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Idle Speculation on S650 Performance

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I would agree, that this is more of a refresh and not a re-engineer. I would love to hear that the chassis was completely re-engineered, but until I hear it from Ford, I'm assuming not. I believe this gen to be a precursor to the coming EV, with styling clues straight from the Mach E and the majority of the DH model being a carryover of the Mach 1.

On a side note, I find it hard to believe Ford will be the only ICE powered muscle car manufacturer in the US. I know what the news says, but I cant help but wonder if someone isn't being rather coy with their future plans. Why would they all just hand over a complete market to a competitor?
Because it's shrinking? "Last one out's a rotten egg..."
 
I'm likely not a customer because of the weight issue.
The 550 is already lardy, though mine is prolly one of the lightest GTs around due to lack of options, it has PP1 and nothing else and is around 3400 lbs with gutted interior and light racing seats. But it still is heavier than I would like and that's my current focus, reducing weight.
The published weight for the 650 is 3900 lbs. That's a non starter for me.
Secondarily, I'm not a fan of the styling, it's seems like it's just gimmicks without much purpose.
They'll probably sell very well, just not likely to me. :)
Agree on the weight, they have gone backwards on that. Steel fenders, steel oil pan, bigger brakes...it is obviously a re-skin refresh, it appears to be an S550 underneath. Like saying an SN95 was not a re-skinned Fox Body.
 
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Well, there's a bag missing its cat in Aus. Whether it's correct or not is hard to say, but it's certainly plausible. This commentator explains that the S650 is just a styling update on the S550 chassis. If that's the case, then better handling may not be as great as I was hoping. Sigh...

 

JDee

Ancient Racer
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<rant>
I see no reason for "dark horse" over a PP equipped GT, and no reason for any 650 over my stripper 550 for a track day car. Except maybe for bragging rights and the gearbox, but even that's only the 3160 so it's not all that much better than an MT-82D4 except maybe for the ratios. Still going to need heavy duty cooling on the trans for track work no matter which gearbox you get as well as a proper racing clutch, for sure the stock clutch is going to be junk.

Worst of all, dark horse is 138 lbs heavier than the GT which is already much heavier than a base S550 GT PP1. No matter what you do to the suspension, that luxo-barge weight is a huge handicap for everything a track car does.

That is unless all I want to do is show and shines like the 'vette crowd, in which case I want the full boogey totally optioned out fattest boy dark horse available complete with ceramic coating, 60 pound sub in the trunk, some pawn shop bought tall trophies and all that other de rigeur show 'n shine stuff.:)

Seriously, dark horse?? What the hell does that mean anyway? Classic case of sizzle without the steak???Very disappointed that this is the direction Ford went. I'm looking to spend some money but for sure it won't be on a fat assed 650 Mustang.
</end rant>
 
What other essentials are they adding to these cars that wasn't already included in the 550 platforms?
It usually comes down to crash protection and NVH. Airbags, SRS systems, and crash structures have to keep up with what you're likely to encounter on the road. For us, that's an ever-increasing trend of CUVs, SUVs, and luxury-trim Trucks maxing out lane widths. Even the S550 Mustang has more airbag crash protection than the 2010-2014 S197, with the inclusion of knee airbags. Additionally, your average consumer wants a comfortable ride, so vibration and auditory damping materials are bulked up in cabins, firewalls, fender liners, and undertrays (the reason why they have to pipe in engine noise into the cabin on sporty rides).
 
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It usually comes down to crash protection and NVH. Airbags, SRS systems, and crash structures have to keep up with what you're likely to encounter on the road. For us, that's an ever-increasing trend of CUVs, SUVs, and luxury-trim Trucks maxing out lane widths. Even the S550 Mustang has more airbag crash protection than the 2010-2014 S197, with the inclusion of knee airbags. Additionally, your average consumer wants a comfortable ride, so vibration and auditory damping materials are bulked up in cabins, firewalls, fender liners, and undertrays (the reason why they have to pipe in engine noise into the cabin on sporty rides).
Normally I'd get that. But you'd think at some point it would be "safe enough" and they'd focus on removing some pork instead. Apparently not :)
 

PaddyPrix

If breakin' parts is cool, consider me Miles Davis
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Not saying that I'm disappointed, but... I would have thought a platform change would have brought in huge changes. The 2018+ Gen 3 had an awful lot untapped potential, and with e85, tubes, and a tune, it's a monster, those of us here obviously know that, and eventually, Ford knew that too, and used some of that to make the 480hp Bullitt and Mach1's look much cooler than they were, and from that same bank, this "500hp" dual throttle body intake also borrows from. I'm curious to see how the GT3 Mustang differs, and of course, what of that I can steal for my GT2, but with my bias, I can't help but think that the s550 was the high water mark if the s650 continues to get even heavier.
 
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The Dark Horse weights are identical to the current Mach 1. Are they really the same down to the pound, or are the weights on the 2024 flyer just carried over for estimates? Maybe they’re setting us up to be pleasantly surprised? Too early to tell.
 

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