mrfarmdog Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 ColdWaterHotRod posted a link to this article earlier. When I read the article it made mention of a softer suspension in the verts. Anyone else heard of this before? Could this have been a preproduction car? Here is a clip from the article... ------------------------ From Ford’s specifications we know that the convertible we tested has a 15% softer suspension than the coupe version and this was evident while negotiating the multiple apexes in our test course. ------------------------ Here is the link to the article again http://www.themustangnews.com/carnews/st-0906shelbytest.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harley99fb Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 ColdWaterHotRod posted a link to this article earlier. When I read the article it made mention of a softer suspension in the verts. Anyone else heard of this before? Could this have been a preproduction car? Here is a clip from the article... ------------------------ From Ford’s specifications we know that the convertible we tested has a 15% softer suspension than the coupe version and this was evident while negotiating the multiple apexes in our test course. ------------------------ Here is the link to the article again http://www.themustangnews.com/carnews/st-0906shelbytest.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColdwaterHotrod Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Yes. I was told the same thing by my dealership. Don't know exactly why though. This would be a good question for Five Oh B.... my guess without going back & looking it up is becasue of the weight difference front to rear on a convertible vs, a Coupe car. Ford needed to balance the car out a little more because of this. If I remember correctly the Coupe has a weight distribution of 57% on the front & 43% on the rear and for the Convertible it was 56% on the front & 44% on the rear which matches the regular Mustang GT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomAce Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 This would be a good question for Five Oh B.... my guess without going back & looking it up is becasue of the weight difference front to rear on a convertible vs, a Coupe car. Ford needed to balance the car out a little more because of this. If I remember correctly the Coupe has a weight distribution of 57% on the front & 43% on the rear and for the Convertible it was 56% on the front & 44% on the rear which matches the regular Mustang GT Actually, I recall reading about this in one of the mags early on. Because of the extra weight and minor loss of some rigidity, the GT500 convertible has a little "softer" suspension. The S197 platform was designed from the beginning to have a 'vert, so the rigidity is not as big an issue as in past models, but there IS a difference. Exact same engine, trans, diff, etc..., just a SLIGHTLY softer suspension ride. I'll try to find the article, can't remember if it was Motor Trend, C&D, or Hot Rod. I have all 3 here, so if I get a chance I'll look for the quote and post it. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kstrong Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 The vert's have less horsepower also. I have not read this anywhere. Please clarify this. They have the same Engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted September 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 This would be a good question for Five Oh B.... my guess without going back & looking it up is becasue of the weight difference front to rear on a convertible vs, a Coupe car. Ford needed to balance the car out a little more because of this. If I remember correctly the Coupe has a weight distribution of 57% on the front & 43% on the rear and for the Convertible it was 56% on the front & 44% on the rear which matches the regular Mustang GT Regarding the weight ratio... This article in the winding road says that the extra weight in the rear of the convertible actually brings the vert back to the same percents as a standard GT. http://www.windingroad.com/file-download?issue=13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted September 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 I WAS KIDDING ALREADY!!! NO WONDER RUMORS GO CRAZY ON HERE, EVERYONE TAKES EVERYTHING LITERALLY................ calm down, take a deep breath, exhale, take another, there now feeling better, okay then...I'll go back to my corner! Yeah I didn't scroll down to the bottom of your post to see you were joking. It is true though. With people posting and reading at the same time it can be difficult to keep the facts straight. Especially when someone throws an occasional curve ball in the spirit of humor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnut Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Yeah I didn't scroll down to the bottom of your post to see you were joking. It is true though. With people posting and reading at the same time it can be difficult to keep the facts straight. Especially when someone throws an occasional curve ball in the spirit of humor Could you clarify that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted September 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 So...I'm back out of the corner then? Absolutely I never liked staying in the corner long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alloy Dave Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 ColdWaterHotRod posted a link to this article earlier. When I read the article it made mention of a softer suspension in the verts. Anyone else heard of this before? Could this have been a preproduction car? Here is a clip from the article... ------------------------ From Ford’s specifications we know that the convertible we tested has a 15% softer suspension than the coupe version and this was evident while negotiating the multiple apexes in our test course. ------------------------ Here is the link to the article again http://www.themustangnews.com/carnews/st-0906shelbytest.htm I can't speak specifically for the GT500, but I can say that back in the day convertibles often did come with different springs and shocks than coupes. Typically the spring rates on convertibles were higher since they weighed more (all the extra weight from the top closing/opening mechanisms). The different springs are usually more associated with weight than body style. In other words, if a convertible and a coupe weighed the same and had the same weight distribution, they'd likely use the same spring. However, when I used to install springs, we'd always have to know whether the car had auto trans vs. manual, A/C or non, and V8 or V6 so that we could select the proper spring from the catalog. Here is a link to a spring chart to give you an idea of what I mean. The different spring part numbers for a particular model will all have the same diameter (spring diameter, not necessarily wire diameter) and shape...it's mainly the spring rate that differs. http://bbb-carb.com/coilsprings/ford/65698mustang.htm Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfarmdog Posted September 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Check this out. I found it on the media.ford.com site under Chassis. No reason as to why although some of you experts out their can make a good assumption. -------------- The GT500 uses a 34-millimeter tubular front stabilizer bar. Coupe versions of the GT500 sport a 24-millimeter rear bar, while convertibles come with a 20-millimeter bar. "Stiffer stabilizer bars provide reduced roll and deliver a more aggressive handling balance," says SVT Vehicle Dynamics Engineer Dean Martin. "We’ve also given the GT500 higher spring rates at both ends to handle the greater mass of the car and also to reduce roll." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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