers from previous gen to the new gen, and they utterly failed in that regard. As you say, Ford took the S550 formula and made it worse. How are you going to attract owners of the prior gen to the new gen? Those GenZ focus groupies who said they want more touchscreens are not the people buying your car. Ford basically told us eh, you have a S550 already, you're good, don't bother with this one.

Personally, i bought mine because im in my late 30s, always wanted a V8 coupe with a stick shift.. and could never afford an S197 in my 20s. For the ~41k+tax i paid for mine, i feel like i got good value.

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